TULIPES – TULIPS – LALE

Tags

Dromore PEI, PEI, Spring, tulips, Vanco

It is said that the tulip flower comes from Turkey and its shape inspired the turbans worn by Ottoman Officials and the Sultan.

Whatever the story here is a photo taken this week at Vanco Farms in Dromore PEI. A giant field of tulips about 25 varieties grown here on the Island for markets in Canada and elsewhere. Quite the sight to see, impressive, no need to fly to Holland to see this sight. It will be all over in a few more days when the tulips will be cut and will be available here and elsewhere. In fact I have bough tulips as early as a month ago at the local market, the price is anywhere from $5 to $8 dollars a bunch. Makes such a beautiful bouquet.

Spring is blooming in all directions at the Vanco Farms in the 50-acre tulip field in Dromore. Between 20 and 25 varieties – millions of bulbs – are planted, creating row after row of colour. The process of topping, which is cutting off the flowers, will take place in the next seven to 10 days.

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An air for Spring

Tags

1752, France, J.J.Rouseeau, operette, Spring

Today is such a wonderful day, full of sunshine and flowers everywhere, despite the cold breeze. Nothing better than to listen to this operette by Jean-Jacques Rousseau of 1752 to put you in the mood, so let’s all go into the garden  dansez sous les ormeaux!

 

Allons danser sous les ormeaux,
Animez–vous jeunes fillettes :
Allons danser sous les ormeaux,
Galans prenez vos chalumeaux.
Les Villageoises répetent ces quatre vers.

Colette.

Répétons mille chansonnettes,
Et pour avoir le cœur joyeux,
Dansons avec nos amoureux,
Mais n’y restons jamais seulettes.
Allons danser sous les ormeaux, &c.

Les Villageoises.

Allons danser sous les ormeaux, &c.

Colette.

À la Ville on fait bien plus de fracas ;
Mais sont–ils aussi gais dans leurs ébats ?
Toujours contens,
Toujours chantans ;
Beauté sans fard,
Plaisir sans art ;
Tous leurs Concerts valent–ils nos musettes ?
Allons danser sous les ormeaux, &c.

Because it’s Spring

Tags

flowers, Fox, Spring

The weather is most Spring like now, mild winds and sunny days.

A photo by Paul g. our official provincial animal the Red Fox with her little cub. The big black crow which is also plentiful in Charlottetown is nesting in the tree beside our house and we can also hear the little ones.

Beautiful white magnolias just around the corner from us. Flowers everywhere.

 

Early Spring

Tags

art work, Canada 150, Monkman, natives, Spring, Storms

Tonight we are on our fifth storm that was not, all Winter we had alerts for disruptive snow storms etc. One after the other did not materialize, because of the position of the Island Province winds have a great impact on the trajectory of storms, what is coming at you one moment suddenly moves into another direction and misses us completely. I am not  complaining but here the impact is serious, often because many small communities are isolated and some roads are not paved, schools will close for the day, in some cases government services will also be shut early. If the storm does not come or is 12 hours late and passes over us in the dead of night, it causes a lot of disruption in daily lives. Today the storm did not materialize and is 6 hours late, giving us light snow which melts on contact.

I was at the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre this week and spoke with the Director about the Summer Exhibit and my availability as guide. I am very much looking forward to the new Summer show. It will be on the Canada 150, though the celebration of 2017 are over, this travelling exhibit criss-crossed Canada and is now coming here in a few weeks. The main artist is well known, Kent Monkman, a Cree native whose reputation is well established. His large canvasses will be accompanied and displayed with art pieces from the Glenbow Museum as reference to his own interpretation to the history of the last 150 years in Canada.

One piece is entitled the Scream and refers to the policy of the National Government to kidnap native children from their parents in order to civilize them in the notorious Residential Schools.

The Scream, Kent Monkman.

I know that this exhibit will be very controversial and many may not like it at all. A difficult topic on the abuse of the authorities against natives in Canada. As a guide I am not tasked with explaining national history nor taking sides or defending the actions of the national government at the time but to present the point of view of the artist, letting the public decide for themselves about the art work on show.

In the 19th century, the Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating and caring for aboriginal people in Canada. It thought their best chance for success was to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. Ideally, they would pass their adopted lifestyle on to their children, and native traditions would diminish, or be completely abolished in a few generations.

The Canadian government developed a policy called “aggressive assimilation” to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, later called residential schools. The government felt children were easier to mold than adults, and the concept of a boarding school was the best way to prepare them for life in mainstream society.

Residential schools were federally run, under the Department of Indian Affairs. Attendance was mandatory for children in the many communities that didn’t have day schools. Agents were employed by the government to ensure all native children attended school.

The last school closed in 1996, there were 80 such schools in Canada operated by Churches both Protestant and Catholic. Some 150,000 children passed through the system in 110 years with devastating effects.

 

Tulip a sign of Spring

Tags

Birthday, Canada., cuisine, Election, municipal, Spring, tulips

PEI grown tulips have now appeared everywhere, they are grown here on the Island by Vanco a Dutch/Canadian family, their grow operation is just a few minutes away from Charlottetown.

On Sunday we will change the clocks to one hour forward Canada Atlantic Time. This means that days will automatically be longer with more sun light, so a strong signal that Spring is here. Someone told me today that the Cruise ships will be back in 8 weeks, we are scheduled to receive 94 cruise ships carrying on average 2000 passengers this year. Yes they all come up Prince Street and make a left turn at Water Street, they pass under my window, all of them. Walking with maps etc the way tourists do in every city in the World, oh joy!

Winter 2017-18 has been mild, no major storms and very little snow, I call it a European Winter though Europe got a lot more snow than we did. We always have very high wind storm in the 60 to 90Km range which can be spooky if you are not use to them, but living on the Island in Winter you become accustomed quickly.

Since 15 February (Canadian Flag Day) I have been busy with my municipal electoral campaign. The key is to meet everyone at least twice in my Ward, population 2300.

ward1councillor2018.wordpress.com

Given that a lot of our friends and neighbours have gone South this Winter, I was starting to think that we too should have gone away for at least one week. Now I have so many commitments that it is somewhat difficult to get away.

As a little project I decided to look at our book shelves again, in the last 40 yrs we have done this periodically. Many books have been given away to the Library or sold at the Used Book store for 0.50 cents. On our trips we often pick-up pamphlets of places we visited and will read them but after a few years they become irrelevant and sit forlorn on the shelve, time to go out.

I just discovered a Williams-Sonoma Easter Menus by Chuck Williams who died at 100 in 2015, the recipes look interesting but I know we are not going to do this for Easter this year or in years to come.

I also discovered books on Canadian Cuisine, one on Fish dishes published in 1959 and the other is the famous cookbook of Chef Jehane Benoit publishes in 1970, she compiled Canadian recipes from all 10 provinces, demonstrating that Canadian Cuisine does exist and is varied. Unfortunately nowadays you would be hard pressed to find a Canadian who knows anything about Canadian original dishes. This is why I am disappointed when people point out Poutine as a Canadian dish when in fact it’s was created in 1957 by a truck driver who had little to eat and combined a bunch of ingredients he had on hand. Later cheap eateries to make a fast buck started to feature it on menus.

And in 2 weeks another Birthday will be upon me, years roll by with alarming frequency. I calculated that if I live to be as old as my parents, I should have another 23 years to go, not bad really, but strange nonetheless.

I leave you with this beautiful photo of the driveway of the Official Residence of H.E. the Ambassador of Canada to the Empire of Japan in Tokyo. It is called Marler House after it’s builder Sir Herbert Marler who in 1931 built at his own expense this magnificent residence famed for its spectacular gold leaf ceiling in the grand dining room and its silver leaf ceiling in the morning room. The house is across the street from one of the Imperial Palaces in central Tokyo and sits in a grand park. I visited this famed residence about 10 years ago, one word comes to mind, elegance.

 

 

 

Happy Easter!

Tags

crocus, dogs, Easter, Faith, flowers, Parsifal, Spring

Listening to passages of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal on this Good Friday. A beautiful sunny bright day, our little puppies are on the balcony taking the Sun, it is for mid-April a nice Spring day, the whole weekend is shaping up to be nice.

Tulips and crocuses are sprouting, birds are signing and people are moving their boats to the Marina, got to be Spring. I had my Summer tires put on this week and car is tuned up. The dealership even washed the car for me, I thought that was a nice gesture. The City has started street cleaning and the brushes our out.

Can’t wait to put the flower boxes out, this is a great spot in the morning for coffee and watching the boats on the Hillsborough river.

A few weeks ago, me at Maid Marian, the Diner in Charlottetown. Celebrating 30 years, a great place for breakfast and coffee, old fashion, clean, good service. This is the place to meet the snow plough operators in Winter, the farmers, the TV and Radio personalities, local personalities and politicians. I am wearing my ball cap because this is official wear if you are an Islander. This is how we can tell who is from away, like them tourists.

Crocuses around the house.

Happy Easter! 

 

 

Spring

Tags

PEI, Spring

Well Spring will be with us very soon and though Winter on the Island this year has been mild compared to 2015, overall charts indicate that in general Winters on the Atlantic are not as cold and unpleasant as those I remember from Central Canada, (Ontario-Quebec)

 

Kyoto Spring time

Cherry Blossom Time

Tags

Canada., Cherry blossom, Daylight saving time, PEI, Spring

In just 6 days on Sunday 12 March in Canada we will return to Summer time or Day light saving time. Winter is over!

Nishi Izu, Kisho no Fuji, 1937. (good fishing by Fuji)

artist Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)

Randomness

Tags

Italia, Primavera, Rome, Spring, Via dei Villini

What I like about Ottawa is the fact that Spring last exactly one day, yep 24 hours and then boom we are in the heat of Summer. After the awful and long cold Winter was it 6+ months I am not complaining.

On the First of May we are just a week away from the Tulip Festival in Ottawa a 65 year old tradition, a gift of the Royal House of Orange (The Nederland). The Rideau Canal will re-start its boating activities, first filling it, which will take about 48 hours.

The trees are full of buds and lots of flowers have started to appear. In April I put in about 76 hours of volunteer time at the National Gallery.

So here are some photos of Rome in Spring, if you feel like just getting on the plane and going to Italy.

The Corazzieri, Italian Presidential bodyguard at the Vittoriano in central Rome.

Neighbourhood scenery, Corazzieri at the Quirinal Palace, a frequent scene in Rome, part of everyday life. You have to be a minimum of 6.3 feet to be in the Corazzieri, they are very tall guards.

Inside the Quirinal Palace an Officer and guard, note the white gloves and he sword, part of the ceremonial. Beautiful palace built by the Pope as a summer retreat on the Quirinal Hill just 2 Km from the Apostolic Palace on Vatican Hill. It became the Royal Palace in 1870 when the King of Italy relocated the Capital from Turin to Rome. It is now the Official Residence of the President of the Italian Republic since 1946. It is an enormous place, in ancient times the Baths of Constantine stood on the site with the Temple of the Egyptian Goddess Isis. The beautiful and rare marble of that temple were re-used in the Palace of Prince Colonna which is just steps away. Open on Saturday morning only. The Colonna family can be so gracious that way with the masses.

LungoTevere, the sidewalk along the Tiber River, a shady oasis in the heat of Summer.

Piazza Venezia in central Rome, with the old Corso stretching all the way down to Piazza del Popolo. The Palace on the left of the photo is the Bonaparte Palace where the Mother of Napoleon took refuge after her son was exiled. Madame Letizia lived for many years in that Palace in seclusion and was under the protection of the Pope. The little green loggia is where she sat everyday watching the Piazza below. The building on the right has a yellow awning and it is a good place for a cup of Espresso, only 0.80 cents if you drink it standing up at the bar and 5 Euros if you sit down.

Madame Letizia Buonaparte (1750-1836)

The Pinciana Gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, looking out towards the entrance to the Villa Borghese gardens.

Villa Borghese Gardens in central Rome, such a peaceful and beautiful place, so very nice to walk in.

Temple of Asclepius in the Villa Borghese gardens

One of my favourite fountain in Rome, the Family of the Satyr in the park of the Villa Borghese.

Entrance Hall of the Villa Borghese museum, built by Cardinal Scipio Borghese the nephew of the Pope, simply as a place to rest and have lunch with friends. I love the coloured marble floors. No one ever lived in this palace, it was just a quiet day retreat for the Cardinal. This photo shows you the wealth of the decor a bit of a sensory overload.

Since it is Spring, a former neighbours house in Rome covered in Wysteria in May. It only lasts about 8 days a year. Just beautiful to look at. The house is on Corso Trieste. I often wondered who lived there.

The entrance portico of the Villa Giulia built by Pope Julius III in 1551 as a retreat to get away from the Vatican and the politics of it all. Today it is the Etruscan Museum. It is decorated as if it was an antique Roman Villa.

Rose Garden of the City of Rome across from the Circus Maximus and the Palatine. It was the former Jewish cemetery of the City. Jews have lived in Rome for 3000 years, we have stories to tell.

A corner of our living room on Via Dei Villini in Rome, Spring of 2011.

Our driveway and our street Via Dei Villini, Rome. If I ever returned to live in Rome this would be the neighbourhood for me, so central to everything and so Roman. The area is near Porta Pia and Via Nomentana