art in the park

I enjoyed a jaunt through Lindsay's Art In The Park today (sponsored by the Lindsay Gallery). I got there rather late, so no doubt, much of the excitement had died down. I was impressed by how many excellent artists were represented, but sort of disappointed by a little bit of conventionality, ie, quite a bit of the art work was nostalgic and/or realistic interpretation of rural and wilderness landscape. I was also disappointed to see very few customers.

A couple of new (for me) mediums I encountered today were interesting: Encaustic, Kraslice and silk painting.

en·caus·tic (
P ) (n-kôstk)n.
A paint consisting of pigment mixed with beeswax and fixed
with heat after its application.
The art of painting with this substance.
A painting produced with the use of this substance.
[Latin encausticus,
from Greek enkaustikos, from enkaiein, enkau-, to paint in encaustic : en-, in;
see en-2 + kaiein, to burn.]

Kraslice
Decorated
Easter Eggs, a tradition in Czechoslovakia, using many different techniques.
Some of Niki's eggs were drilled into an open, lacy pattern that was incroyable!

After indulging in a Peanut Buster Parfait, which took me back to summer school in university and a cycling course that my sister and I took as an optional credit (this involved weekly or bi-weekly trips which gradually increased in length to a 60-mile trek at the end of the course-- naturally, at the end of each ride, we needed to replenish ourselves at the DQ with Peanut Buster Parfaits!!), I drove out towards Pigeon Lake along back roads.


I was just coming over the hill with Pigeon Lake opening out before me, when a sign, "Perennials, 99c sale ", caught my eye. I stopped in. I met the gardener, Diane. Although she claimed the best of her offerings had already been sold, she still had quite a selection of plants available, for (I'm assuming) someone who basically is selling her overflow of divisions and seedlings.

I really enjoyed snooping through Diane's garden. She had several kidney-shaped beds around the farm-yard: two in front of the south-facing house, one under the shade of a tree on the east side. Then she also had some tough customers in a bed on the west side of the barn, spreaders which she keeps in check by making them "duke it out" with similarly tough customers: Chinese lantern, yarrow, the grass commonly known as gardeners garters (I think), and the like. Along the back fences separating the yard from fields behind the house, she had several beds. And she also had some more shady beds by the back door to the house and along the west fence along the drive. There were several interesting garden ornaments and birdfeeders which were perfectly placed. And to top it all off, from her hillside property, she has an excellent view of Pigeon Lake to the East and South-East.

I enjoyed several plant combinations and thought Diane did an excellent job of designing these beds. I plan to go back and steal some ideas! Oops. Shouldn't tip my hand, now, should I? 'Course I didn't have my camera, so I have to go back, don't I?

Yuck, I picked the few green worms I could see off my broccoli and Brussels sprouts this evening. As I hate using chemicals, I don't know of any other way of keeping the hated worms off the brassicas. Earlier in the season, fabric tents, intended to keep the butterfly from laying her eggs in the brassicas, were torn to shreds by galloping dogs. The brassicas got less doggie-attention when the tents were removed. Its a trade off. Maybe the bt stuff might work. Is it too late?

I have been enjoying the tender greens of arugula, beets and mesclun (lettuce&greens mixed). Last night, a leaf or two of lovage thrown in with a simple dressing of oil and lime (I didn't have lemon on hand), was all that was needed. Tonight, I skipped the lovage (something is chewing on that and the parsley too--earwigs? grasshoppers?) and had an herb vinaigrette with the greens. I enjoyed the salad after a main course of steamed asparagus with a mushroom and cheese omelette.