August

Claude Monet Painting in a Wood
John Singer Sargent
1885

I have always loved this painting by John Singer Sargent, of his friend Claude Monet, because it feels mellow. It feels as if it were painted in August, which is my favorite month. August is a mellow month, don't you think? The sun is beginning to set earlier in the evening, the mornings are cooler and the light in the air is different. It takes on a slightly golden hue, not quite the blue and white brightness of June and July. I always feel relaxed and languid (isn't that a wonderful word?) in August, and everything seems to slow down to a lazy pace.

When I was a little girl, August was the month when my parents would take us to the Mainland for the family visit with my grandparents. My grandfather had retired from the police force, and he bought an apple orchard. My brothers and I loved spending hours playing in the cool trees. My grandparents had a Shetland pony named "Pirate" and a palomino horse named "Goldie" and we thought it was wonderful to be able to ride them around the countryside. For one month, our parents and our grandparents were relaxed and having fun. It just felt -- mellow. In August, the whole world kicks into another gear, sort of dreamy and tranquil.

We have a three-day weekend here in Canada, and I plan to spend the whole three days just being lazy -- going to the beach, doing some drawing and painting, reading a book, or whatever I feel like doing, whenever I feel like doing it. I hope you can do that where you are too.

Here is my favorite song from "Alice in Wonderland". It always reminds me of a lazy August afternoon.