Have You Ever Seen the Rain,

Coming Down on a Sunny Day?

I spotted this being painted while passing in a street car. I waited 3 days and returned.

The painting was not quite finished, and there was a cherry picker blocking the bottom. It was a sunny day, but I was in a mighty blue mood. Some rain had fallen in my life.

I waited 3 more days, and returned to the yellow and blue painting, like sun and rain, to me. I could heard this song. I had been hearing it for 3 days.

I mailed Holly and told her I found a painted poem. I sent a couple of pics and asked did she have any sun and rain poems? Any yellow and blue poems? She sent 3 poems, and a song.

September Rain

The rains come late; vanilla yogurt clouds deepen to ripe blueberry.
Twirling harlequins of wind sweep upward through the lush crowns of Lindens where birds weave wicker, dried stems, and waxy feathers, dripping pearly dew onto overgrown gardens.
Higher, squirrels shelter in rattan dreys, inky shadows among mottled rays that dance on puddles and glistening blades, the potpourri of life.

~~~ Holly Rene Hunter

One was not a rain on a sunny day poem. Rather, she sent flowers on a sun’s shore.

FLOWER GIRL

Where are you my love?
Chasing shadows along sun swept shores?

Turbulence has exfoliated the rosy blush from my cheeks. When we speak our words drift away on the wind.

If you should change your mind I’ll be waiting by the garden gate flowers in my hair.


– Holly Rene Hunter


It Feels Like Rain

The earthy scent of petrichor clings to our skin,  overflows my eyes,  slips down our cheeks to mingle with  salty lips.
We know how it feels to swim in sun drenched rivers,  to touch the moon and feel the sear of the  sun. 
Your song  fills the sky with falling stars.
But mine bring the rain…  

I bring the rain.
It feels like rain…
You know it feels like rain. 

– Holly Rene Hunter

Pics taken by Resa – September 1 & 4, 2025

Toronto, Canada

I GOT TO MEET THE ARTISTS!

Paul Jackson – https://pauljacksonlives.com/

@mony.zak on Instagram

CHEERS TO EVERY DAY!

Fado

Portuguese Blues

That was how Fado was described to me by a musician. Yet, looking into it, it is that and so much more. It is a proud history of folk song.

The stencil art on this garage door features 2 of the greatest Fado singers, Amalia Rodriguez and Mariza.

Amalia Rodriguez

1920- – 1999

She is the Queen of Fado – Rainha do Fado. To this day she remains the best-selling Portuguese artist in the history of recorded music.

Link to more info about Amalia

In 2021 I found a stunning mural of Amalia.

Mariza

1973 – Present

Internationally beloved icon, Mozambique-born Portuguese singer Mariza has become the currently reigning Rainha do Fado.

Visit Mariza’s official website.

I adore both of the songs, by these Rainhas!!

Pics taken by Resa – April 30, 2025

Toronto, Canada

Stencil Art by:

The Unicorn & the Sprite

Fantasy Alley

Here comes one with a camera!

I see her. Okay, look into the lens this time!

Gotcha!

But remember, you stay on the fence, and I’ll stay on the door until just the right moment!

Where should we take her? Avalon or Arcadia?

I say Arcadia! Dryads, nymphs and other spirits are there.

Good idea, but we’ll have to watch out for Pan and Hermes. They’re roaming around Peloponnesus.

True, but Atalanta will be there, and she’s the King’s daughter. She’ll protect us!

Good point! Here she comes. NAB HER!

AAAAAaaaRRRRRRRGGGGGgggggggGGGGGHHHHHhhhh

Pics taken by Resa – June 27, 2025

Toronto, Canada

The Artists:

Imagine – Discussing John Lennon

With Trent P. McDonald

John Lennon rocks my socks. When I found this street art, Trent raced to mind.

We did 2 joint Lennon posts just over a year ago. We both have an abundance of respect and love for him. Trent wrote a song for John and everything.

Resa – I knew you were taking some voice lessons, but I had no idea you were studying a song, let alone Imagine. Did you pick Imagine right away, or did that come later? Why did you pick Imagine?

Trent – My instructor picks the songs for me, mostly late 60s, early 70s songs.  He plays them on his guitar and I sing along.  He chooses the key that he feels is best for me.  Imagine was a relatively early pick, so it has been at least 8 months and maybe close to a year.  I think I had played my song about John for him which is why he chose it. 

Trent’s Cover of Imagine

Not only do I love Trent’s cover of Imagine, I adore his drawing of John.

Resa – There are many John Lennon quotes. Some are profound, Some are hilarious.
Two of my faves (of many) are – “Time wounds all heels” & “One thing you can’t hide is when you’re crippled inside”

What are a few of yours?

Trent – John was pretty witty, but I can’t think of quotes right off the top. 

Trent – I just looked up “John Lennon Quotes”, and there are so many to choose from!  

Perhaps – We all have Hitler in us, but we also have love and peace. So why not give peace a chance for once?”  Of course, for me his song lyrics are worthy of quoting.

Resa – I completely agree!

“I’m Shot”

Were Lennon’s last words.

Resa – I was shattered when I heard the news that John had been shot and died. I honestly believed in his message of love and peace being a way forward for the world and its people. I felt that die with him.
Do you have any memory of hearing the news? Do you understand why I felt the way I did?

Trent – I had pretty much just rediscovered the Beatles just a short time before he was murdered.  When rediscovering the Beatles, I gravitated towards John and his message more than towards the others.  Peace and Love, the brotherhood of Man.  These were huge themes for me.  I was pretty much devastated when I heard the news.  I sat and listened to Beatles’ songs nonstop for two days. 

Trent – Did I feel John’s message was killed with the messenger?  Yes and no.  I understood that we had entered a new era, but I tried to believe that his violent death would wake people up and that his message would grow.  Well, Ronald Reagan and all that he stood for took over the culture so that even kids my age went total right wing.  But the spark did remain.

TrentLike many geniuses, John was a contradiction,

… and had a lot of bad qualities.  He said he was violent when he was young, fighting with boys and hitting girls and that a lot of his peace and love was to keep those tendencies at bay, to conquer the violence within himself.  He could be super petty and paranoid. 

Resa – I love the insight!

Trent – One of the saddest things is that I think after dropping out of public life for all of those years he had finally made peace with himself and was just breaking out again, ready to take on the 80s.  But all of that was nipped in the bud.

Favourite Songs

Resa – I think John Lennon is a brilliant songwriter.

My Fave John song from The Beatles’ days is Don’t Let Me Down.

John songs (excluding Imagine) are: Jealous Guy, Whatever Gets You Through the Night and Instant Karma.

So Trent, what are your favorite John Lennon songs? 

Trent – With the Beatles I loved: Strawberry FieldsI am the Walrus and Across the Universe

Solo? 

Hmm, maybe: ImagineMind Games and Watching the Wheels“- had to put that last one in because I wanted something from Double Fantasy and that was by far the most popular song from that album – it sounds so much like his earlier works.

Resa – I absolutely love the album cover for Double Fantasy. Yoko Ono is an interesting person. I’ve only seen her art in photos. However, as a performance artist she is brilliant in the video for Instant Karma, knitting with a blindfold on, while the band plays. John’s love for her is wonderfully obvious. Do you see it?

Trent – I think there is a huge love story between John and Yoko and is often very apparent.  So yes, I see it in the video you mentioned and also at the end of the one for Imagine where they are trying to keep straight faces but end up cracking each other up.  I think it is awful how much hate she has received from the world, though I think it has mellowed a lot in the last couple of decades.

Resa – I agree!

About –Let’s All Join In & Trent’s cover of Imagine

Trent wrote on YouTube

Resa thought she saw Lennon’s face from a trolley but didn’t’ find it again until recently. When talking about it, some said we need Lennon’s vision today more than ever and others said there should be a song about seeing Lennon’s face from a trolley…So here it is, both ideas in one. Yes, I drew my own picture instead of using the real street art – how could I without asking the artist? And, of course, I manipulated the drawing in a thousand and one ways.

Click pic to see post with “Let’s All Join In”lyrics

IMAGINE

Here is Trent’s blurb from YouTube, slightly edited for this post.

Yep, a quick take on John Lennon’s classic “Imagine”. Though very close, this is not an exactly note-for-note transcription of John’s original arrangement. Besides a few different notes and different drum fills, I recorded in Bb instead of C. I didn’t even listen to the original string arrangement, I just played. I had a few reasons for recording this song. One is that I sing this in my voice lessons.

Another was that Resa had told me she had found some street art featuring  Lennon’s “Imagine”.  Since I had been singing the song, why not do a recording?

Many thanks to Trent for joining me here today!

Pics of John Lennon art taken by Resa – July 2, 2025

Toronto, Canada

Painting by AOTR

April Showers in August

Actually this was found in October last year, but it’s August now.

April Showers paints on the oldest walls, corners, back alley doorways, crooked corner bits and other spots that need her beauty.

I’ve got a collection gathering, but this seems it should be on its own.

I adore her work, and no matter how dark the doorway,

or how crumbly the wall, her art makes it a lot better.

I hope to meet her one day, so I can thank her!

Pics taken by Resa – October 15, 2024

Toronto, Canada

The Artist:

Cameo Blue

This reminds me of an antique coral & white cameo ring I have.

I like it in blue, too.

The profile is characteristic of a cameo carving.

The face, set in a circle, is cameo-like.

They were wildly popular with the Victorians, a renaissance from the Renaissance,

… in a Victorian garden.

Pics taken by Resa – June 27, 2025

Toronto, Canada

The Artist:

So, you might ask outside of the fact that the band’s name is Cameo and that there is a blue hue to much of the video, what it has to do with Victorian or Renaissance cameos?

Nothing, but it’s got a great beat you can dance to and Larry Blackmon’s red cod piece is outstandingly hilarious!