Once again this month I am nowhere near my home in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, so I cannot report on my linden, the tree I am officially ‘following.’ But since I hate to miss a month of Lucy Corrander’s tree following meme, I am cheating this month and following the trees that I see around me…
The cathedral in Ferrara, Italy was begun in 1135. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to the city’s patron saint, St George, it combines Romanesque and Gothic styles in a way I find extremely appealing. The façade is richly decorated — and with a purpose. In the days when most people were illiterate, stories were…
For the last few days I’ve been in Ravenna, Italy, looking at mosaics that date back to the 5th century. And glorious they are. Scattered through the old city, all but one within easy walking distance, these mosaics decorate the interiors of basilicas, mausoleums and baptistries. They tell stories from the life of Jesus and celebrate Christian…
Crocus and daffodils are sure signs of spring, and I await their appearance at Glen Villa, my garden in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, with bated breath. (Will snow come again or is it finally safe to remove my winter tires?) A less common sign of spring here is the flower that was blooming yesterday…
Winter this year was longer and colder than usual, and the deeper-than-normal snow lingered long past its ‘best before’ date. I worried that spring would be so short that our sugar bush would yield less sap than normal, and so less of that delicious product, maple syrup. I needn’t have worried. The late…