Chute de St. Ursule, sunflowers

The park Chute de st Ursule has a nice hiking path with views of a river. Here, we stood on a narrow bridge and you see the tips of my shoes, looking down. The water chute was blasting down and spraying upwards. It has carved a deep gorge in the black and brown rocks. There was a guard railing with mesh that I omitted from the painting to create drama. 

 

Down the chute, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4791a)

At the end of the park the river makes a sharp turn creating a rocky peninsula. There was a picnic bench in the shade, surrounded by river and great views. It was the best picnic locale in the world I think. We ate artisinal sandwiches we bought earlier in the morning in Louisville. The river is called the Maskinongé, which is an indigenous word that translates into running water, or water-source, something like that. The information center at the park mentioned the colonial history of the region but not the indigenous history. I found little information on the internet either. 

Boulder sparkling river watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4792a)

Driving east then south along picturesque highways surrounded by rolling farmland we arrived at Passion Lavandre a ritzy tourist trap for fancy cyclists and city folk on weekend road trips. We picked up some fragrant items and drank espresso and cappuccino sitting next to lavender fields. The coffee tastes better with the aroma of lavender in the breeze. Like a spring fawn dancing across a sun-kissed meadow as Dad would say. I made a painting of the end of season sunflowers, they were all drooping and pointing south. 

Drooping sunflowers, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, September 2025 (No. 4793a)