Monday, April 29

CLIPPING:  FEBRUARY 16, 2012 ! The Sachem

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2012

THE WIND
by Emily Dickinson

Of all the sounds despatched abroad,
There's not a charge to me
Like that old measure in the boughs
That phraseless melody

The wind does, working like a hand
Whose fingers brush the sky,
Then quiver down, with tufts of tune
Permitted gods and me.

When winds go round and round in bands,
And thrum upon the door,
And birds take places overhead,
To bear them orchestra,

I crave him grace, of summer boughs,
If such an outcast be,
He never heard that fleshless chant
Rise solemn in the tree,

As if some caravan of sound
On deserts, in the sky,
Had broken rank,
Then knit, and passed
In seamless company.

(Photo:  Dunnville Golf On the Grand. lbw)

Happy Birthday Precious Becca Boo!  April 28



The Gatehouse



Things to See and Do ~ www.ruthvenpark.ca

THE ROBIN
by Emily Dickinson

THE robin is the one
That interrupts the morn
With hurried, few, express reports
When March is scarcely on.

The robin is the one
That overflows the noon
With her cherubic quantity,
As April but begun.

The robin is the one
That speechless from her nest
Submits that home and certainty
And sanctity are best.

~ Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) American poet.

www.ruthvenpark.ca (Photo:  A single dwelling remaining in the ghost-town of Indiana, Haldimand County)

You asked ~

Site of Former St. Lawrence Resin

Fishcarrier Street Cayuga

Photos:  lbw

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure.  There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."

~ Jawaharlal Nehru (Nov., 1889 - May, 1964) first Prime Minister of independent India.

Photo:  www.ruthvenpark.ca , Indiana, Spring 2012 lbw

Today is Arbor Day, 2013

www.arborday.org

"I love to plant a growing thing...
A tree, a shrub, a vine...
And know it will for years and years
Keep growing there, a sign
To children who come after me
That someone thought of them,
And left behind a living friend
More precious than a gem."

~ Betty Foust Smith

Haldimand Stewardship Council will be assisting with a tree planting ceremony on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, in the City of Burlington.

Thought for Today ~

"Blessed is the individual who is so busy that he has no time to worry in the daytime, and has kept himself so occupied that he finds himself too sleepy to worry at night."

~ Treasured quotation from our Mum, Reta Melick (nee Turnbull, 1921 - 2002) b. East Seneca, Haldimand County

The Way Through the Woods

~ by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)

THEY shut the road through the woods
Seventy years ago.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was once a road through the woods
Before they planted the trees.
It is underneath the coppice and heath,
And the thin anemones.
Only the keeper sees
That, where the ring-dove broods,
And the badgers roll at ease,
There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods
Of a summer evening late,
When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools
Where the otter whistles his mate,
(They fear not men in the woods,
Because they see so few.)
You will hear the beat of a horse's feet,
And the swish of a skirt in the dew,
Steadily cantering through
The misty solitudes,
As though they perfectly knew
The old lost road through the woods.
But there is no road through the woods.

Ruthven Indiana

(Thank you to Laurie Miller of Caledonia who saw the Indiana photo and drew our attention to the Rudyard Kipling poem.  Perfect, Laurie.)

www.ruthvenpark.ca

Scilla ~ Bluebell Family

"While Earth herself is adorning...
In a thousand valleys far and wide,
Fresh flowers: while the sun shines warm..."

~ William Wordsworth, ODE (April 7, 1770 - April 23, 1850)  English romantic poet.

Smile for Today ~

Simple and fresh and far from winter's close emerging,
As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics had ever been,
Forth from its sunny nook of shelter'd grass ~
innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,
The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face.

~ Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 - March 26, 1892)  American poet, journalist, humourist.

Photo files lbw:  Indiana, Haldimand County

Today is Earth Day ~

Indiana Haldimand County

"You only need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns."

~ Henry D. Thoreau, Walden (1817 - 1862) American author, naturalist.

Thought for Today ~

"HAPPINESS in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally.  Make it the object of pursuit, and it is never attained."

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864) American Novelist

Nathaniel Hawthorne 1841

Portrait:  Wikipedia

Wishing and Hoping ~

The Christmas lights don't seem inappropriate this morning with snow on the roofs of vehicles.

And then this ~ 

Ballads ~ Old and New !

John Passfield

Who knew that poetry ~ specifically ballads ~ could be so much fun!  Thank you, John for an afternoon with ballads.  After reading the old ballads in appropriate dialet (good too, we might add), John shared some of his own, soon to be published in a new historic novel.

www.johnpassfield.ca
(Photo:  Courtesy of Kimberly Jeffrey.)

Welcome Customers ~ Absolutely, Cayuga is Open for Visitors 




Old Bridge Still Stands

 

Folks are asking ~ Yes, we are open!  Other than the odd couple hours that the old bridge is down to one lane, traffic flows beautifully.  (with certain restrictions on heavy loads!)

We have been assured that there will be no disruption of traffic.  Please come.

For those who don't know, Cayuga is getting a new bridge.

(Photo:  Wednesday, April 17)

"We live in a magical fairyland...

and it is given to us to enjoy as an absolute gift...We have more blessings than we could ever count."
~ Alfred Wainwright (1907 - 1991) British fellwalker, guidebook writer and illustrator.

Top Secret Bluegrass Band ~

Jerry Taylor, Jackie, Steve, Morgan & Andrew Caswell

Appearing at the Back 40 Bar & Grill last Saturday evening, a top-notch bluegrass band ~ forth generation of a musical family.

Eileen Singing "The Carpenter"

The Caswell Family performance brings back memories of when the well-known Taylor Family played bluegrass.  Today daughter, Jackie, and her husband Steve have become a popular band with two CDs to their credit.
For band history, including the origin of their name, visit their website www.topsecretbluegrassband.com

John Passfield

www.johnpassfield.ca

John began publishing stories of St. Thomas, Ontario, the city where he grew up.  Today he has a long list of titles, many of which appeal to a world-wide audience.  Out of the Park:  The Cogitations of Babe Ruth; Inside the Wright Brothers, Flight is Possible; Water Lane, The Pilgrimage of Christopher Marlowe ~ to name a few.

John quickly moved into e-books after publishing in hardcover and paperback.  He has a unique approach to delivering his knowledge of writing and literature.  For each novel that he writes, he also publishes a companion volume titled "The Making of...."  For example, the book following his book about the Wright Brothers is titled The Making of Inside the Wright Brothers:  In Search of Form and Meaning VII. These are books that indeed are useful to writers and students of literature.  And yes, John is a retired secondary-school teacher who taught English and Drama who continues to teach.

John will be in The Neat L'l Bookshop Thursday, April 18, 1:00 p.m.  The topic:  Ballads.  Everyone welcome.

Thought for Today ~

The village of Cayuga has a lively group of seniors who meet in what was once the LCBO.  These folks have created a bright, welcoming center for all ages.  They play bingo, cards, socialize and often take off on bus trips.  This week they invited the new naturopath in town to talk about health and lifestyle.

When I came across this "notice that hangs in a city hospital" in England*, I had to share.

   I'm fine.  There's nothing the matter with me;  I'm just as healthy as can be.
   I have arthritis in both my knees, and when I talk I talk with a wheeze.  My pulse is weak and my blood is thin, but I'm awfully well for the state I'm in.
   Arch supports I have on my feet ~ or I would not be able to go on the street.  Sleep is denied me night after night, and every morning I'm a sight.  My memory's failing, my head's in a spin. I'm practically living on aspirin ~ but I'm awfully well for the state I'm in.
   The moral is, as this tale I unfold, for you and me who are getting old ~ it's better to say, "I'm fine" with a grin, than let them know the state we are in.

* The Friendship Book of Francis Gay, D.C.Thompson & Co., Ltd., John Leng & Co., Ltd., 1965

(Someone once said, "Old is always fifteen years older than I am!")

Appearing Saturday Night ~

At The Back 40 Bar & Restaurant, The Caswells' Top Secret Bluegrass Band.

April 13, 8:00 p.m.

Cayuga Street

 Downtown Cayuga

Jackie and Steve, sons, Morgan and Andrew express a "Special thanks to The Taylor Family" for being their inspiration in bluegrass.  For more information about the band, visit www.topsecretbluegrassband.com

 

Smile For Today ~

Who more perfect than Walt Disney to write the forward to Kids Say the Darndest things?*
"Why are the thoughts of children so delightful to us grown-ups?  I think it's because of the vast gulf between their world and ours.  Where we adults see the tired old commonplace of everyday life, these "babes" see a freshness, a wonderland waiting to be explored.  They are wiser than we, in a way...because we have forgotten the magic of things, the wonder all around us."

Kids in answer to, "Did your mother tell you anything before coming on the show?
"My mother told me not to act normal."

"My mother told me to pay no attention to all the crazy things my Dad told me."
"My mother told me to keep my legs together." (Five year old girl.)

"My Dad told me just one thing:  To keep my pants up."  (Five year old boy.)

"My mother told me not to say that the last thing she said was to go to the toilet before I went on the program."

"Nobody told me anything.  My Dad was late for work and gulping down his breakfast.  My mother was washing her hair.  Grandmother had a stomach-ache.  Everybody was too busy to tell me anything."

~ * Art Linkletter, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1957.
(Photo:  family files lbw)

Kids say the Darndest Things! ~ Art Linkletter

'I can write!  I can write!"
In surprise and disbelief, his mother said:
"What did you write?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I can't read!"

Teachers and parents alike watch and listen in fear and trembling when I ask the innocently loaded question:  "Do you have any instructions from anyone today?"

"My teacher told me not to be funny.  That's what you get paid for."

"My teacher told me that if you asked me to tell you about her, to not say she's very old because she heard a little boy on your program who said:  'What an old teacher!'"

"This prompted me to ask him:  "How old would you say your teacher is?"  "Oh, about ninety!"

~ Kids Say The Darndest Things!  Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1957.  Art Linkletter (July 17, 1912 - May 26, 2010)  Canadian-born T.V. and radio personality.
(Photo:  Family files lbw)

Tomorrow:  Instructions from parents to kids before they appear on KIDS SAY THE DARNEST THINGS.

Introducing ~

Corner of Talbot & Cayuga Streets

The Clothesline & Useful Things !

Infants & Toddlers Good Used Clothing

Previously Loved Movies

Mens' & Ladies' Good Used Clothing

Urban Cowboy!

Find the old hotel ( opposite the bookshop) and discover a hidden world of  fun and "useful" things.)

One can only imagine what life was like back in the forties or earlier on the corner of Cayuga St. & Talbot W.  Today the current owner has transformed the bar/poolroom into a department store.  It is the kind of place where one never knows what treasure will show up and T-shirts are $2 each or three for $5.

Study and appreciate the exterior architecture.  The cost and labour of a new roof, the maintenance of fifteen toilets is not insignificant.  Look at the beautiful dormers along the roof-line.  Don't be shy.  Tell Paul he is doing a great job of rescuing a piece of Haldimand history.  Thank you, Paul. 

Brad Smith & fan Ken Vollick





Brad has a new book coming out this year ~ the wildly anticipated third in the Virgil Cain Series, Shoot the Dog.

  

http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Red-Means-Run/Brad-Smith/9781451673999 

Watch a video related to Red Means Run including scenes in Cayuga.

Brad's books are available at The Neat L'l Bookshop.

Spring Calendar

Thursday, April 18th, 1 p.m. John Passfield
Thursday, May 16th,  1 p.m. Jose Penny
Thursday, June 20th, 1 p.m. Laurie Miller

"Everyone Welcome ~ Mark your calendar!"

Grand River Indiana

This is Ontario ~ by Katherine Hale, c. 1937.
Katherine's strategy for her journey:

"We decided that the first journey into southern Ontario would skirt this lake [Lake Erie] to Port Maitland, the mouth of the Grand River, from where we should explore its valley.  We were surrounded by maps and folders.  The patterns of these maps, woven of the cobweb lines of railroads and motor roads, dotted with towns and rivers and many series of minute lakes and islands, and the folders with their photographs and information about industries and tourists attractions failed to whet our sense of adventure.  We thought that there was only one thing for us, or anyone who intended to enjoy the road ~ it was to draw an extra map of one's own, which should be coloured with associations as well as facts.  It would be a map whose design is influenced by experience of travel, and would therefore be of unconventional outline.  We knew, for instance, that we would be sure to hurry by some dull, important monument and to pause with entranced interest beside another, to drive with pleasant or picturesque ghosts out of history, and to step on the gas if they became tiresome..."

Authors' Book Fair Today 11am ~ 4pm

Click on Poster for larger image

Note:  Dunnville Author Brad Smith 11:30 a.m.

Reading excerpts from his "Virgil Cain Series"



Brad Smith



Reading from Red Means Run

Watch for Brad's third in the Virgil Cain Series, Shoot The Dog, coming out this year.  ("No dogs get shot in the book.")