Thursday, or Thereabouts - March 31, 2023

It's an "or Thereabouts" Friday

I may be a day late posting, but honestly who's counting?! The best news about today is that it is the last day of March - YAY! The weather gods are celebrating with wind, ice pellets, rain, and general gloom.

Few winters just slump out of the room without a protest or three against spring's arrival in the land. There is usually some push back even after a rumble or two of thunder attempts to break winter's back (according my Dad's weather lore) and the great thawing of the land has begun. No worries - my snow ruler fell over this week, no longer supported by piles of snow, the tulips have pushed up a full 10cm, and the robins have returned. I know the great day star will soon get back to work on the spring's thawing and blooming  So be it.

There's lots to do in the coming week...

The Easter bunny is thumping about the apparent lack of preparation for his upcoming festival. While he's forgotten that the sugar cookies have already been baked and are tucked safely away in the freezer, there are still hot cross buns to make, paska (Easter bread - just think butter, eggs, honey, yeast, and flour), and those cookies will have to be thawed and decorated too! Then there's cleaning and decorating to too. 

Easter 2020

The most difficult of all this preparation is ignoring the cries for redemption coming from the jelly
beans and chocolate eggs hidden away, well away this year, from the eyes, ears and fingers of the baker/decorator and her husband. It is very hard for the old folks in this house to resist freeing the captive confections and then devouring them. Nasty people! 😉

Good thing the old Easter eggs, hollowed out and painted emblems of Easters' past, are safe, though they remain oh-so-fragile.

I'd best get to work. Take care.

©2023 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts - April 22, 2021

 It's Earth Day - the 2021 edition!

For some years now, the soundtrack that always plays in my head on this special day is the enchanting music of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring." Bubbling joy, insistent hope, and awesome wonder seem to dance together. Is there any more appropriate music for Earth Day? If you have twenty-five minutes in your day, have a listen to this amazing music.

Is there any more appropriate music for Spring in southern Ontario struggling to assert itself?

Don't think so. Tentative delight, sour setbacks and heartfelt desire move forward in a steadfast march, Spring chanting, "I think I can, I think I can...aw shucks! Begin again - I think I can, I think I can."

The old Shaker hymn that is integral to Copland's tone poem reminds me:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right. 

 Joseph Brackett (1797 - 1882)

"Restore Our Earth" is the theme of Earth Day this year. There is little that seems simple about that.

We are still masked but we are also still here! In the newly released documentary, "The Year the Earth Changed," the esteemed Sir David Attenborough speaks of amazing survival in the midst of such a year of challenge:

"During this most difficult year many people have reappraised the value and beauty of the natural world and taken great comfort from it. But the lockdown also created a unique experiment. 

Creatures around us have flourished, by and large, in this last year. The stories of how wildlife responded have shown that making even small changes to what we do can make a big difference. 

If we choose, we can transform the health of the planet for all."

 If we choose...

That choice begins with me. I choose to make environmentally responsible choices at home today and every day. It's not nearly as simple as the few mouse-clicks that putting my name on petitions, re-posting and retweeting calls to action, and donating support to local and national initiatives requires, but change, real change has to begin at home. 

Those three R's - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - that we've known for over fifty years, the banner of the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, remain fundamental to efforts to restore the earth. Social action and national commitments are important, but I have to walk my talk here at home, as tedious and as frustrating as practicing the three R's may be at times. Then I step outside my door where there are species at risk. I endeavour to make my garden bee-friendly and I let the dandelions bloom - they are such a joyful yellow!

So much to do. So little time...

But,

Many hands make light work...

©2021 April Hoeller

Monday Meander - March 22, 2021

Hello Spring!

She has come bringing bright blue skies and so very welcome warmth. The snow is all but gone with just a few sad, dirty remnants of the heaps pushed aside by plows and shovels. The redpolls (above) took full advantage of the fine weather to tank up before they head north for the summer. It has been such a delight to see these red-capped rosy-breasted birds this winter. I will miss them when they go, but then the others will arrive. A robin crossed my path twice this past weekend.

  A single crocus came into bloom yesterday and there are plenty more on the way.

Tulips are pushing up through the mulch and winter debris, as is the rhubarb and the forsythia are sporting plump buds - all accompanied by the buzz of awakened wasps, houseflies and other insects.

These signs of reawakening life after a long winter lift my spirits out of the drab ho-hum and into the realm of happy anticipation. Like the tulips and crocus, my soul is pushing beyond the pandemic rubble to send up tender shoots of  new life. All the frustrations of a pandemic story that just doesn't want to end are shoved out of the way making room for better thoughts and better days to come. So come with me and let's swing into spring.

©2021 April Hoeller

Monday Meander – February 22, 2021

Sitting in my wagon at the top of this week I’m not sure I want to kick off. I’m stuck in the blahs, beset by indecision, and tentative about everything. I’m in need of some positive motivation, so what’s in the good/optimistic category this morning?

It’s the LAST Monday in February! The coldest month of the year is on it’s way out.

It may be snowing but for the first day since that  silly rodent predicted an early spring twenty days ago, the temperature is not in the MINUS double digits this morning! In fact it’s heading  into positive territory. And we could really do with a little melting here.

The birds outside my door are swooping it up! Chattering and sometimes bickering as they tank up.

Apparently it’s National Margarita Day! I’ll have mine here, please.

The days are getting longer. The sun rose at 7:05am and will set tonight at 5:57pm EST. In just twenty days and with a little boost from Daylight Savings Time that great star will rise at 7:31 am and set at 7:25pm! Ahhhh…

And last but by no means least:

I can do this!
We can do this!
All while staying safe at home.

 

©2021 April Hoeller

Thursday, or Thereabouts – February 4, 2021

Noon Report: 7°C (45F) in brilliant sunshine outside my door.

It is a joy to sit at the table in the sunroom, writing these words. The groundhog apparently declared an early Spring on his day of prophecy, February 2 and so here we are basking in the thick of it. It won’t last of course. The official forecast does not uphold the rodent’s prediction but rather declares a return to minus double digits by the end of this weekend. Ah well, it is still luxurious to simply sit in the sun-warmed room without being encumbered by woolly sweaters. It’s soothing to let sunlight energize dreams of warmer days, buds and flowers, BBQ's and butterflies.

I picked up a whack of birdseed this morning (curbside of course), so I’m ready for the return of hungry fliers as well as keeping the hardy ones that stay all winter well fed. This year is the first time that I have had crowds of redpolls at the feeders. Usually I’m lucky to see even just one or two each year, but this time often both tube feeders are full stacked with these finch-type birds while the ground beneath the feeders a half dozen or more are gleaning. Without our resident canine here to bark or chase them away, the squirrels have returned in number. They also glean the seeds that fall to the ground.

The bottom line for today is

“It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood!”

Away from the news, the tweets and posts of the virtual world, away from the chirps and pings of electronic devices, this is a perfect day to be in the natural world right outside my door in the warm sunshine. Cant’ beat that!

 

©2021 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - April 22, 2019

It's Earth Day!

This morning I was drawn into the enchanting music of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" Is there any more appropriate music for Earth Day? I don't think so. Bubbling joy, insistent hope, and awesome wonder seem to dance together.

Is there any more appropriate music for Spring in southern Ontario struggling to assert itself? Don't think so either. Tentative delight, sour setbacks and heartfelt desire move forward in a steadfast march, Spring chanting, "I think I can, I think I can..."

The old Shaker hymn that is integral to Copland's tone poem reminds me:










'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.


When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

 Joseph Brackett (1797 - 1882)













"Protect Our Species" is the slogan of Earth Day this year. At first glance, it seems that there is nothing simple about this task at all. It feels overwhelming!

Galapagos Tortoise

Sure, I can sign petitions, re-post to Facebook and retweet on Twitter all the calls to action; I can donate support to local and national initiatives. But perhaps the first best thing I can do, the best personal action I can take and the simplest is to make environmentally responsible choices at home today and every day.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - as challenging as it is to reduce household single-use plastics; as tedious as it is to sort through my discards, castoffs and refuse; as inconvenient as it is to find and then get to reputable recyclers of electronics, metal, window glass, Styrofoam packing blocks and other obscure trash; as frustrating as it is to understand the curbside recycling rules and schedule - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

There is more of course to protecting species at risk here at home. I endeavour to make my garden bee-friendly and I let the dandelions bloom - they are such a joyful yellow!

So much to do; so little time...

                    ...many hands make light work.

©2019 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - April 8, 2019

It's raining. It's pouring...

The room seemed dark this morning,  even though the bedside clock read 7:50am. I stretched and yawned then just lay in the gloomy light and listened. Rain on the roof announced itself, "Pitter patter, pitter patter."

Then another sound reached my awakening ears. Robins singing their hearts out,  "Cheer-up, cheer-up."

While it may seem like just another Monday, there is something beautiful about this morning. It is raining not snowing, it is a warm PLUS 9°C at 9am and the birds are singing.

Spring is awakening...

©2019 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - May 14, 2018

At Burd's Family Fishing, Stouffville (just 10 minutes from home)

I had a lovely Mother's Day, getting a good dose of Vitamin D and doing one of the things I love - fishing. A whole mess of rainbow trout - with a little help from my fishing buddies and the fact that it was a trout farm. Six fine fish for the freezer and two in the pot for supper. 

Now that's a perfect day!

The downside? In a word, Monday. 

Here I sit, legs tucked up inside my wagon, reluctant to kick off into a new week. I'm going to need a little push and a lot more antihistamines! After all that time in the great outdoors where Spring was busting out all over, where pollen was in free-flow, I've awakened this day to sneezing, wheezing, and sputtering. The pollen count sits at 200+ grains per cubic metre with no sign of a reprieve. Oh, the joys of Spring!

Wild strawberries

Periwinkle

You folks go on ahead. I'll catch up in a bit.

Such a happy, sunny face!

©2018 April Hoeller