Remembrance Day

My dad painted this when he returned from five years in a Soviet POW camp.  He'd been a Luftwaffe pilot during WWll, later ending up on the Eastern Front with the Military Police.

Remembrance Day's become more complicated for me over the years.  Robert Fisk's article in the Belfast Telegraph, most closely mirrors my changing attitude. Bottom line:  war is wrong.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/robert-fisk/wearing-a-poppy-why-remembrance-rituals-make-me-see-red-29737005.html

And in case you don't read the whole article, here's a clip from his conclusion:  "The poppies were there to remind us of our duty to kill more human beings."

Change

My dogs and I have walked these fields and stopped by this pond countless times. It's part of our neighbourhood, part of our routine. I never stop being in awe of the colours, of the timelessness of nature.

But change is in the air, and I'm not referring to the coming winter.

This area will soon be destroyed so that a new development can take its place.

Soon the pond, the woods, and the farmer's field will become houses for families. This is not a bad thing. It just is. And so I wanted to post these photos to remind me of my meanderings when this pond is replaced with a new neighbourhood called Ridgeway South. 

South of the Harte Trail