I wish I were more articulate and could explain why these landscapes and buildings speak so strongly to me. I’ve always loved looking for hints of the past. I also inherited my father’s love of the underdog. Perhaps that’s why buildings that have not been preserved tend to call to me the most. I like listening to what the buildings and roads and patterns of settlement say about the culture of the people that created them. They just make me happy.
We drove through Saint Anne, Papineau and Beaverville. All settled by French Canadians. It made me so happy to see all the French names on various businesses and in the cemeteries. Perhaps that’s because I would see so many French names in Maine. I don’t know, I didn’t expect to be excited by that but I was. Sometimes, when we were visiting Maine there would be a TV show on in French and we’d always get excited and try to get my grandmother to translate it.
Whatever the reasons are, these landscapes soothe me. It’s as though I can feel myself relaxing and softening as we drive through these towns and fields. Somehow, they give me strength.
Onward.
It’s sad that the shutters don’t (fit or shut). But I love the house otherwise.