Four Strings

When most people think of banjo and they think BLUEGRASS - well there's much more to it. Until the electric guitar became such a big part of ensemble music, the four-string tenor banjo's rich tones were integral to jazz music.

My thrill of the week (maybe the month, the year???) was having my friend un-case her banjo (yes, four-string tenor) yesterday and play a few licks. Ain't She Sweet and Bye Bye Blues - sweet indeed and blue no longer - OMG!

The kicker... I got to add a little paint to her 70s banjo case - complete with Hang Ten style feet and daisies, I kept her young girl art intact and touched up a bit of the colour, adding in a few more flowers. Love when music, art and summer all meld together - heaven piercing thru the mundane day to let us know what really matters xo! BTW... Photos are details of a visual journal portrait I did for The Bird - play on, Girl, your talent is a spectacular gift.

Dance Like There's No One Watching

July is my favourite month of the year. I'm not sure if it's because I was born in July, but I start to long for July in early January. I mourn its passing from late August until Christmas arrives and makes me forget about summer for a few days! I guess you could say that when it's not July, I am chasing its warm shadows with anticipation and longing. July is like that first kiss, the childhood crush, young love. July is invincible, intoxicating, immortal. Once you've tasted July, every other month just seems to be missing a little spice, you know what I'm saying?

Lazy, Hazy Days
I love the heat, the rapid growth of plants and flowers, the lazy aura of early summer, the reduced traffic in the city as people flee to lakes and rivers to cool off, the starry nights with shooting stars, and camping/cooking my food on a fire. There is always someone doing something whimsical in July, even in the city on a work day - a street festival, an impromptu picnic, a free music concert, or some kind of fun event in a breezy outdoor setting! It just seems like everyone is more in touch with their inner child - a little fanciful and a little less serious.

July + July
I am from a family of seven children, and I have four older siblings - three of which are sisters! My oldest sister and I are nine years apart, but we share July birthdays that are only one day apart. We have shared birthday celebrations many times over the past twenty-five years or so, and last year we made a pact to spend our birthdays together enjoying a local July experience - the Winnipeg Folk Fest. Winnipeg Folk Fest always happens during both of our birthdays and we both love music and art, so it seemed like a perfect fit!

The event is five days long - with over sixty musical acts to enjoy, as well as arts, crafts, great food and much more. And... of course, camping! Highlights for me were k.d. lang (OMG!!!) and the Siss Boom Bang (phenomenal talent - even better live, if that can be imagined!), as well as Little Feat, Lucinda Williams, Element Sircus jam sessions and dancing to funk until the wee hours. Red wine, henna tattoos, folk fest cookies, shared laughs (and sun screen!) and great vegan salads were other high points.

Turn up the Heat!
Although I learned that my sister is NOT a camper, that she really does NOT like crowds (I always thought she was the super social one, and I was more the introverted artist type... LOL), we managed to compromise with one another and enjoy the time together. She did bail on me after day three, but I enjoyed Day 4 with one of my brothers and Day 5 with my youngest daughter and company. And isn't that what July is about after all? Easy, relaxed and spontaneous - with limited structure in place so that the FUN can find you and shake loose the cobwebs.

...And, it's only July 18, so I can look forward to some more July magic - just doing what I love most, as it crosses my path xo!

A Day of Daisies

Have you ever walked waist high in a field of pure white daisies? It is surreal and lovely - like the hand of God has touched the land in an unsolicited gesture of benevolence.

Today I went to help a dear friend clear out her summer cottage of personal items - after much thought, she has opted to sell the property.

The lovely, lake-front lot is large - about 200 feet in length and 150 feet wide, and from the road way to the shore line it was full of the joyful white blooms, blazing bright in the midday sun - absolutely unexpected and spectacular. We were not alone in our wonder - while we were working there, a neighbor stopped by with her elderly mother, wondering if they could pick a few of the blooms! Like us, they were drawn to the vision of thousands of flowers filling the property lines from edge to edge.

Coming home this evening, I was curious to learn more about the daisy - I knew that white daisies symbolize innocence and friendship but knew little more than that. Reading up on the flowers, I discovered some interesting folklore attached to their sunny faces - apparently daisies have long been considered to be comfort sent from the heavens for all of the children lost as infants, explaining the root of their connection to purity and sweetness.

Curious how those daisies chose to dress my friend's property in particular - you do see daisies here and there along the road side, but this was a complete floral white-out!

As I type this, I am thinking of that empty cottage resting quietly in the summer moonlight, surrounded by a living sea of pure, white blooms - heavens' comfort for the loss of happy times and child-like joy? It feels good to know that those little flowers are there, gentle guardians; sturdy and abundant reminders of the enduring power of goodness through adversity.

I am sure the daisies are are equally wonderful under the starry skies, and I feel fortunate to have witnessed such a unique and beautiful natural event.

"The has but a summer reign, the daisy never dies." - James Montgomery, The Daisy