Sitting On The Porch

A beautiful sunny day here today at Mist Cottage. And balmy! It is almost 20C on the back porch, in the warmth of the afternoon sun. I am sitting on the back porch, luxuriating in the gentle breeze. The bird population is very active, I’ve seen Canada Geese, Crows, Robins, and Chicadees so far this morning, and heard a bird call that I’ve not heard before, loud, perhaps a raptor. A squirrel runs across the top of the back fence, heading south. An Asian beetle drops from overhead onto my hair, I catch it and remove it. Freshly hung laundry sways in the breeze across the length of the porch, dry already, the first of the season.

This interlude of lovely weather is a balm to the soul. As I sit here I can feel the weight of winter lifting.

The Tamaracks will soon be sporting green needles and colourful cones. I love the Tamaracks. We did not have Tamaracks on the farm where I grew up, I only became familiar with them while living in the north. I remember driving along the highway in the spring, to visit my Granny and Grandpa, and noticing what looked like evergreen trees bare of needles. I mentioned to my Granny and Grandpa that a lot of evergreen trees seemed to be dying. My Grandpa though I was hilarious! I was describing Tamaracks, which loose their needles in the winter.

The view from our back porch would not be considered particularly photogenic. And yet, to me it is the most beautiful spot in the world, rivalling my Granny and Grandpa’s house, and the farm where I grew up. How lucky I have been to enjoy days just like this in those places, with such wonderful people. A lot of beauty is to be found in the familiar.

Attila’s focus will soon shift to outdoors. It is time to start setting up the rain tanks, beginning with one, working towards connecting the second one as well. Although we expect more freezing weather before spring officially arrives, the water tanks will be safe with water in them as long as they are allowed to drip on the cold nights. Water collection will be particularly important this year, as the prediction is for a very dry spring. We want to capture any rain that does fall.

Worldly

Weather

Updated on Mon, Mar 4 at 1:57 PM
16°C
FEELS LIKE 15
A few clouds
Wind 18 SE km/h
Humidity 60%
Visibility 24 km
Sunrise 6:39 AM
Wind gust 27 km/h
Pressure 102 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 5:59 PM

Quote

“I think people don’t place a high enough value on how much they are nurtured by doing whatever it is that totally absorbs them.”
Jean Shinoda Bolen

For me, writing is nurturing. For Attila gardening is nurturing. Variety is the spice of life.