GENTLE SPRING

GENTLE SPRING ! ~ in sunshine clad.
     Well dost thou thy power display !
For Winter maketh the light heart sad,
     And thou, ~ thou makest the sad heart gay.
He sees thee, and calls to his gloomy train,
The sleet, and the snow, and the wind, and the rain,
And they shrink away, and they flee in fear,
     When thy merry step draws near.

Winter giveth the fields and the trees, so old,
     Their beards of icicles and snow ;
And the rain, it raineth so fast and cold,
     We must cower over the embers low ;
And, snugly housed from the wind and weather,
Mope like birds that are changing feather.
But the storm retires, and the sky grows clear,
     When thy merry step draws near.

Winter maketh the sun in the gloomy sky
     Wrap him round with a mantle of cloud ;
But, Heaven he praised, they step is nigh ;
     Thou tearest away the mournful shroud,
And the earth looks bright, and Winter surly.
Who has toiled for nouht both late and early,
Is banished afar by the new-born year,
     When thy merry step draws near.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Feb. 27, 1807 - Mar. 24, 1882) American poet.

The Spirit of Poetry

There is a quiet spirit in these woods,
That dwells where'er the gentle south wind blows ;
The wild flowers bloom, or, kissing the soft air,
The leaves above their sunny palms outspread.
With what a tender and impassioned voice
It fills the nice and delicate ear of thought.
When the fast-ushering star of Morning comes
O'er-riding the grey hills with golden scarf ;
Or when the cowled and dusky-sandaled Eve,
In mourning weeds, from out the western gate,
Departs with silent pace !  That spirit moves
In the green valley, where the silver brook,
From its full laver, pours the white cascade ;
And, babbling low amid the tangled woods,
Slips down through moss-grown stones with endless laughter.
And frequent, on the everlasting hills,
Its feet go forth, when it doth wrap itself
In all the dark embroidery of the storm,
And shouts the stern, strong wind.  And here, amid
The silent majesty of these deep woods,
Its presence shall uplift thy thoughts from earth,
As to the sunshine and the pure, bright air
Their tops the green trees lift.  Hence gifted bards
Have ever loved the calm and quiet shades.
For them there was an eloquent voice in all
The sylvan pomp of woods, the golden sun,
The flowers, the leaves, the river on its way,
Blue skies, and silver clouds, and gentle ~
The swelling upland, where the sidelong sun
Aslant the wooded slope, at evening, goes, ~
Groves, through whose broken roof the sky looks in,
Mountain, and shattered cliff, and sunny vale,
The distant lake, fountains, and mighty trees,
In many a lazy syllable, repeating
Their old poetic legends to the wind.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Feb. 27, 1807 - Mar 24, 1882)  American poet.
The Poetical Works of Longfellow. Frederick Warne & Co.

WIND AND WINDOW FLOWER

Lovers, forget your love,
  And list to the love of these.
She a window flower,
  And he a winter breeze.

When the frosty window veil
  Was melted down at noon,
And the caged yellow bird
  Hung over her in tune,

He marked her through the pane
  He could not help but mark,
And only passed her by,
  To come again at dark.

He was a winter wind,
  Concerned with ice and snow,
Dead weeds and unmated birds,
  And little of love could know.

But he sighed upon the sill,
  He gave the sash a shake,
As witness all within
  Who lay that night awake.

Perchance he half prevailed
  To win her for the flight
From the firelit looking-glass
  And warm stove-window light.

But the flower leaned aside
  And thought of naught to say,
And morning found the breeze
  A hundred miles away.

~ Robert Frost

Hoping that you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!  We have been busy in the bookshop acknowledging some of the folks who have helped make the bookshop better.  If you are ever on facebook, check out the numerous photographs of fascinating personalities and of course authors who have visited us.

There are too many to mention and we don't have photographs of everyone.  It was in November of 2004 that our first bookshelves appeared on Cayuga Street.  We existed in a remote corner at 11 Cayuga Street opposite the red-brick building where Herb Martindale began the original Neat Little Bookshop.  There were five empty commercial windows at the time and since that, businesses have come and gone.  Thank you to all of our supporters:  family and friends, customers and fellow Cayuga Street businesses.

~ John & Lorna

Woods in Winter

When Winter winds are piercing chill,
   And through the hawthorn blows the gale,
With solemn feet I tread the hill
   That overbrows the lonely vale.

O'er the bare upland, and away
   Through the long reach of dessert woods,
The embracing sunbeams chastely play,
   And gladden these deep solitudes.

When, twisted round the barren oak,
   The summer vine in beauty clung,
And summer winds the stillness broke,
   The crystal icicle is hung.

Where, from their frozen urns, mute springs
   Pour out the river's gradual tide,
Shrilly the skater's iron rings,
   And voices fill the woodland side.

Alas !  how changed from the fair scene,
   When birds sang out their mellow lay,
And winds were soft, and woods were green,
   And the song ceased not with the day.

 But still wild music is abroad,
   Pale, desert woods ! within your crowd ;
And gathering winds, in hoarse accord,
   Amid the vocal reeds pipe loud.

Chill airs and wintry winds !  my ear
   Has grown familiar with your song ;
I hear it in the opening year, ~
   I listen, and it cheers me long.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Feb. 27, 1807 - Mar. 24, 1882) American poet

Visit https://www.davidjforsyth.com/ to view David J. Forsyth's biography and books.

 

 

The Secret of The Sea

AH!  what pleasant visions haunt me
     As I gaze upon the sea !
All the old romantic legends,
     All my dreams, come back to me.

Sails of silk and ropes of sandal,
     Such as gleam in ancient lore;
And the singing of the sailers,
     And the answer from the shore !

Most of all, the Spanish ballad
     Haunts me oft, and tarries long,
Of the noble Count Arnaldos
     And the sailor's mystic song.

Like the long waves on a sea-beach,
     Where the sand as silver shines,
With a soft monotonous cadence,
     Flow its unrhymed lyric lines ;-

Telling how the Count Arnaldos,
     With his hawk upon his hand,
Saw a fair and stately galley,
     Steering onward to the land ;-

How he heard the ancient helmsman
     Cant a song so wild and clear,
That the sailing sea-bird slowly
     Poised upon the mast to hear,

Till his soul was full of longing,
     And he cried with impulse strong, --
     "Helmsman ! for the love of heaven,
     Teach me, too, that wondrous song !"

"Wouldst thou," so the helmsman answered,
     "Learn the secrets of the sea?
Only those who brave its dangers
     Comprehend its mystery !"

In each sail that skims the horizon,
     In each landward-blowing breeze,
I behold that stately galley,
     Hear those mournful melodies ;

Till my soul is full of longing
     For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
     Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Feb. 27, 1807 - Mar. 24, 1882) American Poet,
THE POETICAL WORKS OF LONGFELLOW, Frederick Warne & Co.


[Secret of this sea is a photo of Lake Erie.]

 

The Neat Little Bookshop Wishes to Express Our Thanks

 

Customer Appreciation Days ~  Bookshop Specials

  

Customer Appreciation Days

BUILDING THE TRUE LOG CABIN

 

Three of fourteen pages How to Build Your Cabin or Modern Vacation Home by Harry Walton/ POPULAR SCIENCE, Harper & Row, 1978

Located on the Historic Court House Grounds Cayuga

1835 Pioneer Log Cabin

Customer Appreciation Days

Hobbies For Everyone

Special for Customer Appreciation Days

December 12, 2016 Ward 2 Councillor Fred Morison's Alternate Motion:
To Adopt:

November 15, 2016 Council in Committee Report PED-GM-10-2016 with staff recommendations of October 3, 2016 be received, that the cultural service delivery approach be approved as amended to include 800 sq. ft. in the new Cayuga library building.

And that the draft 2017 tax supported capital budget include for council consideration adjustment to the Cayuga library redevelopment project to include both the genealogy centre and archives 600 sq. ft. at estimate cost of $200,000 with financing to be identified during the budget review and the museum display  space 800 sq. ft. at estimate cost of $260,000 to be funded by community Vibrancy Fund, Ward 2, and that the county maintain public ownership of PIN 0140 and PIN0144 Cayuga Administration Building lands and the HCMA lands for public purposes following the closure and demolition of the buildings on the land in 2019.

Adopted 6 - 0 Absent:  Mayor Ken Hewitt

[Transcript from video J. E. Walker]

Guest speaker Wed., Feb. 1, 2017 at the Cayuga & District Chamber of Commerce will be Craig Manley, General Mgr. Planning & Economic Development Department. author of Report PED-GM-10-2016.

"Lands for public purposes"

The question remains; rumours persist:  What is the reason for closure and demolition of all buildings on the Court House Grounds?

 "...intention is to sell the property, but Morison noted they will ensure potential developers provide the kind of use that is best for Cayuga rather than just unload the property for the developer to do whatever they want."

"Both Boyle and Morison suggested one potential use is a condominium space, since seniors have reached out to the County about a need for this type of housing"  ~ THE HALDIMAND PRESS, Sept. 15, 2016.  [Co-Publishers Jill Morison & Georgia Mete]

 

Hundreds of signatures on an on-line petition [ Change.org key words: log cabin] and on the paper version asking that councillors and mayor save the Court House Grounds, the museum and the log cabin.

 

Administration Building to be demolished ~ "going to ground" Mayor Ken Hewitt


 

Log Cabin Court House Grounds

Haldimand County Museum & Archives

Excerpts with Annotations:  From Councillor Morison's Prepared Speech in Support of Demolishing the Museum and Moving the Log Cabin *

I'd just like to say a few words if I may, and after that, you can read the new motion.
As all are aware, the ratification of this report was purposely delayed from last month to ensure that we had the ability to have the community weigh in after the planned public open houses, which took place on Nov. 22, 2016.  The open houses were well attended. . .[The vast majority of attendees were solidly against the county's proposals.]

I want to be abundantly clear that at no time did I or council ever contemplate cutting down any trees on this particular site or any site for that matter. [If sold, someone else will cut trees.]

Looking back, if we made an error, it was in saying that after the move to the consolidated administration property these lands where we are today would be declared surplus and sold.  What we should have said was that the lands would be declared surplus and a staff report would follow outlining ideas for considerations.  This is what would have happened anyway.  For no other reason than nothing happens at the county without a staff report. [Staff report outlining ideas and cost implications was not brought forward.]

Historic Log Cabin & Museum

This evening, I'm proposing that in an effort to move past this issue that all the lands remain owned by the county and used for public purposes.  I hope that everyone will be in favour to a lesser or greater degree with more green space. [What is meant by 'public purposes'?  Where is more green space coming from?]

In addition, the parking lot currently here can be as was contemplated be used as the trailhead parking for the CN Bridge Trail. [Parking behind Court House as per report.]
. . .
 I have certain ideas about how this property in part could have been used.  Many agree.  Others have other contrary ideas, and that's OK.  All of the ideas deserve consideration.  [As stated in THE HALDIMAND PRESS re: "seniors condos".]
. . .



Title Searcher Penny Plunkett *

At this stage, there has been sufficient debate and we have to make a decision.  The original plan has been altered to reflect the concerns of the museum board and members of the community. [Council's plan remains: demolish the museum, the Cayuga Admin Building, and move the log cabin.]
. . .

I met with the museum board twice and contacted and spoken by phone to all of the numbers.  After much consideration, I remain supportive of the "service delivery approach" proposed by staff in the report.  I fully recognize and support the general consensus of the community to maintain public ownership of the land for public purposes, and I support the traditional museum venue in conjunction with the staff proposed report.

And I'm currently making arrangements for an extra 800 sq. ft. to be put at the new structure.  And the further extra 800 sq. ft. to the new Cayuga library museum will add a total of 1,400 sq. ft. for the museum. [Fourteen-hundred sq. ft. in the library and eight-hundred sq. ft. storage in a new admin building basement is less than half the space available in the existing building.]


*Complete speech available at The Neat Little Bookshop [Transcript by Grant Church]

[As early as Sept. 2016, Councillor Morison spoke in the community of putting the museum into the new library.  As rumours circulated without facts and the community learned of council's intentions, there was an outcry regarding the future of the historic Court House Grounds.  At the eleventh hour, one day following the Nov. 21 Council Meeting at which ratification of the staff report was expected, an open house was hastily held. The vast majority in attendance were solidly against the county's proposals.  Morison held last-minute meetings and phone calls with the Haldimand County Museum Advisory Board.

The question remains why spend over $1,000,000 to remove the 4,400 sq. ft. museum from the property?  ]
*Penny Plunkett's presentation to council outlined the encumbrance on the Court House Grounds.  The land was left "In Trust", "For Ever", "for the purpose of erecting Gaol, Court House and other Public Buildings thereon."  What is meant by Morison's statement, "public purposes"?

Tomorrow:  The Motion

Registry Office Court House Grounds.  Genealogists and researchers can walk from one building to another.

The Haldimand Stewardship Council is a group that shows a commitment to promoting responsible land care, sustaining resources, and working together for a healthier environment.  The council includes volunteer individuals who recognize and can encourage community involvement and interest in land stewardship.  Council members include farmers, woodlot owners, naturalists, business people, agency and industry representatives and other conservation groups.

 

Haldimand Stewardship Council

15 Cayuga Street, Cayuga

THE TABLES TURNED

Up!  up! my friend, and quit your books,
Or surely you'll grow double;
Up! up! my friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun, above the mountain's head,
A freshening luster mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books!  'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music!  on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark!  how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher;
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless ~
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Misshapes the beauteous forms of things ~
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

~ William Wordsworth, English poet (1770 - 1850) Selected Poems, 1993 Gramercy Books

The Piece Bag

A square of chintz ~ what memories it brings
Of golden dawns; of pleasant country things;
A moonlit scented garden after rain,
And glimpse of beechwoods through a latticed pane.


Serge and grey flannel, eloquent of boys,
Recall past days of jollity and noise;
Of chestnuts roasting in the fire's red glow,
And thrilling stories told when lights were low.

Organdie, muslin, dainty ends of lace
And silk, bridge for my eager mind time's space,
And waken sliver echoes, silent long,
Of girlish voices gay with mirth and song.

O remnants treasured here for future need,
You've been to loneliness a boon indeed;
For in my odd-piece bag, 'twixt smiles and tears,
I read the happy story of the years.

~ Ellen Elliott  [Yellowed clipping from THE GLOBE, TORONTO, FRIDAY OCTOBER 12 - year unknown.]

Weather

This is the weather the cuckoo likes,
                   And so do I;
When showers betumble the chestnut spikes,
                   And nestlings fly;
And the little brown nightingale bills his best,
And they sit outside at "The Traveller's Rest",
And maids come forth sprig-muslin drest,
And citizens dream of the south and west,
                    And so do I.

This is the weather the shepherd shuns,
                    And so do I;
When beeches drip in browns and duns,
                    And thresh, and ply;
And hill-hid tides throb, throe on thoe,
And meadow rivulets overflow,
And drops on gate-bars hang in a row,
And rooks in families homeward go,
                    And so do I.

~ Thomas Hardy (June 1848 - Jan. 11, 1928)  English novelist, poet.


"It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs." ~ Thomas Hardy

https://www.womensmarch.com/event-details/  On Jan. 21, 2017 women marched on Washington.

Ice Jam Grand River Cayuga

View From Robert Baigent Park Village Side

 

Ouse Street Looking South Toward Tennis Courts

The Old Railway Bridge at Cayuga *

TRAVEL

The railroad track is miles away,
        And the day is loud with voices speaking.
Yet there isn't a train goes by all day
        But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn't a train goes by,
        Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
        And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with the friends I make,
        And better friends I'll not be knowing,
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
         No matter where it's going.

~ Edna St. Vincent Millay  [Feb 22, 1892 - Oct. 19, 1950]  First woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

* The old Cayuga railway bridge is scheduled to become a walking trail. Photo lbw

Haldimand County Museum and Log Cabin

On December 12, 2016, Council ratified Councillor Morison's motion to demolish the museum and move the 1835 log cabin off the Court House Grounds.  The artifacts will be scattered among five libraries and the basement of the planned new admin building.  The archives will be housed in 600 sq. ft. of the planned new Cayuga library.

This story is not over.