Just me playing a melancholy little tune called Cold Frosty Morning. The banjo is in A Modal AKA Sawmill tuning with a capo on the 2nd fret.
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Tim Noonan at Yumart
Yesterday afternoon we were at the opening of Tim Noonan’s show of new paintings. That’s Tim in the picture with his painting, Turtle Island. Check out Tim’s work at Yumart Gallery. With this exhibition, Tim continues to bring his exuberant, sometimes jarring, expressionist palette to the landscape, including the urban landscape. It’s a very enjoyable show.
We’ve known Tim for a long time – in fact we studied together at York University in the early 80s. At some point a few years after that, Tim, me, Sheila Gregory, and Ron Bloore used to go out “Sunday Painting” together. We would drive out of the city and look for interesting landscape to paint and draw. We never knew where we would end up. I recall Tim would often rush off on his own and come back with some of the most stunning watercolour paintings. Bloore would usually find a comfortable spot and do pencil drawings of the forest floor at his feet. There was usually a picnic lunch involved.
I loved those painting and drawing trips, which we did off and on for a number of seasons. Once we drove up to the Sundridge area for a weekend of painting and drawing. We rented cabins by a lovely lake. I recall when we booked the cabins, we told the folks there we were painters. They assumed that meant house painters. I guess they figured there was a house painting convention in the area.
The Ladybug
The Ladybug is becoming increasingly comfortable with the other cats and the dogs. This morning for the first time she had breakfast with the others. 
She has a great spirit and she loves to play and to be around us humans.
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Snowy Owl #2 complete
See more photos at Long Branch Mosaics.
Soldier’s Joy
Here are Thornton and Emily Spencer (from the Whitetop Mountain Band) playing Soldier’s Joy.
How iconic is that?
Iconic must be the most overused word we see these days. Celebrities, for instance are regularly described as iconic, at least those who aren’t yet legendary. Both words are used when an adjective is needed, but there really isn’t all that much to say. They’ve become meaningless, filler marketing words. Let’s give them a rest for a few years, ok? While we’re at it, let’s agree to rid our language of the word impactful. That one is like fingernails on a blackboard to me. I’m sure there’s more. Feel free to add your list in the comments section.
Very be Careful
Hogslop – Reuben’s Train
I was surfin’ about on the YouTube machine and I chanced up this “official video”. I almost didn’t watch it because, well….what the hell is there official about old time music? I did watch it though, and I’m glad I did. This is a wonderfully driving performance of Reuben’s Train, and the fact that the group has a gut-bucket bass makes up for the “official video” business.
Here is the Hogslop Stringband…
Snowy Owl mosaic
The first of two different snowy owl mosics is complete.
New Podcast + New Story Site
Episode 7 of the 27th Street Podcast is now available. In this episode I read 3 of my Lazy Allen Stories. The stories featured are The Bottle & Can, Star Beauty, and My Dog’s Bigger than your Dog. The music on the podcast is me playing a tune called Texas Gals on clawhammer banjo.
I’d also like to introduce a new story site – a home for The Lazy Allen Stories. My goal is to post a new story each month until this story cycle runs its course. There are currently 7 stories up on the site. I’ve featured 5 of those stories already here at 27th Street. I’d like to invite you to check out the new site and read the stories I haven’t previously shared.
I don’t plan to seek out traditional publication of these stories. Instead, I’m going to continue to make them available to everyone for free at the new story site. If you really love these stories and would like to support this project, please visit my Patreon page.
27th Street 