1954

(Eugenia Greinert, 1954)

Reflecting on my new directions, it took me a while to realize the importance of these old portraits, painted in a garret of the old MacDonald Hotel in Edmonton back in 1954. I have vague memories of the sittings, mainly of a sense of wonder, mystery and discovery. It may have been my first time ever in an attic, which may have influenced my later interest in archives and antiquities. It was also perhaps my first exposure to an artist.

When asked recently what I was going to do with the rest of my life I knew that I would continue my life-long search for the boy in these pictures, and let myself be guided by his innocence and curiosity.

(Eugenia Greinert, 1954)

A Couple of Endangered Species

Sto Lat Wujku!

On August 1, 1944, the 1st Polish Armoured Division, under the command of General S. Maczek, landed in France becoming part of the 1st Canadian Army in the 21st Army Group. In a series of operations, the 1st Armoured Division became the cork which closed the Allied gap at Falaise, through which German forces were escaping eastwards.

The Allies had managed to close the Falaise Gap, but a few small and dispersed openings remained to be plugged by the Canadians and Poles. The bulk of the 1st Armoured Polish Division to the east of the Canadian line occupied a wooded hill which General Maczek named "Maczuga" or "mace". Completely cut off from ground-delivered supplies of food and ammunition, it was here that the Poles intended to force the Nazis into submission. But there would be a battle of epic proportions.

Throughout August 20, German units able to slip past the Canadians, together with SS troops on the other side of the gap, stormed the Polish position ceaselessly. Surrounded, the Poles held fast until relieved the next day by the Canadian Grenadier Guards. In all, they lost 2,300 men. But in a stunning display of valour, the unwavering Polish soldiers had sealed the fate of the German forces in Normandy.

One of its veterans celebrated his 90th birthday on Jan. 22nd, 2007.

Howdy From Alberta

The sun came up around 8:40 this morning.

The temperature was about -15 C.

Huskies with Ed.


Huskies ith me.

Walking down Range Road 264.

The neighbours' ranch.

Snow meets sky on the adjacent quarter section.

The county has the world's best snow plow operators.

Looking southeast to where the sun rose this morning.

Decisions, Decisions (Again)

Ed thinks we should buy this SUV. I admit it would be more practical than a pickup truck. We'd have to drive it back here from Alberta, though. That could be a adventure, especially in the middle of winter. The distance is 3,720 km. It would be the same trip I made in January, 1978, when I moved here, only that time I drove it alone. If I recall, the stops were Saskatoon (525 km), Winnipeg (777 km), Thunder Bay (692 km), Sudbury (1,219 km), and Ottawa (507 km).

Blizzard, Monday, 9:30 a.m., Temp. - 8 C

Bleu

Happy New Year everyone! Our new life in the country is much different from that in the city. For one thing, there's no high-speed Internet, which means there are fewer updates of this blog. I didn't make any new year's resolutions, but I think I will try to provide news more regularly and frequently.



Of course this is now being called the winter with no snow, but up the Valley there tends to be more of the white stuff than in town. We had a green Christmas this year, but a few days later it did snow. This is how things looked on Dec. 28th. at the corner where our concession road meet the highway.



There's an old Methodist church still standing there, built around 1914, but it is all boarded up and I don't think anyone ever uses it.



Our neighbours were out for a jog.

Blanc

I've been keeping a spot near the dock free of ice so we can take a dip whenever we feel like it. It would be nice if we had an outdoor sauna or bania to warm up in after our ice bath.




This is what it was like just before Christmas. There was a lot of ice, but then it started raining. A good strong frost would have made perfect skating conditions, but that was not to be.



Ours is a spring-fed lake, and you can see in the pattern of the ice where the springs are.



New Year's Day brought freezing rain and a beautiful frosting of ice on the trees.

Rouge

The houses in town were decorated for the holiday.



In winter the sun sets directly in front of our cottage, which faces south-west.



This is for the 50% of you who have been asking me to shave off my beard.



South-West.