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June bugs captivate me with their size and the patterns on their back. They can grow up to 1.25
inches long. Diane remembers summers where June bugs would sun themselves on towels hung
on the fence during swimming lessons. These insects are drawn to light sources at night, and I’d
often find them in the morning by our front door.
June bugs are also known as watermelon beetles and are a scarab beetle in western Canada. The
scarab beetle was made famous in movies like The Mummy and The Mummy Returns starring
Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Scarab beetles are associated with Egyptian horror and large
numbers of them would scuttle along the ground and across human bodies.

I have long admired the work of Canadian artist Lawren Harris. He was born into wealth, and the
well-known Canadian line of Massey-Harris farm equipment carries his name. Harris painted
abstract landscapes and was a driving force behind the artists who formed The Group of Seven in
Ontario and later in British Columbia where he influenced Emily Carr. His landscapes took on a
smoothed form and had universal appeal. I have seen his The Old Stump, Lake Superior adorning
many a textbook in schools. Lawren Harris was also known as a mystic, creating landscapes
based on the teachings of Theosophy where he exaggerated cloud shapes and used whites to
emphasize the interplay of light and darkness in his work.

Lawren Harris