CHANGE IN THE AIR

ByLee Ann

Hello there!

Can you feel it yet? The change of season happened in my neighbourhood last Wednesday. I awoke to a difference in the air: a particular freshness, a unique clarity that characterizes autumn air, lighter than the least-humid day summer can provide.

Usually for me, this change during September marks a kind of new year, a leftover from my school days, of course. I remember the fragrance of new paper, binders and pencil crayons! Ahhh… 🙂

This year, I am delaying my “back to routine” until mid-month, after returning from a getaway to Fort McMurray and Canmore, Alberta. (Two places I insist every Canadian should visit – and I do tend to carry on emphatically about both places, just warning you!)

Once I do get back, I’ll be finishing three writing projects, which will take me through to the end of the year. And I can honestly say I have no idea what creative project(s) I’ll take on next. So many of my passionate pursuits have been completed in the last year or so!

Ever been in this situation? It’s not a first for me either. I know enough to know that something will grab my attention and I’ll be off again. Meantime, some reflection and some creative questioning are in order.

This month’s poem helped me express this “state of in between” where I currently find myself. It was inspired by a different kind of scene than I usually write from. I was in Niagara on the July 1 weekend when I spotted this and said to my sister, “Oh, that’s a poem!” Hope you enjoy “Sidewalk Ends.”

Lee Ann

INTERPRETATION

ByLee Ann

Hello there! I hope your summer has been sunny and relaxing so far.

I’ve assigned myself some rest and rejuvenation time this season, with an eye to the writing projects I have on deck for the fall and winter. So for now, I’m reading and re-reading some Canadian historical fiction (more on that soon) and generally allowing a pace of life that gives me plenty of time to take in the sky, the backyard view, and a few local events.

Ah, summer!

Meanwhile,  at the owaa gallery where I display some of my artwork, is an exhibition that I’m particularly excited about. It’s called “Interpretations,” where members were invited to interpret a photograph of Blakeney Rapids by owaa President John Edkins. You can see that photo on the main page of John’s website.

The resulting interpretations (for those members who took up the challenge) are fabulous in all their variations. I’d like to invite you to have a look, either in person at the CardelRec Recreation Complex in Stittsville, or virtually via the owaa website. Please consider this an opportunity to relax for a few moments and see what one piece of art can spark in other people. Who knows – maybe this will trigger some latent creativity in you!

My take on John’s photo can be seen at the gallery, or here.

I’ll be back here next month. Hope you will too!

Lee Ann

THE TWO FACES OF SPRING 2019

ByLee Ann

Hello there!

After many false starts and a cruel false promise that the snow-pack would melt slowly, Spring unleashed ferocious flooding in both Ottawa and Muskoka, my two home places. Our own properties are dry and safe, but many people endured evacuations during the past couple of weeks and now face despairing restorations of their homes and cottages.

So I begin this season – typically my favourite of the year – with mixed emotions. Sadness and helplessness stirred together with hope, as Nature starts to offer gentle, warm days and that gorgeous new green of unfurling leaves. Bitter-sweet this year.

This month’s poem has that same mix of emotion, which I thought was fitting for the kind of spring we are having in my neighbourhoods.

May you always find hope emerging!

Here’s Minds and Hearts.

Lee Ann

WINTER’S LAST HURRAH

ByLee Ann

Hello there!

Is it spring yet in your neighbourhood? Here in Ottawa we’re savouring the return of the songbirds and so far, a safe, slow melt of the snow pack.

I’m changing up my indoor decor: bye-bye pine cones and evergreen boughs, hello cherry blossoms and Easter eggs!

But winter lingers as we welcome April. On two recent weekend getaways in the local area, I found plenty of photographic and poetic inspiration from winter’s final days.

Ice in Lily-pad shapes suspended over a creek, Mont Tremblant Quebec
Ice formation on rock ridge, Mont Tremblant Quebec

Spring has her own pace. Never fast enough for me, but in the meantime, I went on the hunt for hope this afternoon. Here’s what I found:

HOPE in the form of a garlic sprout, Lee Ann’s garden

May you find signs of spring in your own back yard! While you wait for her to show up, I’ll invite you to click on over to the latest photo and poem, inspired during winter’s final days. Hope you enjoy it!

Lee Ann