Happy Halloween or all Hollows Eve Oct 31st – Some people like skeletons, other vampires; but for me the scarecrow is the essential halloween symbol. The tall and skinny figure with a pumpkin for a head, maybe stuffed with some hay, strikes the right note of spooky and the fall harvest. Walking past aContinue reading “Halloween and Scarecrows”
Monthly Archives: October 2015
Sounds of an Abandon Farm House
Signs and Omens – The Tale of Strange Lights
According to some folklore, strange lights can warn of approaching death. There is a story that tells of a mother and son who were visiting relatives in the countryside. One evening, the mother and son were upstairs and glanced out the window to see two lights moving towards the farm house. The lights were movingContinue reading “Signs and Omens – The Tale of Strange Lights”
Art Post – the experience of Hamilton Cemeteries
Signs & Omens – The Tale of Sailing Ship Troy
In earlier times, people often believed that death could be foretold by signs or warnings. I don’t have any local tales, but here is one from New York State that I recently read in a book that was published in 1975. Lake Champlain is a very stormy body of water, particularly late in the shippingContinue reading “Signs & Omens – The Tale of Sailing Ship Troy”
The Ghost Story of Lover’s Lane
Odds and Ends – an artist’s notebook Oct 26th – In the spirit of Halloween, I have re-posted an edited version of last year’s short film: the Legend of Lover’s Lane. Based on the long standing legend from Ancaster (Ont) of what happen at the Hermitage Mansion in the early years of the 19th century.
Dying Can Be a Pickle
This week the Globe and Mail noted that Oct 21st was the anniversary of the death of Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Before the American Civil War embalming was rarely done and funerals had to be performed very quickly. In the case of Lord Nelson, he died on a ship farContinue reading “Dying Can Be a Pickle”
MacNab’s Inchbuie one of many examples of early settler cemeteries in Hamilton Ontario
Death doesn’t wait for anyone, in the days before church and city cemeteries, early Hamilton settlers had the practical problem of where to bury their dead. So, for those with large properties, setting aside a small portion of land (that they already own) seemed to be the ideal solution. In addition to saving money,Continue reading “MacNab’s Inchbuie one of many examples of early settler cemeteries in Hamilton Ontario”
Soundscape – October winds at Hamilton’s Cootes Paradise
Sir Allan MacNab buried at the family cemetery called Inchbuie, located at Dundurn Castle,Hamilton Ontario
Sir Allan MacNab was buried with: his son (Robert MacNab); his parents (Allan and Anne MacNab); his first wife (Elizabeth Brooke MacNab); his second wife (Mary Stuart MacNab); his brother (David Archibald MacNab); two of his brother’s children; and MacNab’s daughter (Minnie MacNab Daly).
