Saturday Photo: Fleur de lys or Iris…
We are half way through the week of summer’s first holidays around here. Quebec’s Fête nationale was last Wednesday and next Wednesday will be Canada Day. Such a strange time!…
Mary Soderstrom
Saturday Photo: Water Games and Rainbows…
The kids around here early in this crazy pandemic time began making rainbows to put in windows with the legend Ça va bien aller” which means It’s going to be…
Saturday Photo: April in Paris, June in Montreal…
The song says that the chestnuts bloom in April in Paris, and usually they bloom in Montreal in May. But this eyar, when the temperature has gone up and down,…
Saturday Photo: Just What the Doctor Ordered…
I think I’ve used this photo before, but it deserves another look. Dandelions are supposed to be weeds, and I must admit that I try to keep them out of…
Saturday Photo: The Flowers of the Week…and Thoughts on the Circle of Time
Hot weather arrived with a vengeance this week, and the tulips faded rapidly. But on the other hand some of the other late spring flowers burst into loveliness. Among them…
Saturday Photo: The Fountain across the Street…
Early in the morning when I go out I hear two things: the wind in the leaves, and water burbling in our neighbor’s fountain across the street. The leaves on…
Saturday Photo: The Gift of Tulips
Last year about this time our neighbour, the horticulturalist, brought home several hundred tulip bulbs that he’d saved from being thrown out. They’d been used to decorate the hall for…
Saturday Photo: The Great Influenza Should Be Required Reading…
Like everyone else I’ve been trying to make sense of what is happening and has been happening these last few months. Far too much time spent reading headlines from all…
Saturday Photo: Forsythia, and Rushing It
Forsythia in bloom in several places this morning! Nice and cheery to see! The other photo is obviously the project of someone who couldn’t wait for spring. I took a…
Saturday Photo: Sculpture in the Spring
An example of making something grand out of nothing: Glenn LeMesurier’s sculptures. For a couple of decades he’s been creating fascinating objects from discarded machine parts. This photo was taken…
Saturday Photo: Lots of These Around
The robins have been back for a couple of weeks, and are singing away early in the morning. Glad some things are happy. There is such a lot of sadness…
Saturday Photo: Geese Flying North, A Sign of Progress?
The sky has been full of geese this last week as Canada geese head north along the great St. Lawrence fly way. They pass over Montreal every spring and fall,…
Saturday Photo: Rainbows and « Ça va bien aller »
Kids here have been drawing and painting rainbows as a sign of hope in these troubled times. Posted in windows, they also are something to look for when the young…
Saturday Photo: Saving Lives in the Spanish Flu Pandemic
Because life right now can be pretty scary, I wrote the following for my grandkids this week. You might find it interesting too. A Story about How Your Great-Great Grandfather…
Saturday Photo: The Winter of Our Discontent…
The photo was taken 10 days ago when we were enjoying our escapade in Quebec City, on Wednesday, March 11 just after the sun came out to shine splendidly after…
Saturday Photo: Ice, Snow and Coronavirus
We spent a wonderful few days in Quebec City this week. The trip had been planned some time in advance, but I think we lucked out since Covid-19 was weighing…
Saturday Photo: Heading for a Little Escapade Closer to Home
This photo was taken a couple of years ago when we made a quick trip to Quebec City. The tourists were having a great time posing in the snow. We’re…
Saturday Photo: The Cover…
So this is the cover for my next book. Pretty nifty, I think. And also here’s a cartoon from the March 2, 2020 New Yorker. The caption is: “You might…
Saturday Photo: Concrete Getting Nearer
Next week I should get suggested revisions to my next book Concrete: From Ancient Origins to a Problematic Future. The University of Regina Press has set the publication date for…
Saturday Photo: Valentine a Little Late
Busy, complicated week, so I’m offering this Valentine a day late. It was made a couple of years ago when I was looking for something clever to send to my…