A Monarch finds Bliss

                               

Yes, one of the few monarchs we saw this summer found our purple cone flowers! Here she is feasting!

She visited all the cone flowers and golden rod but did not feast on the Queen Anne's Lace. She was a very welcome sight since we have not seen many monarchs this summer. Maybe next year there will be a recovery of this much loved visitor.

Big Hazel, Poppa, Little Hazel, Chris in the Fall Woods

 Our grandkids have moved to Calgary and when the fall foliage came this year we missed walking in the woods with them. Instead I did a painting of the lovely fall colours and drew an imaginary picture of the four of us walking in Le Moins Point. I wish it was a real photo of all of us out for a walk.

                         

Banff Hot Springs

While we were visiting Banff we walked to the Hot Springs for a look around. What an interesting place with the hot springs and pool and trails. We walked along a few trails and when we followed one path we looked at this wonderful view of these mountains. The marsh in the fore ground had changed to its beautiful fall colours and I had to paint this when we got home.

                                     

A Special Cottage

A friend asked me to do a painting of an uncles cottage. Here is the finished building and if you look closely you will see something hidden in the painting that is a special memory for that uncle. Hope you can find it.

                         

A Pass in the Rockies

We spent a day in Banff while visiting out west. This is a town that calls to tourists! Flowering window boxes and railing boxes, large and numerous barrels on the streets overflowing with flowers and so many shops, aimed at tourists. Oh the art galleries! I could have spent a lot longer in those, but grandkids are just not into it, so we moved on. Many town homes and small condo complexes line the Main Street but they are very well done and fit in well with the general atmosphere. We did not see any high apartment buildings, since they would have definitely spoiled the view of the towering mountains all around. What a lovely town! 

This is a pass we pulled over so that I could take a photo. It is oils on a canvas 16x20.

                               

A Train Trip to Calgary

A couple of weeks ago, we set off on the Transcontinental Train, from Toronto to Calgary. What a wonderful way to travel; so relaxing and enjoyable. The great country of Canada unfolded out our window. First there was Ontarios northland, then the prairies. The observation car with its glass dome gave us a 360 degree view! So beautiful. We enjoyed the three days and nights to Edmonton and after about eight days with our son and daughter in law and grandkids we returned the same way. The dining car with its white linen tablecloths and china and great service was incredible, and so was the food. Moving about on the rails was challenging with the constant swaying and bumps. Everyone had to be careful, even the serving staff, who managed not to spill a drop of soup or coffee. We were not used to bunk beds and the small ladder made it challenging. We were constantly reminded that Via rents the track fron CN when we pulled over and waited for the freight trains to pass. There is a lot of freight travel !!!!!!!! On the prairies the wheat and other crops had been harvested and we think they were moving ALL this on the rails when we were there!!!

I managed to do some small watercolour pictures while sitting in the activity car. 

                               

         

                                              

Kingston Mills

During August, on one Wed. Paint Out, we went to Kingston Mills to paint. We have been there other years so to make the location a little different we met at the eastern side of the locks. ( there was another reason as well). There is a swing bridge at the lock and when I made the schedule in May they were planning to close the bridge to facilitate work. We really had no idea how long this would take so when we planned this location I directed artists to approach the locks from the Highway 15 direction. This meant they did not have to cross the bridge and there was plenty of parking. This is the view when we parked.