vol. 18: august interlude

“Like August stars, we offer temporary light.” ✨ - Maya C. Popa

(Grass Lake near Haliburton, ON.)

August is my month for taking stock. As a kid, it was the month my parents would send me to camp with my siblings in Minden, Ontario. On long canoe trips, I learned to make my mind still amidst the steady rhythm of paddling through a slowly changing landscape.

In adulthood, I’ve rediscovered pieces of myself on the shores of Ontario (and Swiss) lakes. I spent summers singing opera roles in Haliburton, Ontario, or recovering from big life changes in the Kawarthas.

As I write this, I’m at my boyfriend’s cottage resting after a busy year and summer of doctoral studies and an intensive opera training session in Montreal. Rather than diving into my normal list of books I’ve been enjoying or breakfast (read: dessert) recipes, I thought I’d share a few August poems/readings.

Maya C. Popa:

Sylvia Plath:

Mary Oliver:

And on my canoe trips as a kid, a friend told me I reminded her of Winnie the Pooh, which sparked a teenage love of Benjamin Hoff’s The Tao of Pooh (maybe foreshadowing my yoga teaching later in life?). One applicable excerpt:

(& a recent piece of fan art 🖼️😉)

(Maria Popova’s always inspiring blog… “and when it is august, you can have it august and abundantly so.”)

& finally, in honour of Taylor Swift coming to Canada (though sadly we didn’t get tickets), a cover of a song from her most August-y album by the Quebecois duo Les soeurs Boulay:

@lessoeursboulayOn a adapté Cardigan de @Taylor Swift pour fêter les 3 ans de #folklore. Taylor, we love you. Come to Canada but only if you want to cause you don’t owe anybody anything. @Taylor Nation #fyp #cover #taylorswift #lessoeursboulay

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Please let me know your thoughts and if there’s any readings/listening you’d like to add.

à la prochaine, Augusters!