COOKSHIRE CHICKENS It’s hard to miss the Cookshire Fair this week, Thursday to Sunday. But alas, chickens will be missed. “Due to the bird flu, chickens cannot be exhibited at this edition’s fair,” says expocookshire.com, for the second year in a row.

In the next breath came an invitation to both adults and children to create a chicken to be displayed at the Fair. “Back by popular demand! Create a chicken out of recycled materials & craft supplies.”
What fun! For inspiration, see the bright blue rooster standing tall (polyester resin on stainless steel support, by Katharina Fritsch) on the roof of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Closer to home, check out the vigilant sentinel beside the front door to the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke; a fine cock, his metal feathers in fine fettle.

Then the materials. You could start with them. Raid the recycling bin or the junk closet. Tear things apart, put them together. Explore the curves of things, or make your chicken out of straight angles. If you have a conceptual mind frame, think about the idea of chicken and play with it―create your chicken entirely of egg cartons! What fun!
It’s not complicated to participate. Register by emailing your name and the number of entries (one or more) to expocookshire@hotmail.ca. Then on Thursday between 6 and 9 p.m., bring your chicken creations to the small-animal barn. See you there!

THE ITCH
We’ve got a bunch growing near the Black Locust trees―Spotted Touch-Me-Nots, or Jewelweed. (No, not poison ivy!) “Impatiens capensis” is hard to miss when it’s in bloom, and that’s right now, until the first hard frost. The orange flowers with red speckles resemble tiny irises and are beloved by hummingbirds. The oval leaves are tender and gently toothed; green on top, a little paler underneath.
Our stand of Jewelweed is a good four feet tall or more, in partial shade. You can find it in wooded areas alongside a creek. It is said the flowers are edible, and the seedpods taste like walnuts. But that’s not why I love it.
It’s for insect bites, and all those other itches that summer brings to your skin. For example, an encounter with stinging nettles. For me, this is an irritating itch; for others, it’s a wretched rash; for John, a full-blown allergic reaction.
He had a recent run-in with a Fall Webworm Moth Caterpillar (hyphantria cunea), a long-haired light-green job with parallel rows of black dots running along its sides. (The moth is smallish white with tiny black dots on its wings.) John felt something crawling on the back of his neck, reached up to grab it, and inadvertently moved it around on his skin: Welts. Blisters. Spreading redness. Pain.
For these crises, Benadryl (diphenhydramine) was prescribed, and did the trick.
But for me, summer is just one long itch. For instant soothing, I crush a handful of Jewelweed leaves and rub them on the irritated spot. For a year-round supply of the balm, I go high-tech and put some of the leaves in a plastic bag in the freezer. It’s so easy.
Other Jewelweed lovers make things a little more complicated, cooking up a salve and bottling it. Ashley Adamant (practicalselfreliance.com) nurses a concoction of Jewelweed leaves and olive oil in a double-boiler over very low heat for up to 48 hours. Then she strains the leaves out, and adds beeswax to the infused oil, again over low heat, before putting it in a fancy container.
By then, my itching would be unbearable.
Editor’s note: Not everyone reacts the same to remedies and medicines, so please seek medical advice before following any proposed treatments, including the above or others.

LINE, VOLUME, IMPRINTS
Last chance to see an exhibit of works on paper at the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery, featuring Eric Daudelin, Francine Simonin, and Lisa Tognon, in collaboration with the Eric Devlin Gallery. Ditto for an exhibit by Sandra Tremblay on the phenomenology of imprints, paintings where pictorial and psychic imprints are energized. Until August 18, both exhibits are at the Cookshire-Eaton Art Gallery, 125 Principale West, Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
EATON CORNER
Summer hours at the Eaton Corner Museum are ending soon. Visit it quick, Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: adults, $8; seniors, $6; and youth, $5. A family of two adults and two youth, $20. Info: 819-875-5256.
JIM ROBINSON
Heads up for a concert by Jim Robinson slated for Sunday, September 8, at 2 p.m. It’s in honour of the Trinity United Church’s 161st anniversary, and will be at said church, 190 Principale W., Cookshire.
BROOKBURY HALL
Brookbury Hall hosts a garage sale on Saturday, September 14, at the Brookbury Hall, 571 Brookbury Road (aka Route 255). Info: Brenda Bailey, 819-884-5984.
MURMURING IMAGES
Outdoor images projected onto the walls of Victoria Hall and other buildings take you back to the beginnings of Eaton Township. Starting at nightfall on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Murmures du Canton, at the Parc des Braves, 85 Principale West, Cookshire.
CANTERBURY
The Canterbury Centre’s public market is on every Saturday in August, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Info: Candy, 819-657-4661.
CHURCHES
Baptist. Sunday services are in French at 9 a.m. and in English at 11 a.m., at the Sawyerville Baptist Church, 33 Cookshire St. For information, please contact Pastor Michel Houle at 819-889-2819.
Anglican. Sunday services: August 18, at 9 a.m., at St. Peter’s, Cookshire, and August 25, at 10 a.m., at St. John’s, Brookbury. To find services in the deanery, check the schedule at deaneryofstfrancis.com/calendar/. Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Sunday services are at 10:30 a.m.: August 18, at the Trinity United Church in Cookshire, and August 25, at the Sawyerville United Church. Info: 819-889-2838. For pastoral care, call Rev. Spires at 819-452-3685.