Monday Morning Musings

Posted on March 22, 2021 under Monday Morning Musings with 2 comments

This is what a real spring looks like – Victoria 2016

Spring has sprung.

Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed. When it’s -30, it’s hard to say that spring is right around the corner with a straight face. Now, I’m not complaining. By and large, the days are sunny and after the time change last week, the evenings are stretching out, allowing many of us to get out for weekdays walks, snow shoeing and cross country skiing for the first time since last October. So, while robins aren’t chirping and you can’t smell earthy aromas, we know that spring will come here soon too.

Honestly, in all my years and all my travels, the only place that I ever felt truly experienced spring was Victoria, B.C. My late brother Tom would often send us pictures of him mowing his lawn in late February or of the cherry blossoms blooming all over the city. I spent a few years in Victoria back in the 70s and got to witness a real spring. I believe that Nova Scotia at one point in its history actually had four seasons but as the cynics often say, there are only 8 months winter and four months of poor skiing. That’s not rue of course but more often than not in recent years it seems like Canada’s Ocean Playground goes from winter to summer, completely forgetting about spring. I am looking forward to seeing how spring unfolds in the north. Last year of course, we were ushered out of the province at the end of March because of Covid.

How have you managed the time change?

Last week, we “sprung ahead” one hour. I don’t ever remember this being a big deal in the past. Of course, with advancing age, there are a lot of things I can’t remember including what I had for supper last night. I see that you agree. It’s shocking that we can all sing the chorus of California Dreamin’ but can’t remember where we left the spatula after baking yesterday.

The time change hit me like a ton of bricks this year. I was in a fog most of the week. Those of you who know me well might opine that this has been a lifelong affliction. My sleep pattern was so confused that I actually had to take a morning off school last week to try and get back on track. First of all, I thought it was my age but many younger teachers and lots of students were unusually fatigued. Tired teachers and tired students are a bit of a toxic brew. I see all you current and retired teachers nodding your heads.

Do you have any idea how many coffee grounds are in a single scoop of coffee? I think about 2 million. I have been making coffee for five decades. I know how to make a single cup, a pot of coffee, and because I’m a working stiff again, I know how to prepare a thermos of coffee. A few days into my ‘spring fog’ last week, I was making coffee for work. I sat the cone filter on top of the steel thermos and started adding boiling hot water. For reasons only known to sleep deprived gods, the filter decided to tip over, pouring a half a thermos full of steaming hot coffee, along with the grounds, all over the counter, into four drawers and down the side of the kitchen counter onto the floor. No big deal. So you think? Go ahead. Try it yourself and see how many infinitesimally small grounds of coffee there are in a single scoop of coffee. I thought cleaning up molasses could test one’s patience.

I hope you have a spring in your step these days and that you shower with Irish Spring soap.

Hope springs eternal.

Have a great week.

P.S. “Big Alec” MacPherson correctly identified last week’s poem as The Windhover” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the more difficult poets to comprehend in my humble estimation. Not only did Alec recruit me into the financial planning business back in the 90s, but far more importantly, he taught me how to play hearts and bridge in the basement of the library when we were at university. I was not an academic all star as my friends know, but I can play passable bridge! Alec will receive a copy of one of my books. Maybe we can meet in the basement of the library to do the exchange, Alec ,and then go to Piper’s to talk about our take home exams back in the spring (!) of 1971.

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