Flying Machine

Oh! Say! Let us fly, dear,

Where, kid? To the sky, dear.

Oh you flying machine!

Jump in, Miss Josephine...

Just before we left the orchard yesterday, we heard the roar of a prop engine and saw this strange vehicle rolling across the horizon. And as we were all trying to figure out what it was, it took to the sky...
I think every person, young and old, on the hillside stopped and watched in a mixture of awe and delight. My friends' daughter put it best: "It's Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang."

It was the kind of thing that seemed more likely to happen in the world of Roald Dahl than here in our little corner of the world.

It's hard to be cynical in a world that surprises you with stupendous flying machines.

Apple Picking

Took advantage of a beautiful autumn day to head out to the Everett Family Orchard to pick some apples.

Commemorating the picking of the first apple.

Kicked over my apple bag while in my photo frenzy. Made these bags last year for Denis and me. Perfect for holding about 10 pounds of Cortlands.

There was no way we were leaving without getting this snapshot. Love the look on Denis' face.

And LOVE this picture of Denis. He's my quiet friend, if you can believe it.

The Good Lovelies

Last night Denis and I hit Crumbs for a show by the Good Lovelies. Their self-titled album has been in constant rotation on my playlist for the past week and their live show did not disappoint.

These girly-girls ("we have a strict no pants policy.") come armed with a van-load of instruments, pitch-perfect three-part harmony, clever catchy tunes and hilarious repartee. It would be impossible to be gloomy while watching them dissolve into a genuine and spontaneous giggle fit on stage.

I kind of want them to follow me around with their banjos and banter.

They have a Christmas album coming out in November and I cannot wait!!

Really... the banjo is completely under-rated...

Doing a cover of the Boswell sisters "Heebie Jeebies".

Who wouldn't want to spend the evening with these girls?

Vagabond Song

Bliss Carman Middle School officially opened last night so this morning, at the start of a new month, this poem seems appropriate...

A Vagabond Song

THERE is something in the autumn that is native to my blood—
Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.

~Bliss Carman~

To Market, To Market

Chilly morning out there but it didn't stop the crowds at the market...

Another opening to another show

September brings a new season of shows at the UNB Art Centre at Memorial Hall. Tonight they unveiled Neurotica: a journey into the obsession of the mind.... by SilverFish Photography Collective.

SilverFish is a diverse group of Fredericton photographers who exhibit together usually a couple of times a year. They work with a variety of techniques and equipment from digital and Polaroid, vintage equipment and mixed media. For this show 10 photographers took on the challenge of obsessions - with the mundane and the bizarre, with beauty, with sex and with self.

The result is a cohesive show thas still allows each artist's own voice and style to come through.


Loving Rachel Brodie's pieces exploring the love of and fear of home.

It was interesting to see Chris Giles' work in digital. More accustomed to seeing him explore older techniques.

My lovely and amazing friend Lori Quick not only mounted the show and designed and produced the catalogue, she's also one of the SilverFish photogs. She first told me of her idea for this show over coffee back in February or March. It's wonderful to watch a piece grow from an idea through to a fully-realized installation. Lori explores our obsession with beauty. Across the mirror are the little questions and self-doubts thast fill our heads, particularly as women. On the dressing table are flip-books of photographs detailing all those rituals we go through in our obsessive pursuit of perfection.

I love that Lori so frequently brings an interactive element to her work, inviting viewers to become participants.

A portait of the artist and her mother. You can check out Neurotica at Mem Hall until October 23.

Autumn's Here

A morning meeting at the Crowne Plaza provided a good excuse for a morning walk along the river...

How do people live in places without changing seasons?

Glad the clock on City Hall is working again...

I can't imagine living somewhere land-locked. It's not the ocean but the St. John River is alright by me.