From Wordsworth

Still feeling sick at heart, but this brought some comfort today:

What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.

And 0, ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills, and Groves,
Forebode not any severing of our loves!
Yet in my heart of hearts I feel your might;
I only have relinquish'd one delight
To live beneath your more habitual sway;
I love the brooks which down their channels fret
Even more than when I tripp'd lightly as they;
The innocent brightness of a new-born day
Is lovely yet;
The clouds that gather round the setting sun
Do take a sober colouring from an eye
That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality;
Another race hath been, and other palms are won.
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

**********************

(From Ode -- Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, by William Wordsworth)

Inspired by nightdog_barks

nightdog_barks posted a lovely little entry on the scissor-tailed flycatcher in honor of spring, which inspired me to share a little bit about my neighborhood: Corydon Avenue, specifically the stretch that we call Little Italy:

This link provides basic info. I have no idea why they performed a funky filter on most of the pics, and it really doesn't do the Avenue justice, but it gives something of the flavor.

Little Italy is an eight-or-ten block stretch of restaurants, night clubs, galleries, and shops that's THE place to hang out in Winnipeg on a warm summer (or spring) evening, full of outdoor and rooftop terraces for dining and basking in the sun. At night it is alive with the pulse of music from the nightclubs and the roar of passing motorcycles (Corydon is also the place to be if you want to see or show off your vehicle), and it's sometimes hard to weave a path through the solid mass of people (often walking their dogs) thronging the Avenue.

Another wonderful thing about Corydon Avenue: couples of any sex or race walk down the street holding hands or with their arms around each other, quite unselfconscious. I once took a visitor from Australia to one of the dining terraces, and watched her gape in amazement at what she was seeing! ;l-) It drove home to me how lucky I am to live here in Winnipeg, where we are on the whole truly cosmopolitan and tolerant.

The next set of photos are of The Sugar Mountain Candy Company, a business at the western end of the Little Italy stretch and one of my favorite places to be, regardless of my inability to fully partake of its delights. It's lj-cut for size, but see how many kinds of candy you can spot!

( The Sugar Mountain Candy Company )