Wild asters

These New England asters are growing near the senior campus of Willingdon School on Coronation Avenue near here; you see them everywhere, they're like weeds. 

"A Bird came down the Walk" by Emily Dickinson

A Bird came down
the Walk –
He did not know I
saw –
He bit an Angleworm
in halves
And ate the fellow, raw,

And then he drank
a Dew
From a Convenient Grass –
And then hopped sidewise
to the Wall
To let a Beetle pass –

He glanced with rapid
eyes
That hurried all around –
They looked like frightened
Beads, I thought –
He stirred his Velvet
Head

Like One in danger, Cautious,
I offered him a Crumb
And he unrolled his
feathers
And rowed him softer
home –

Than Oars divide the
Ocean,
Too silver for a seam –
Or Butterflies, off Banks
of Noon
Leap, plashless as they
swim.

"Within my Garden, rides a Bird" by Emily Dickinson

Within my Garden, rides
a Bird
Opon a single Wheel –
Whose spokes a dizzy music
make
As 'twere a travelling Mill –

He never stops, but slackens
Above the Ripest Rose –
Partakes without alighting
And praises as he goes,

Till every spice is tasted –
And then his +Fairy Gig
Reels in remoter atmospheres –
And I rejoin my Dog,

And He and I, perplex us
If positive, 'twere we –
Or bore the Garden in the Brain
This Curiosity –

But He, the best Logician,
Refers my clumsy eye –
To just vibrating Blossoms!
An exquisite Reply!

Birds preparing to fly south

Wild asters near Meadowbrook Golf Course

                                     

"Late September" by Charles Simic

The mail truck goes down the coast

Carrying a single letter. 

At the end of a long pier 

The bored seagull lifts a leg now and then 

And forgets to put it down. 

There is a menace in the air 

Of tragedies in the making. 

Last night you thought you heard television 

In the house next door. 

You were sure it was some new 

Horror they were reporting, 

So you went out to find out. 

Barefoot, wearing just shorts. 

It was only the sea sounding weary 

After so many lifetimes 

Of pretending to be rushing off somewhere 

And never getting anywhere. 

This morning, it felt like Sunday. 

The heavens did their part 

By casting no shadow along the boardwalk 

Or the row of vacant cottages, 

Among them a small church 

With a dozen gray tombstones huddled close 

As if they, too, had the shivers.

Prudence Heward by Evelyn Walters

Evelyn Walters' Prudence Heward, Canadian Modernist Painter

Prudence Heward, Canadian Modernist Painter (Friesen Press, 2022) is Evelyn Walters third book on the Beaver Hall artists, this time specifically on the artist Prudence Heward. Here we have a biography of Prudence Heward (born in Montreal; 1896 - 1947), and possibly the most accomplished member of the Beaver Hall group. The book is divided into the periods of Heward's life--beginnings, the twenties, the thirties, her early passing--and she didn't have a long life, she died at age fifty in 1947. Her life was her art, there is no division between the two, so we have many of Heward's paintings in this book.

Walters discusses Heward's life including Heward's personal reflections and these are often drawn from her correspondence with her friend, Isabel McLaughlin (see Note 1 below). We also have a discussion of some of Heward's most important paintings, a list of exhibitions in which her work appeared, where she studied art, her travels, and some information on and memories of her friends and family members. There isn't any gossip in the book, no scandal, Prudence Heward is not that type of person. How did she survive financially? She received a large financial gift from her wealthy and generous uncle, Frank Percy Jones; he freed Prudence and her mother from financial insecurity and set both of them up for the rest of their lives. 

In 1930 Mrs. Heward, Prudence's mother, bought a house at 3467 Peel Street and this became the location of Prudence's studio. At that time this was a prestigious area in which to live, it was a part of the Golden Square Mile where wealthy English-speaking Montrealers lived; so, not far from Prudence's home was the Van Horne mansion, the George Stephen mansion, Baron Shaughnessy's estate that is now the Canadian Centre for Architecture, and the homes of other prominent business men and their families. These entrepreneurs were successful and wealthy, but they were also generous philanthropists; they endowed and supported many charitable and cultural organizations (including St. Mary's Hospital, orphanages, and other progressive institutions; cultural organizations they supported included the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the McCord Museum, the Mechanics Institute now known as the Atwater library, McGill University, and others). (See Note 2 below)

Heward is an example of  an artist who was wholly committed to her art, she spent her life painting and exhibiting her work. This single-mindedness is important for any artist, or poet for that matter, there are many diversions from following one's calling; but she had true grit. This is also the way of her ethnic and social class, they were fairly stoical, continued working despite hardships, and they persevered. Heward's major disadvantage was her bad health, her asthma, that ended her life at age fifty years.

All of Prudence Heward's most famous paintings are included in this book. The magnificent "At the Theatre" (1928), but also the equally powerful "Girl on a Hill" (1928), "Girl Under a Tree" (1931), "Farmer's Daughter" (1938), "Barns in Winter" (1926), and others. Some of her portraits remind me of the portraits Vincent van Gogh painted, this is perhaps a strange association; these portraits are not quite caricatures but aim to emphasize some particular quality Heward saw in her subject.   

This is an important book for both public and university libraries, and for individuals interested in the Beaver Hall artists, and interest in the group is still growing. I am very impressed by Evelyn Walter's text, the scholarship that went into research of the book, the timeline of Heward's exhibitions, the selection of Heward's paintings, and the readability of the book. As well, Friesen Press's high level of quality of book production, the weight of the paper on which the book is printed (there is no bleeding through of images from previous pages), and the excellent reproduction of Heward's paintings; it is not only very impressive but I doubt you could ask for better.  This book is a remarkable work of love for her subject, it would have made Prudence Heward proud.

Stephen Morrissey holding Evelyn Walters' new book 
on the life and art of Prudence Heward

Note 1: The Heward-McLaughlin correspondence, as part of the Isabel McLaughlin Fonds, held in the archives at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, could be a publishing opportunity for someone interested in editing these letters. It would add to our knowledge of Prudence Heward. This is not as far fetched as it might seem; the letters of other much lesser artists and poets have been published.

Note 2: I have always thought a dramatized version of the Beaver Hall artists would be popular on television--the city of Montreal as the setting, the architecture, the social milieu, and the many famous people who lived in the city; similar historical dramas have been popular, including Anne with an E, Murdoch, and Wind at My Back. Will it ever happen? Probably not considering the bias of the CBC for everything Toronto- and GTA-centric

"Robin Redbreast" by William Allingham (1824 - 1889)

Good-bye, good-bye to Summer! For Summer’s nearly done; The garden smiling faintly, Cool breezes in the sun; Our Thrushes now are silent, Our Swallows flown away, — But Robin’s here, in coat of brown, With ruddy breast-knot gay. Robin, Robin Redbreast, O Robin dear! Robin singing sweetly In the falling of the year. Bright yellow, red, and orange, The leaves come down in hosts; The trees are Indian Princes, But soon they’ll turn to Ghosts; The scanty pears and apples Hang russet on the bough, It’s Autumn, Autumn, Autumn late, ’Twill soon be Winter now. Robin, Robin Redbreast, O Robin dear! And welaway! my Robin, For pinching times are near. The fireside for the Cricket, The wheatstack for the Mouse, When trembling night-winds whistle And moan all round the house; The frosty ways like iron, The branches plumed with snow, — Alas! in Winter, dead and dark, Where can poor Robin go? Robin, Robin Redbreast, O Robin dear! And a crumb of bread for Robin, His little heart to cheer.

"Dark August" by Derek Walcott

Dark August

     By Derek Walcott

So much rain, so much life like the swollen sky
of this black August. My sister, the sun,
broods in her yellow room and won't come out.

Everything goes to hell; the mountains fume
like a kettle, rivers overrun; still,
she will not rise and turn off the rain.

She is in her room, fondling old things,
my poems, turning her album. Even if thunder falls
like a crash of plates from the sky,

she does not come out.
Don't you know I love you but am hopeless
at fixing the rain ? But I am learning slowly

to love the dark days, the steaming hills,
the air with gossiping mosquitoes,
and to sip the medicine of bitterness,

so that when you emerge, my sister,
parting the beads of the rain,
with your forehead of flowers and eyes of forgiveness,

all will not be as it was, but it will be true
(you see they will not let me love
as I want), because, my sister, then

I would have learnt to love black days like bright ones,
The black rain, the white hills, when once
I loved only my happiness and you.

A garden is an oasis

People talk about their backyard decks as being like an additional room off the house, that it's an extension of the inside of your home. The more comfortable the deck the more inviting it is and the more it will be used. Of course, the deck is there at the cost of your garden, your backyard is covered over with wood, stairs, garden furniture, a barbecue, an umbrella, chairs, and more, maybe a few garden gnomes and a small pond with fish in it and a fountain! If you have children or want to socialize outside then you'll want a deck.   

When I walk around this neighbourhood I see a lot of cars, driveways, roads, parking lots, trucks, front lawns and some gardens, a backyard area behind the houses and between adjacent streets, some birds and some people. Then, I return to my garden and it seems an oasis of peace and quiet, flowers and plants; if you plant a perennial garden you've invited birds and insects and maybe some nocturnal urban wildlife to visit or live in your garden. Mother Nature will appreciate your effort!

But a Canadian cottage garden, like a deck, is also an extension of your home; you can see your garden when you look out of the window and the more pleasant you've made your garden the more time you'll want to spend there. Your garden is also like a room just as a patio and deck are like a room, but they are otherwise different. Our backyard used to have an apple tree (it's still there), some raspberry canes that had been neglected, weeds, and grass; it was not particularly welcoming but it was good enough. It was good enough but you didn't want to spend much time there. Something could be said in favour of a weed garden, uncut grass, a neglected space, a space that has gone to seed (literally). It must have been about six years ago that I began to transform our backyard into a garden and since then it has become what I wanted, a cottage garden, an oasis of sorts, with perennial flowers, a place where many birds visit the bird bath or just fly over, a place with lots of flowers and lots of insects. 

Each of us can make something of beauty, in some way we can restore some peace to life, affirm life, restore some goodness to life. Everyday we are surrounded by change as though change has some kind of merit in itself; I believe that not changing has some merit. Government has taken over many (most?) aspects of life and, frankly, our society is worse today than it was ten years ago when the current government was elected. Are you better off today than you were in 2012? Obviously not if you live in Canada; high inflation, more homeless people than ever before, we're afraid to get sick because our medical system is falling apart, the national debt has never been as large as it is now, a prime minister who has no moral compass, and Quebec moving relentlessly to separation from Canada. We used to discuss things and we respected that other people had differing opinions; however,  discussion is a thing of the past as people are cancelled or yelled at or otherwise shut up. Intolerance and outrage prevail! 

My only complaint about my garden is that it's too shady; I planted hostas where it is most shady. I've learned that many perennial flowers don't need either direct sunlight or sunlight all day; gardeners have to adapt to what they actually have.  

Butterflies visiting . . .

The interesting thing about this photograph is the butterfly's proboscis, it's
the long tube extending from the butterfly's face to the flower on which it sits,
and is used to extract nectar from the flower. You can also see the butterfly's 
antennae, the two protruding wire-like appendages on its head. 

Crow visiting . . .

I played the recorded sound of  crows, a few minutes later this young crow seemed to drop out of the tree above the bird bath. Had he heard the bird sounds? Or was it just a coincidence...

Cardinals visiting . . .

I wondered, if I play bird sounds (found online), will the birds respond? On my IPhone I played Cardinals singing, a minute later I heard real-life Cardinals responding; then, two Cardinals flew over my head and (see way down below) you can see one of the Cardinals sitting in a tree after I played "Cardinals, bird sounds", that's what you Google to get these sites, one in particular, "all about birds", is the site that I used. Cardinals are friendly birds and they aren't particularly shy. The first photographs below were taken when a Cardinal swooped down and sat in the bird bath. The final photos below were taken on the morning of 20 August from our dining room window.  

This Cardinal arrived after hearing the recorded Cardinal singing

This Cardinal responded to the sound of recorded Cardinals, he sat in a tree above me

Honey bees on the corner of Mayfair and Terrebonne

For several years I've seen honey bees in the hydrangea bush on the corner of Mayfair and Terrebonne. I like seeing honey bees having been a beekeeper years ago, and most summers they're in my garden. By the way, this garden on Terrebonne is especially nice, it's probably one of the nicest gardens around here; it's not a typical garden, more of a cottage garden.