Wednesday, July 31st, 2019

Photo Spot, Val Estrie Trails

Iris once sat here & told me to take a photo of her, just her alone.

I think of it every time I pass this spot in the woods.

 

Saturday, July 27th, 2019

Bales Behind the House

(long post warning)

 

When we got back from camping, the field behind our house was mown. They came to turn and dry the hay, then yesterday, they baled it. The plan for today was to go down early in the morning to get photographs of the scattered bales and the children playing. But even before we sat down for breakfast, I heard the tractor’s noise. And there they were, picking up the bales! Quick! We ran outside to watch.

 

 

 

Akiva likes watching the tractor lift the bales to place them on the trailer.

 

 

 

Iris is a bit nervous that she might get squished.

 

 

 

Finally, all the trailers are full and off to be unloaded.

The tractor driver left a long row of waiting balesβ€” for us!

Martin leans over to take a good sniff & Akiva steps on.

 

 

 

On top!

 

 

 

With few minor adjustments to move the bails closerβ€”

 

 

 

off they goβ€” across the bales!

 

 

 

Back againβ€”

 

 

 

and off the top!

 

 

 

Back onβ€”

 

 

 

and on across the balesβ€”

 

 

 

and back again.

 

 

 

A few more adjustments to close the gapsβ€”

 

 

 

and away they run.

 

 

 

Back up to the high endβ€”

 

 

 

and jump down again!

 

 

 

Up, back up on top of the balesβ€”

 

 

 

and running!

 

 

 

Back down again. Off the top.

 

 

 

Back on Earth, Iris discovers left-over hay. What a waste! She gathers it.

 

 

 

Akiva is not quite done on top. He finds it is more efficient to gather hay directly from the bales.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Iris has trotted back home to get some yarn and a pair of scissors.

She has an idea.

 

 

 

Akiva gathers hay directly from the balesβ€”

(which is bothersome to Iris, because her project was to glean the field)β€”

 

 

 

he hands it to Martinβ€”

 

 

 

and Iris ties it into smaller round bales.

 

 

 

Martin ends up with big muscles from rolling bales and lifting kiddos before changing out of his pyjamasβ€”

 

 

 

Akiva ends up covered in hay scratchesβ€”

 

 

 

Iris ends up with some lovely, small round bales to feed our prospective bunnyβ€”

 

 

 

and I end up with over a hundred photographs to sort and process! How lovely!

 

 

 

The end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, July 24th, 2019

Camping du Pont Couvert, day 2

Girls Bathing

 

 

 

Boys Playing

 

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019

Camping du Pont Couvert

Camping du Pont Couvert is only 15 minutes from home.

Martin passes by each night for dinner on his way home from work.

 

  *   *   * 

 

Tabea, looking like the little girl she is.

Inside this little girl is a magnificent brain, re-inventing the future as she sucks her thumb.

 

 

 

Akiva, looking like the little boy he is.

Inside this little boy is endless charm and fledgling mastery. Women swoon. Strong men tremble.

 

Tuesday, July 16th, 2019

Ashes to Ashes

All ashes to ashes,

All ashes to dust.

 

 

All ashes, all ashes,

All ashes to dust.

Monday, July 15th, 2019

The Buried Boy

She buried him alive

 

 

 

 in the sandbox,

 

 

 

one shovelful at a time,

 

 

 

and slowly.

 

 

 

She watched him writheβ€”

 

 

 

and laughed with glee when he broke free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, July 8th, 2019

The Piano Obsession.

There was an old woman tossed up in a basket

Seventeen times as high as the moon

And where she was going, I couldn’t help ask it

For under her arm, she carried a broom.

“Old woman, old woman, old woman,” quoth I,

“Where are you going, up so high?”

“To sweep the cobwebs off the skyβ€”

And I’ll be with you, by and by.”

β€”M. Goose

 

We saw her yesterday in Compton. A womanβ€” destined to be an old woman if all goes wellβ€” with a broom under her arm. Or over her head. Well, anyhow, she was making brooms. She remembered Iris from last year. She remembered the tiny veggie scrubber they had worked on together. She remembered how much of it they had made and she said to Iris, “This year, you are old enough to make your own broom.” She sat Iris in front of her on her broom-maker’s bench and made a broom with her. She was absolutely delightful and I didn’t say thank you nearly enough.

 

When we walked down to the school today, we took the broom so that I could carve Iris’s name & yesterday’s date on it, as Madame KeeVanne (a.k.a. Julie Jo) had said to do.

 

 

 

I took my camera with me, as you can tell. That’s becoming a rare event these days. I used to take it everywhere! I’m not sure what happened. Perhaps I got disgruntled with the quality of the lighting at the apartment. Perhaps I got distracted my a myriad of things to do. But I did take my camera. I like to document my children, to prove their youth and beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back, we stopped at the woods piano. These days, one has to hunt for piano keys on the ground if one wishes to play the piano with piano keys.

 

 

 

Akiva is my main piano player. He appreciates all pianos.

 

 

 

This was once an integral part of a once-beautiful upright grand piano.

 

 

 

Iris & Akiva play a duet.

 

 

 

Akiva bangs out a solo. 

 

 

 

Keys. There once were keys.

 

 

Brief photographic timeline of the woods piano:

Broken Down Piano: September 11, 2017

How Fares the Piano? April 9, 2018

Val-Estrie Piano (again): May 30, 2018

Decline of the Woods Piano (Winter): January 1, 2019

 

Friday, July 5th, 2019

Walk to the Island

We walk through the woods to the island for the first time in a very long time. 

 

 

 

 

 

I have not been sleeping well lately, & I have no energy to go in the water.