The weather predictions of late seem to have gone awry.  Days that we are informed by the experts will be cold, wet and miserable have somehow morphed into extraordinarily pleasant, warm and sunny days, and the reverse is also true.  Yesterday we discovered ourselves to be the recipient of a warm and sunny day with light breezes, quite unlike what we were informed we would have.

 

So off we went, after breakfast, for a lovely walk in the ravine.  We found, after the all-night rain of the night before, that despite the ankle-deep level of fallen leaves, the trail underneath was sloshy with wet clay making negotiating some of the trails, particularly in the ascent and descents, fairly tricky.  But the overall blush of colour yet remaining on the deciduous trees was overwhelmingly lovely.

Later, on our way over to the Carleton University campus where the semi-annual antique show of note in the Capital Region was being mounted at their capacious Fieldhouse, the landscape of urban trees was similarly breath-taking in its palette of reds, oranges, golds and burnished browns.

Somewhat less breathtaking was the antique show itself.  It has become, over the course of many years, fairly degraded from what it had once been.  The quality objects of art and antiques have descended toward the 'collectibles' and 'heritage' categories, not to be compared with antique objects of unique quality in design and workmanship and materials.

While there were many early Canadian pine pieces available, we are more inclined now toward the Continental.  Porcelains, clocks, statuary and paintings were at a minimum.  We would have been glad to see even those many pieces of quality that are well beyond our price range, but were disappointed.  The dealers with whom we have been long familiar and from whom we have purchased items in the past, were absent.

Jewellery took up a wide swathe of the offerings, and it seems that with each passing year there are increasing numbers of booths taken up with jewellery, and just plain junk.  Pity, that.