Wendy on a visit to me during my stay in California
In the geographic heart of British Columbia, in the city of Prince George, lives a woman who doesn’t just create art. She lives it. Whenever that creative brain of hers lands on another art form, she masters it so quickly she makes it look effortless.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll say that Wendy Young is also a dear friend. Lucky me. She has an extraordinary sense of fun and celebration. I lived with her and her spouse, Theresa Healy, when I was in transition. Halloween rolled around, and Wendy brought out the pumpkins for carving.
For Halloween, we carved pumpkins
At Christmas there were popcorn balls and gingerbread cookies.
Gaily coloured popcorn balls for ChristmasWendy decorating gingerbread cookies
Each summer Wendy adds to the artistry of the woodland that forms the backyard of the home she and Theresa share. And they don’t just share it with each other. Friends passing through, visitors to Prince George, wounded folk needing respite—all are welcome here.
Wendy's artistic flair shows everywhere in the garden she and Theresa have created in their woodland backyardWander through the garden and you suddenly stumble across a piece of art, on the ground, in the trees, along pathways
I proudly wear examples of the dichroic glass jewelry Wendy creates as Sister’s Inn Fusion Glass. Her glass work is unique, colourful, and fun.
Wendy's sign and part of her display at the Prince George farmers' market.Brilliant colours and swirling shapes characterize Wendy's glass workWendy creates pieces that are visually arresting and also functional so they can be used instead of tucked away in a cupboard
Even Wendy’s cooking is artistic. When Robin and I visited her recently, she prepared a breakfast that was as aesthetically pleasing as it was delicious.
Sautéed eggs top a sweet, fresh grape filling
Wendy’s colourful Web site captures glimpses of the artistry of her life. There are no boundaries to her creativity. Whether she’s in her studio designing yet another piece of art, planning a dinner party, decorating for a holiday, or preparing guest quarters for friends, Wendy makes no separation between life and art. Wendy is art.
When Glenn Cameron and his partner Judy Hammond (whose Twitter handle is @boomergirl50) take to the road around Canada, they bring with them endless curiosity, the artist’s photographic eye, and the writer’s penchant for making me want to visit anyplace they write about. On a recent road tour, they captured the glorious fall colours we westerners see only in small patches.
I’m thrilled they were willing to post a part of their travels on Crossroads. Their drive from Toronto through the foothills of the Laurentian mountains and three of Ontario’s leafy parks took me back to my years in Upstate New York, where autumn was always fiery. My thanks to them for sharing the glories of an eastern fall.
Roadtripping near Frontenac Provincial Park, Ontario
As I write this, the fall colours in eastern Ontario are in the last throes of their annual spectacle before retiring for the winter. It was a yellow and orange season. We didn’t get all the flaming reds that burn up the maples in the best years.
Fall colours in eastern Ontario
We headed east out of Toronto by car, on our way to Québec and the foothills of the Laurentian mountains, and decided to abandon the boring highway 401 at Kingston, to take to the smaller roads – the grey ones on the map. We visited three Ontario Parks on our way through this wedge of the province, which is sandwiched between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers – Québec to the north and New York state south of the border.
Frontenac Provincial Park office, accessed from county road 19
The southern edge of the Canadian Shield is a rolling jumble of farmland, rocky-shored lakes and mixed woodland. Through towns like Harrowsmith, Sydenham and Verona we made our way to Frontenac Provincial Park. Here we have 5,214 hectares of finger lakes, wetlands, brilliant views and lots of wildlife. We were informed by some locals that the wife of a very prominent Canadian politician recently spent a weekend camping in the park and hiking on some of the 170 km of trails. Makes sense, given the proximity to our nation’s capital.
One of the entry points into Frontenac Provincial Park
Powered vehicles are prohibited in this park. No motorboats, no ATVs – they frighten the osprey and the kingfisher. Even mountain bikes are banned. This is the domain of hikers and canoeists. Frontenac Park is open all year. Winter activities are popular and park staff are famous for their ongoing Wilderness Skills Training Programs
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Pastoral scene from eastern Ontario. This type of fencing was used in rocky locations.
Up the road we passed through the Village of Westport on the Rideau Canal. It’s a well-preserved, 19th century kinda place with nice bakeries and gift stores – a great spot for lunch and to pick up some goodies for the road. We took a short detour to check out the Newboro blockhouse and then passed the lock at Rideau Narrows.
Murphys Point Provincial Park entrance off of county road 21
In the Rideau Lakes area, north-east of Westport, Murphys Point Provincial Park was our next stop. There are at least four abandoned mine sites in this park as well as restored pioneer homesteads. But mainly it’s a place for boat-access camping, hiking and paddling of all sorts. Or you can do what we did – shake out the floor mats from the car, stretch your legs, and enjoy the scenery for an hour or so. Canoes can be rented at the main entrance. But call first, the superintendent is often out tending to the park.
The Silver Queen mine site at Murphys Point park can be accessed from a short trail
North-west again through Smiths Falls, Kilmarnock, Merrickville and Burritts Rapids finds us at Rideau River Provincial Park. At this point it’s getting a little hairy in the car. My partner and I have been travelling together for years. We are inspired by Canada’s landscape and her people. We’ve enjoyed lobster in Shediac and froze our butts off in the mountains around Banff, but once in a while in life, a person just needs a little space! So she takes the camera and toodles off into the bush, while I kick at the nettles in the ditch for a while. And darn if she doesn’t come back with better pictures than mine. I hate it when that happens.
Late afternoon at Rideau River Provincial Park, Ontario. Photo by Judy HammondEntrance to Rideau River Provincial Park off of county road 2
From here it’s a straight shot (and about 140 km) to Hawkesbury and into Québec in the dark. But that’s another story.
As a ship threads the straits that separates Vancouver Island from the mainland, returning from a cruise along the Inside Passage, passengers expect mountains, sea, and the occasional fin of an orca. What they don’t expect, at least if this is their first trip to Alaska, is a lone trumpeter playing “O, Canada” and “The Star Spangled Banner”.
Threading the Strait of Georgia, passengers expect mountain, sea, and wildlife
But that’s what greets them as the ship nears Cormorant Island and the self-appointed “Ambassador-At-Large” motors alongside. Jerry Higginson keeps track of cruise ship schedules. He knows when they’ll pass near his hometown of Alert Bay.
As the ship nears Cormorant Island, the Trumpeter of Alert Bay suddenly appears
He has a simple mission, to put smiles on the faces of cruise ship passengers who sail past his Alert Bay home. The Vancouver Island native knows the haunting sound of a trumpet, wafting across the water, takes people by surprise.
Jerry Higginson played his trumpet, then waved farewell and motored away
The day we cruised the Strait, Higginson followed up the two national anthems with a couple of other favorites: “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Amazing Grace”. His simple gesture was one of the highlights of the trip.
On the trumpeter’s simple Web site, where most pages appear to be permanently “coming soon…”, Higginson writes: “Your cheers and the feelings of camaraderie that I get when I am playing my trumpet for you are reward enough for me because that gives me such a feeling of love and happiness.”
Still, a guy’s got to pay the bills. So if the quirkiness and fun of a man on a mission intrigues you, drop by Alert Bay Trumpeter. Buy a CD or DVD or drop five bucks in his Pay Pal account.
It’s a small way of saying “Bravo” to a man who follows the beat of his own drum…er, trumpet, particularly one who spreads so many smiles.
A pod of orcas appeared shortly after we saw the trumpeter
No cat was harmed in the making of this video…I think. Cat lovers will recognize the impulse behind the leaps and jumps and general craziness that propels these cats right into trouble.
Having had my share of cats who pull down Christmas trees, knock everything off tables, leap on unsuspecting (usually cat-hating) visitors, and shred new furniture, I laughed out loud. Watching the video was like a trip down memory lane, with no need to clean up afterward.
Louis Armstrong’s classic “What a Wonderful World” is the right background music for this beautiful little video of a kitten making friends with a fawn. A rabbit hops close to take a look but scampers away without joining the duo.
Domestic cat, wild deer. The distinctions don’t matter to these two.
Crossroads - Cathryn Wellner 