old and new

old and new

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer (W.J. Gibson)

Staining the cottage. it needs it badly. the first time i did this i was 18 years old and it was a three stage process. 1. shellac the knot holes to seal them. 2. brush on wood preservative chemical, pentox (nice name, eh?). 3. brush on Rez stain. 14 foot high peaks on three sides, it is an L shaped building up on a cement block foundation built in 1969.

Fumes from the stain mean the windows have to stay closed, which is a bit of a problem with the hot weather this week. The new coat of stain looks goooooood.

Jesuit cell – desk and chair – Ste Marie among the Hurons 068

Jesuit cell – desk and chair – Ste Marie among the Hurons 068

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer (W.J. Gibson)
it is interesting to imagine sitting at this spot in 1640s a long way from home in France, working to convert the Hurons to Catholicism

Ste. Marie Among the Hurons is the reconstruction of the 1640s era central mission to the Hurons (Wendat) in central Ontario.

Located just east of Midland, Ontario.

I have visited many times over the years. Not many chances to step back in history.

door latch 1640s reconstruction

door latch

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer (W.J. Gibson)
Ste. Marie Among the Hurons is a reconstruction of the 1640s fortified French mission located just east of Midland, Ontario. The reconstruction was undertaken in 1967. The original buildings were burned to the ground during the Iroquois campaign against the Huron in 1649.

This photo is of a door in the French compound. The French had a blacksmith’s forge at Ste. Marie.

texture 2 – dock ring

dock ring

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer (W.J. Gibson)

this mooring ring, about five inch diameter is on the town dock in Victoria Harbour, Ontario…. a dock I have walked out on since the 1960s, for many years the dock was wood but was converted to a poured cement structure some time ago…. the distinctive green and white wooden roof cover now gone.

I like to think of my late grandfather walking on this dock, maybe fishing from it….when I was a kid I used to fish there. He died a year before I was born.

texture 1 – nest

nest

Originally uploaded by canuckshutterer (W.J. Gibson)

this robins (?) nest was constructed over the two motion detector lights high up over the back deck that light the way from the driveway path

we had to turn off the light for a couple of months

after the family moved out, I knocked the nest down and kept it….. amazingly strong base, quite thick, made of dried mud, not quite adobe but solid, beautifully woven half sphere

Tawni O’Dell – Coal Run – great novel

Just finished reading Coal Run by Tawni O’Dell. Treat yourself. Get this book and read it. It made me think about my family, childhood, adulthood and a million memories. Made me think of two old friends both sports stars who hurt their legs before reaching their full potential. It is a novel about families and coal mining country.

It is probably the best novel I have read in the past 7 years. Wish I could have written it.

I will be looking for the rest of her work.

see http://www.tawniodell.com her website

The Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945

I am reading “In Great Waters” by Spencer Dunmore, an account of the Battle of the Atlantic during WW II. Tremendous loss of life as the German U-Boats tried to cut the supply line from North America to the United Kingdom. There are stories of great courage and tragedy, technical innovation, code breaking, and bureacratic idiocy all woven together. I can’t imagine having the courage to sail in one of those slow merchant ships, expecting a torpedo at any moment.