end of July

Puppy went for her first swim—as soon as we got to the cottage, she jumped in the lake and went immediately into a doggy paddle. She’s a natural. Being a Labrador Retriever, I knew she’d love to swim, but I had no idea that it would be so instinctive and effortless from the beginning.



We’ve had her for two months now, and I can’t imagine life without her.




Next week we are going camping with her, and I can’t wait.

And a non-puppy note: when J. K. Rowling appeared at the Olympics opening ceremony, I screamed out loud. 

things I love lately: pretty pictures and a few links

(Sources: fireflies, Degas sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carey Mulligan in An Education, Ian Thomas’ Messy Bun Studies, Zelda and Scottie Fitzgerald at the beach in 1933, Sofia Coppola’s Paris, Olympia Le-Tan’s Tender is the Night clutch, Rooftops of Paris by Fabrice Moireau, greens palette, starry skies)

Also—here is a New York Times article that describes my life, the reading lists of fictional characters, and a video I’ve become obsessed with of a Royal Ballet company class.

the woods

Summer evening light is my favourite.

July always seems to move so quickly.

I’ve started shooting film again because I just love it too much to stop. There are so many deterrents—I have a DSLR I could be using instead; film costs money and then more money to get developed; you have to wait to see your pictures; some of them don’t turn out at all; you have to scan them; analogue cameras are so much heavier than digital ones... and yet. There is something magical about it. The way it looks, and the feeling when you pick up your photos and flip through them for the first time, the scanner dust and scratches...