Photo credit to Anne Sidnell and permission of Primrose Donkey SanctuaryRoseneath, Ontario

The first snow fell late that year. November was mellow, the sun turning the long grass pinky gold in the morning, the cedars holding their green, and the earth sending up a faint mist through the frost. Edward rolled in his field, next to the house, and brayed for his summer friends, who’d shared his pasture. Alone now, he huddled in his small, straw-lined barn on cold nights.

I’d inherited Edward from my uncle and aunt when they sold their farm. He became my daughter’s pet, but Megan left for theatre college. She came home sometimes on the weekend, but most of the time, Edward had only me. I felt sorry for him—he needed company.

One morning, the phone rang. I answered, “Nina Harris speaking.”

A voice said, “Hello. I believe you own a donkey. Right?”

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What I like best about blogging is feeling free to write about whatever seems most important or interesting to me at the time I sit down to my computer. So this week, as I am still coming down from my high over the Festival of the Arts we planned, organised and executed and which turned into such a fabulous success, I’m going to tell you a little about the weekend and post some pictures of the various events.

We opened the festival on Friday night with a reception in honour of our sponsors and supporters at which Cobourg’s poet laureate, Ted Amsden, read his poem that celebrates Canada 150 and the town of Cobourg. This was followed by a staged reading of De Beaux Gestes & Beautiful Deeds, a musical play in which the playwright, singer-songwriter Marie-Lynn Hammond, performed and sang 10 of her original songs.

Marie -Lynn Hammond in…

Do anthologies have popular appeal these days? And if not, why not? We’re told that readers have given up on novels and want something shorter, that the novella is making a comeback and that, short stories, flash fiction and graphics are what catches the book buying public’s attention. Most comments about the reading public need to be taken with at least half a teaspoonful of salt, of course. But it does seem that short, varied pieces of writing with strong individual points of view ought to appeal to a wide audience and since an anthology usually has “something for everyone” within its covers shouldn’t it be just the ticket?

The Spirit of the Hills Writers’ Group , based in Northumberland County Ontario, has published two anthologies, in 2012 and 2015, and is about to launch the third Hill Spirits 111 at our Festival of the Arts in early November. They…

Summer here is festival season. Because many Canadians are celebrating Canada’s 150^th year, this year our region of Eastern Ontario has been particularly well provided, even embroidered with concerts, weekend programmes, and festivals that provide several weeks of music. Literary and poetry festivals abound as well, and of course theatrical ones. Some of these are long established, others new.

Westben Theatre – Photo by Michel Proulx

Choosing which events to attend is the challenge, as there are so many you’d really not want to miss. My favourite summer music series, presented at the Westben Theatre (a purpose-built barn with great acoustics) in Campbellford ON, is now in its 17^th year and a flourishing concern. Westben presents a wide variety of music from Bach to Broadway favourites, opera, jazz, fiddle, folk and world music. Performances range from full symphony orchestras, fully staged operas to solo banjo, flamenco guitar and…

My cat, Lucy, probably on life number 7

Cats have nine lives so it’s said. Lying awake last night, reflecting on my own life, I came to the conclusion that it is humans who may live several lives and on leaving one, they shut the door on it as they turn to another.

If you Google the question of cats’ nine lives, you’ll see many people have commented on it. Most quote the old proverb which goes further than the statement with which I began. It runs, “A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays and for three he stays.” Interpretations of this are various; most regard it as a comment on the hardiness of cats and their ability to survive against the odds but also that old age makes cats more loving. Some point out the saying was well-known in Shakespeare’s time and that…