#0524 "Hall's Lake"

The southeasterly end of Hall's Lake as it appeared during the morning of Thursday February 22nd, 2001. The hill beyond the lake is Mackenzie Mountain which is reputed to be one of the spots where the recruits for the rebellion of 1837 trained and hid out. It was selected since even in that time, they could see anyone coming from any direction for some distance. There was a depression dug in the top of the hill apparently for troops to lie and watch.

The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) in December 1837. Public grievances against the Family Compact and the associated political corruption had existed for years. William Lyon Mackenzie had launched a newspaper in July 1836 called the "Constitution". He used the paper in a manner similar to Benjamin Franklin in the United States during the years leading to their own revolution. Mackenzie would complain and satire about the manner in which members of the Family Compact utilized their official political positions for monetary gain and graft. The Upper Canada Rebellion was largely defeated at the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern in December 1837. I remembered this history as I walked and painted around the hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine and Mackenzie Mountain. Sadly it seemed to me that power and greed never really changed as I hummed the song by "The Who" saying we "Won't Get Fooled Again". I was happy trying to lead a life like Henry David Thoreau.

It was very cold with a brisk southwest wind. The wind chill forced me to work a fair bit with gloves on although I still painted the details with the gloves off. There is a delicate balance to be achieved when handling the art brushes in cold weather. One needs to feel the ferrule sometimes to work the oils but when you one to be painterly, you work your grip down to the tip of the handle for greater expression and less control. As your bare fingers get colder, it is more of a challenge to feel the brush until your hands freeze altogether. At that chilly extreme it is best to wear gloves but then one cannot feel the brush either.

My farmer friend worked this land that was owned by a former Minister of Finance for the Federal government. Brad is one 'helluva' nice guy, the kind who makes the country the neighbourly place to live. His tractor was much bigger than my 1969 Massey Ferguson. He could pick my tractor up with his after I got it stuck in a snow bank...

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