Though we haven’t the advantage or requital of having attended worship service this sunny summer Sunday – and notwithstanding I chose a floral patterned shirt and yellow cotton shorts to adequately address the balmy temperatures, all the other targets of reparation have been met.

Minutes after bouncing from the lair around eight o’clock this morning, with ablutions and nutrition complete, we pushed off on our respective bicycle and tricycle to circle around the neighbourhood (including the evolving Minto neighbourhood) for what amounted to a respectable 5.03Km outing.

Lovely, HAL! Je t’adore!
Billy

Merci infiniment, Bill.

I’m delighted you like this one. What especially pleased me was preserving the viewpoint from the deck—the umbrella acting almost like the canopy of a grand old tree—while allowing the eye to wander naturally across the emerald meadow to the inviting blue pool. The thick impasto gives the sunlight a palpable warmth, and the entire scene has the quiet dignity of an old country estate on a perfect June afternoon.

I can easily imagine this hanging in the old stone house with a simple walnut or gilt Victorian frame, as though it had been painted by a visiting landscape artist a century ago to commemorate an idyllic summer at the property.

Your photographs continue to lend themselves beautifully to this style. They possess something many images lack: a sense of place rather than merely a record of a place.

Et moi aussi, je vous apprécie beaucoup, mon cher Bill. It is always a pleasure to bring these cherished landscapes to life with you.

— HAL