Snowy Speculations

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If I could paint, I would have tried to replicate the landscape very early this morning. Illuminated by the faintest hints of light and hours before sunrise, the cold, stark landscape lay completely still in its snowy blanket. Naked trees stood proudly and quietly against this backdrop, this palate of pure white an unforgiving place for any creature, big or small, to attempt to cross without drawing attention to its existence at this time. Even our ancient tire swing looked sleepy and droopy, suspended precariously close to the ground, as if the effort of hanging from a tree limb was too much for it. To the east, the only rays of light visible were the ones coming from the across the river, and even those seem hushed and muffled, like a child tired and murmuring not to wake them up just yet.  The young families down the road have gone all out with Christmas lights this year. Bright colours adorn the night skies and my neighbours even have a Christmas Cat and a Christmas Dinosaur that i
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Messy, Messy Nature

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Messy, Messy Nature

Once again, we are blessed with a beautiful Sunday morning! The birds are singing their hearts out and in the distance, a tractor is rumbling around in the vineyard, a sign that the work week does not stop for our farmers. Just as I finished typing the title of this blog, I adjusted my laptop and accidentally hit the pot in which I was trying to grow my precious heirloom tomato seedlings. I had been pleased with twelve seedlings peeping out of the dirt several weeks ago and, as of last week, was down to four. So as the pot crashed to the deck floor, I hastily tried to save these fragile babies from the rubble of potting soil they found themselves under. I repotted them in record time and cleaned the mess left behind. As I was putting away the dust pan the irony of my title did not escape me....

My husband has been complaining for weeks how messy nature is. In this last week, the poplar forest behind us has been showering us with "snow" making the pool and yard look like a winter wonderland in the middle of May. Not so great for the pool pump working twice as hard. Since I work from home, I enjoy taking my lunch breaks by the pool. But even that was not to be as the poplar fluff clouds landed on my sandwich, in my tea and I even inhaled one - not a pleasant experience! I was coughing for hours afterward.

Now that the poplar "snow" has subsided, the maple keys and walnut droppings have taken over. Living with a plethora of foliage is not for those who cannot stand everything neat and orderly. We have to use the leaf blower to blow off the pool solar blanket and our driveway on a daily basis. But this too will come to an end in a few weeks. 

We have an old bird house that had seen better days. It had changed locations so many times, including being thrown on the fire pit for weeks on end. But luckily, it never ended up meeting its fiery demise and for some reason, after a decade of neglect, it got painted and perched on the top of a  twelve foot pole just in time for the spring flurry of birds looking for a nesting spot. We were pleased to see that some Starlings decided to call it their home and for weeks now, we've been listening to their chatter and watching the flurry of activity as the parents fly in and out. It's interesting to note that they carry food in to their young, but take the refuse out with every trip. What a lesson to be learned. Bravo Starlings!  In a moment of what I thought was brilliant parenting, I used this bird's constant habit of tidiness to my kids.  I was met with the usual eye rolls and sighs and, based on the state of their rooms, it appears to have fallen on deaf ears.... 

So while living rurally is messy business, the benefits outweigh any of the tedious weeks on poplar fluff and maple keys. The ground is drying out so the mud being tracked to each of our doors has subsided. The lilacs are putting their last push into their blossoms, vibrant poppies dot the flowerbeds and the air is fragrant and lush. We've been observing all the nests in various locations and watching tiny beaks pop up over the edges as the parents tirelessly bring food to their young. I enjoyed my tea early this morning without a single poplar tuft of white swirling around me. Now if only we could do something about the mosquitoes...

Lolita Schimann Hale

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