Autumn Scenes

Autumn Flight by Tom Lynch courtesy http://watercolourpainting.com.

Appalachian Folk by Walt Curlee courtesy http://fineartamerica.com.

A Wooded Path in Autumn Hans Anderson Brendekilde courtesy www.paintinghere.org.

Yellow Bungalo courtesy www.jenniferyoung.com.

Autumn Garden by Vincent Van Gogh courtesy www.all-paintings.com.




As autumn blooms, enjoy the warm colours and the fresh air.  While all of us are not painters, you might want to head to a conservation area or large park and see if any painters have set up their easels.  It's a perfect time to enjoy the outdoor scenery.  Let these paintings be your inspiration!

One is a Feast for Mouse

After a family of humans had dined on a Thanksgiving dinner, Mouse peeked out of his hidey-hole.  He first discovered a green pea which he carted back to his hole.  But upon his next visit to the table, he found a red cranberry.  Later he scooped up leftover mashed potatoes and roast turkey, a carrot stick, an olive and gravy, carting these leftovers back to his hole.  He was on his way back to his hidey-hole, when he was interrupted by another non-human -- the cat!  "Down crashed the pumpkin pie...the potatoes, the carrot stick, the olive, the cranberry and the pea."  The mouse scurried back to his hole and the cat ran out the door chased by his mistress' broomstick.  Mouse thought he would starve but then discovered "one teensy-tiny, round and toothsome, green and luscious pea."  Inside the cuckoo clock, sitting on a die, and resting his pea on a spool of thread for a table, he carved the pea for his dinner.  "One is a feast for mouse."

Sputnik in Space

 

 

Photo of Sputnik courtesy www.bisbos.com.

It was on this day in 1957 that the Soviets launched Sputnik into space.  Here are ten things you may not know about Sputnik.

1.  It was the first manmade satellite in space.

2.  It was the size of a basketball and weighed 180 pounds.

3.  It travelled at 18000 miles per hour and floated 500 miles above the Earth.

4.  According to the New York Times, Sputnik means "something that is travelling with a traveller.

5.  It orbitted the earth for 98 minutes, flying over the United States seven times.

6.  Sputnik contained a radio transmitter which emitted a "beep, beep, beep" for 23 days until its battery died out.

7.  The satellite orbitted in space until January 4, 1958 when it burned up returning into the atmosphere.

8.  Sptunik 2, weighing 1100 pounds, carried a dog named Laika.  Sadly, they had no plan to retrieve the dog which died in space.

9.  Americans were caught off guard.  They wondered if the Soviets had missiles capable of targetting the U.S.  Would the Americans ever be able to catch up with the Soviets in the space race?

10.  Americans sent Explorer 1 into space on January 31, 1958.  Later that year, the National Aeronautics & Space Act (NASA) was created.

Photo of New York Times courtesy www.boingboing.net.

 

 

 

Little Authors

When I was pregnant with my daughter Jacqueline, I taught Grade 2.  For our creative writing program I would have the students write a story each week.  I would give them a designated topic and then they would write a story.  At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of a four sentence story.  Then each week we would add a sentence.  I was amazed at how some of the students would give me more sentences than I'd asked for; they had ideas galore as their imaginations worked overtime.  They were little authors! 

However, there were two kids in the class who struggled.  One boy's first story looked like it had been typed on a typewriter; it was a series of random letters.  The other boy wrote:  "Me ma ma mooe."  His verbal translation was:  "My mother made me go to preschool."  I knew I had my work cut out for me, but I also knew that these two boys were willing to learn.

Each week, I chose a "story of the week" which I would type out and display on our bulletin board.  Each week these two boys would strive to write one sentence on their own while some of the other students were writing ten.  Needless to say, both boys also struggled with reading. 

However, as time went by, they started to gain confidence.  They started to print words on their own.  They started to get the concept of what a sentence was (and later, a story).  Finally, in the Spring, first one and then the other boy received the Story of the Week award and had their compositions mounted on the wall for all to see.  They were little authors, too. 

I miss that class and I miss their love of creative writing.  I was so proud of my students, especially the two boys who had struggled.  They persevered and they never gave up!  Who knows?  They might go to college and become journalists one day. 

 

 

Image courtesy www.jamestownri.com.

 

Curiosity Killed the Cat

We had high drama tonight at our house.  The basement was stinky from the litter box which needed cleaning.  So I opened the back windows to let the fresh air in.  Our cat Midnight climbed up on the windowsill to look outside as she often does.  However, this time she also climbed up on the second window sill.  I didn't realize that the screen was ripped and before I knew it she was outside.  Then Jacqueline was climbing out the window to go after her.  I called for Thomas and the two of us ran outside into the backyard to retrieve her.  However, in the short time that it took us to get out there, she had already climbed up on the fence.  The two dogs next door, a German sheperd/husky mix and a pug, had already killed two groundhogs last year.  They went after Midnight who scaled up the side of our house to get away from them, but not before they took a chunk out of her tail.  Our neighbour grabbed the dogs and stuffed them in his house.  We arrived in time to see Midnight, her back completely arched, her tail missing a chunk of fur and her eye, bloody.  I was afraid to look to see what the damage was.  I gently picked her up and felt right away that her heart was pumping to beat the band.  Her eyes were open, but the left one was bloody around the edge.  And she had a little white thing sticking out of her mouth (maybe a bird's feather).  While Midnight was traumatized by the dogs, Jacqueline was traumatized by seeing her katze injured.  We took her inside and she walked gingerly around, and slowly laid down.  Her left eye started to ooze blood and she closed her eyes, shaking her head back and forth.  Jacqueline asked:  "Is Midnight going to die?"  Although I was pretty sure she was okay, I didn't want to take any chances so I phoned the vet and they were willing to take her right away.  So, into the cage went Midnight, reluctantly albeit.  I drove across town to the vet.  He examined her tail which seemed fine other than the missing chunk of fur.  Then he cleaned and examined her eye.  I felt like I had a third child as I waited anxiously to see if she was okay.  Thankfully, her retina was not scratched; it appeared like the bleeding was due to her trauma, something Thomas had diagnosed back at the house.  The doctor gave him an antibiotic shot and an anti-inflammatory shot.  On the drive home, Midnight seemed a lot calmer.  Rob had been filled in by the neighbour about the night's drama.  Jacqueline had a smile on her face, knowing that Midnight was going to be just fine (her big brother Thomas cuddled with her to calm her down while I was at the vet).  Jacqueline had laid out some fresh wet food for the cat which she proceeded to finish off, always a good sign.  All is well again in the Jonasson household. 

                                                  

  

Flying Elephants & Mad Tea Parties

It was on October 1, 1971, that ten thousand guests arrived at the gates of Disney World.  Motorists paid 50 cents to park their cars.  The monorail took them from the parking lot to the front gates of the Magic Kingdom.  At the turnstiles, they purchased tickets:  adults were $3.50, juniors were $2.50 and children were $1.00.  Inside the gates of the Magic Kingdom, a Dixieland band played "It's a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" and a parade made it's way down Main Street U.S.A.  Ambient music wafted over loudspeakers as guests made their way along the streets. 

Walt Disney, who had passed away in December of 1966, was so excited about the prospect of building Disney World.  He had pointed out that, at 27,500 acres, they had the luxury of space in Florida, something they didn't have at Disneyland in California.  He had laid out a plan for several lands including:  Adventureland, where guests could lounge on the Jungle Cruise; Fantasyland, where children could ride the Dumbo Flying Elephants or Mad Tea Party; Frontierland where guests could practice at a shooting gallery; Liberty Square where guests could be educated at the Hall of Presidents; and Tomorrowland where guests could visit the Grand Prix.  And of course the "piece de resistance" was the Cinderella Castle where guests could dine. 

Although the media had anticipated that 200,000 to 300,000 guests would arrive on opening day, that was not the case.  October was the off season, for one thing.  Also, the official opening would not take place until later that month when NBC would televise a program hosted by Bob Hope and featuring guests like Julie Andrews. 

Because of the smaller crowds and because of previous experience, organizers were able to avoid some of the mishaps at Disneyland 16 years before.  Walt Disney's dream was seen to its fruition, thanks in large part to his brother Roy.  Sadly Roy passed away in December of 1971.  But the Disney dream continued:  Epcot was built in 1982,  Hollywood studios in 1989, and Animal Kingdom in 1998. Even with this expansion, Disney is not close to filling its 27, 500 acres.  Happy Birthday, Disney World!

 

 

Cinderella Castle surrounded by cast of 5000 on opening day.

Boxcar Trips to the Barren North

 

 

Lake Superior, 1925.

The other day I wrote a post called "A Dead Tree Really Isn't Dead".  In the meantime, I googled paintings of dead trees and noticed that Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris liked to paint such landscapes.  In fact, according to one website:  "The starkness of the north shore [of Lake Superior] attracted Lawren Harris."  The painter's works became so famous that as of 2008, his paintings could fetch a million dollars or more.

Lawren Harris, the heir to the Massey-Harris fortune (remember Massey Ferguson tractors?), was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario.  In fact, we have a street in the northwest corner named after the painter.  He studied art in Germany for four years and later served in the First World War.  Upon his return to Canada, he continued his painting career, teaming up with fellow Canadian painters like MacDonald, Jackson, etc.  (Tom Thomson had tragically drown at Algonquin Park in 1917.)

In the Fall of 1918, Lawren decided to take the future Group of Seven on some painting excursions via boxcar.  The Algoma Central Railway loaned the artists Car #10557 and they headed north of Sault Saint Marie to paint.  Equipped with bunks, tables, chairs, book shelves, a stove, a canoe, food and other amenities, the men were prepared for weeks.  At certain points, the engineer would unhitch the boxcar, leave it on a side line, and the painters would either canoe or hike to their destination like Agawa Canyon, the Montreal River falls, or Batchawana Bay.  There, they would sketch the scenery for hours on end. 

Much of what they sketched became paintings that were exhibited at the Group of Seven's first Art Gallery of Ontario exhibit in 1920.  The boxcar trips continued until 1923.  However, even when they ended, Lawren Harris continued to paint the stark scenes of Ontario's north.  Lake Superior came out in 1925 and North Shore, Lake Superior the following year.  The latter, arguably his most famous painting, shows rays of light shining down on a dead tree.  Known for his spiritualism, the rays of light remind me of God's light.  Although the scenes were stark, God's abundance was still evident. 

Lawren Harris passed away in 1970 but his work is still recognized worldwide.  In 2008, one of his paintings sold for 1.38 million dollars.  He is credited with being the founding member of the Group of Seven, a group that will not soon be forgotten.

 

 

North Shore, Lake Superior, 1926.