May 8, 1917
I was sent on a mission today by Annie. To pick some violets, trilliums and leeks.
As for the trilliums, Annie read in the paper that the government was thinking about making the trillium the national emblem for Canada. Someone in Ottawa said the white trillium represented purity, the trinity and the foundations of the British Empire – England, Scotland and Ireland. The government wanted to make the trillium the official flower to mark the graves of soldiers. Judging by the number of trilliums I saw in the bush, they won’t run out of trilliums anytime soon. Another reason to conscript soldiers – too many trilliums in the bush. Annie wanted to set up a bouquet in the dining room to honour the fallen soldiers.
It was only now – almost a month after Vimy Ridge – when we started to learn of the numbers of casualties. Shannon observed, that while Canoe Lake did not get many telegrams, the other telegraph operators were awfully busy. A busy telegraph operator meant only one thing, lots of death notices being sent to families. I had heard the casualty list was sent to Ottawa first, and then they were divided up to be sent as individual telegrams across the country. Every rail station and post office across the country had become the first bearer of grim news to the families.
As for the violets and leeks, Annie had more interesting plans. The secret to Mowat Lodge’s success was not due to Shannon’s business acumen, but rather Annie’s cooking and culinary skills. She always knew what was the best of the season and could prepare something that was at the pinnacle of the season at hand. She wanted the violets not for its colours, but for its leaves. She was planning to make soups, salad and omelette with the leaves The same with the leeks, she was going to make her famous leek soup.
I went out and got what Annie ordered. I also picked a bouquet for Daphne. I had been promising for over a month. When I returned and gave her the flowers, Daphne had only a Mason jar to put them in. So I wrapped the cut flowers in a wet newspaper, and proceeded to paint the mason jar. I used the paint I scraped off from my sketches yesterday as the ground for the jar (I added some turpentine to soften). After the ground was done, I painted a nice floral pattern and then I set flowers back in the jar. I asked Daphne to leave the flowers beside the white trillium bouquet as it made a nice contrast.
Annie was grateful for the trillium bouquet but I could see she was a bit put off by the now-painted mason jar. Either it was ugly to her, or she was jealous that I didn’t paint one for her.
I saw Martin Blecher Jr. in the distance today. He has gotten his putt-putt boat out and is making the inaugural voyage to Canoe Lake Station (via Potter Creek). He has a pet groundhog on a leash. I can’t fathom that he brought a groundhog all the way from Buffalo. He must have gotten it here. A groundhog – it’s an appropriate mascot for an American draft dodger. I’ll mention that the next time I’m close enough to talk to him.
Tom Thomson's Last Spring 