AstroGypsies

Let it melt! let it melt! Let it melt! It’s ALMOST Spring-two days away! In January you are still mesmerized by the beautiful snow, February comes and you know it’s still Winter, expect a few snow storms still, sometimes you get lucky and there is a February thaw, not this year, but March, March holds promises of warmer days, and sun-glorious sun, the snow slips away almost overnight, well, sort of…maybe tomorrow? Ha! I think the Canadian weather forecasters are somewhat sadistic, they love to post those days…15°…sunny, you get your hopes up and suddenly the day approaches and it gets downgraded…to a high of 3°…what job could you be so consistently bad at and not get fired, I don’t know;) So, tomorrow, yes, we have a forcast for 15°. I will not hold my breath but if it does arrive I will do a little hobbling happy dance (plantar fasciitis is flaring up) and watch the rest of the snow recede into the ground! Halle-f-ing lujah!

Mike has been watching the entire collection of “The Sopranos”…It is beginning to show up in my vocabulary on a regular basis;) oh dear, we need to work on this! I can’t keep swearing like Tony Soprano! So, bring on Spring! We had our one last big dump of snow this month, the laneway was so narrow the dually was having a hard time squeezing through! After the big dump, of snow, the wonderful plow guy was stuck, again, I am beginning to think we didn’t make him any profit this year with the amount of times the tow truck came to haul him out, no amount of raspberry muffins will lure him back…sigh, we’ll cross that bridge this coming Fall:)

The good thing is the deer have stopped walking on the ice, must be a sign! The local porcupine has been out sunning him/herself ( however do you tell???) I know how nice that feels! We Canadians love to chat about the weather, probably as it plays a huge part in our mental health! ha! I’m just excited by the little things! The emergence of our gravel laneway is one of them! Who knew I would be so happy to see gray gravel again! And this was a mild Winter, A “good one” to break you back in folks keep telling us, “It went easy on you!”…no ice is all I keep hearing, and we were so well prepared with barrels of sand and salt! It will be here for next year, or, I’m not counting out any sudden ice storms or freezing rain just yet! Call me a pessimist right now and I’ll agree, no surprises please!

The Common Redpolls are still here in great abundance…shouldn’t they be headed to the Tundra? I keep worrying, a sign Winter hasn’t had it’s last laugh! Both the Pileated and Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been scarce this week. I think they are nest building, or they didn’t like the beef suet? I’m back to pork and peanut butter this week! We’ll see! Babies would be a real treat! They are always a welcome blast of colour!

It’s time to start cleaning up…no snow to hide last years leaves and dead plants. Little piles of tree struggles, dead branches and enormous quantities of sunflower seed husks! The rake is waiting…and the wheelbarrow…It will feel good to breathe in that moist Spring air. We had a few minutes of rain this week, we opened the sliding door and sat with the cats sniffing the air, it was delicious! Earth, the beautiful smell of dirt and decay…

…and we can see the little red canoe! yeah! Break out the bubbly! I don’t need much encouragement to celebrate these days;) The lake has gone back to burbling and groaning, think of a giant, with stomach indigestion, no farts, just grumbling! With the quantity of water rolling in, and nowhere for it to go I half expect a blow hole to form in the middle of the lake to let off stream like a pressure cooker! Have you every had one explode? I have…

The traveling Mewberries have gone back to leashes…sadly….with the lake ice melting and sudden Spring fever they are wild! As the snow melted and they discovered they could go anywhere it was time for them to play “Catch me if you can!” with the underneath of our neighbour’s cabin being the first place they pranced off to on the lake ice…flipping their tails around in great amusement as they scampered off…bad kittens! I liked those tall snow paths they couldn’t see over, but not enough to wish for more! NOOOO!!!!:)

Down at the Narrows Lock where the lake is opening up the geese are being very cranky, must be that long trip up from Florida, and the lack of social distancing…some people just don’t get it, sadly…I would love to “sic” this gander on a few of them…he voiced what I feel when I go to the store and see people’s masks hanging around their chins…No vaccine in sight for our age group here yet. Glad to see so many friends and family South of the border with both their shots! We’ll get there, and then hopefully we can go back to exploring, our neck of the woods for now, but yes, a few more adventures for the traveling Mewberries and their faithful servants! Until then, I’m out to visit our latest arrivals, the Red-Winged Blackbirds are back with their friends the Grackles! Stay safe amigos, or you might find that goose chasing you down;) ha!