I’m barefoot, carefully feeling with my toes as I move along a sharply sloping rock face, because if I slip, it’s quick slide and a short drop into ccccold Lake Superior.
My cautious progress is taking me out to Agawa Rock in Lake Superior Provincial Park, a sacred site. Here, past generations of Ojibwe have come to record visions and events.
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Canada is undoubtedly singularly blessed with magnificent vistas. But in some parts of the country, sky and rocks, trees and water come together in spectacular and soul-stirring synchrony. Algoma is just such a place. Small wonder, then, that painting Algoma is an imperative for so many artists.
Artists like Lawren Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Johnston, A.Y. Jackson and Arthur Lismer – all members of Canada’s iconic Group of Seven – came here to paint these landscapes.
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A second marshmallow toasting on the flames and an open s’more ready for its addition.
Anyone who has grown up in Canada – camping, going to the cottage, or in the Scout or Girl Guide movements – knows all about s’mores. Short for “some more” they are so good, it’s what you have to say, “s’more please!” Note that Americans claim to have invented this treat but I believe they may have been the first to write down what Canadians had been doing for generations. Continue reading
The sun sets over Lake Muskoka
On this sunny, unseasonably warm day in a Muskoka forest, I have my eyes peeled for mushrooms. We’re having a Scavenger Hunt and all the items on our list can be found in this lovely stretch of woodland near Muskoka Soul‘s Cliff Bay House. A maple leaf is another challenge in this forest of oak and pine, but we find one. It’s a cooperative effort and I find myself revelling in the fresh forest scents. Continue reading
Gwen Robinson points out the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad stitched on this quilt, on display at the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society
The little town of Chatham, Ontario is the terminus of a very important railroad – one without tracks or engines. The Underground Railroad brought escaping slaves to Canada, and many found refuge in Chatham, which became known as the ‘Black Mecca’. Continue reading
