September 17, 2011
Ode to Summer
Now that September has us in its warm (yet cooling) embrace, we accept once again that our planet provides us with seasons that make us appreciate change, through vibrant colour shifts and howling winds. In other words, summer is gone, get over it.
I had a fabulous summer. Got to play the Eaglewood Folk Festival, several dates in Ontario as well as playing on a consistent basis with the bluegrass sensations known as the Sudden Valley Boys and had tons of fun goofing around with Leon Knight & the Neon Lights, a screwball country band in which our fearless leader Leon has yet to show up to a gig for. One of these days.…
I also got to see a few parts of Ontario I had never been to and I’d like to proclaim something Ontarians have known for a long time but the rest of the country may not know: Ontario is beautiful. Sure it doesn’t have the ooh-aah inspiring rugged peaks of the Rocky Mountains. And maybe it doesn’t get as wind-whipped and wonderfully ocean swept as the Maritimes. Granted, the sheer expanse of the Prairies as they roll to the horizon as certainly taken more than a few breaths away. But Ontario is different. It’s quiet. It’s subtle. It’s rocks and trees and lakes and blueberries and rivers and charming towns and wonderful people and chip trucks and storms and apples and cottages and canoes and birds and swimming and so much more. It’s the Canadian Shield. You really have to experience it.