The Yorklands

There is a property not far from my house that has worn many hats and passed through many hands. Between the Federal and Provincial governments it has ended up at the mercy of the developers. It's a large parcel with a rich history written by nature as well as man.

An environmentally conscience group in Guelph has been trying to have a part of it set aside for education purposes, an uphill battle. One of my neighbours is heavily committed. Her sister captured this photo that speaks to the process of nature trying to recover.

 

As all my March and April workshops and trunk show commitments were cancelled because of the Covid-19 virus  and perhaps the fact (my son so candidly pointed out) that I am in the group for whom the virus seems to be most lethal....old, I, like most of us, are home with lots of time on our hands.
I was entranced when I saw the photo and with my friend's permission it is my project for Spring. Our self isolation to suppress the virus is the only thing that keeps me out of the garden so this is a pretty stimulating substituent.

I've studied it for a couple of weeks now, taking it apart trying to understand what I see; the melting snow, the rising streams of water, the dead grasses, the extensive stone work and all the wild grape in the trees. So much going on. Where to start.

Background of course, but in this case the water in the foreground is also background. It anchors the perspective from back to front and is the feature that everything else is around, in, under, on or leaning over.
That's today's work.