Easter Sunday 2014

There is something about the Easter weekend that always fills my heart with hope.  This year's spring time holiday has not been disappointing, especially since we have endured such a long, cold and snowy winter season.

Here it is the twentieth day of April.  There is still snow on the ground and ice on the lake.  The temperature continues to drop below zero degrees Celsius each night and snow tires are still on the vehicles in our driveway.

We went for a walk down the road today.  We heard and then saw a woodpecker high in the trees. We saw black and grey and red squirrels scurrying through the bush.  A chipmunk or two chattered breezily on a neighbour's deck.  We saw some open water on the lake near a neighbour's dock.

Reluctantly, winter is losing its battle with spring.

I have been coughing for almost two months.  Hopefully this virus will also lose its battle with spring.

We are building a small addition on our house.  We decided it was time that we have a place to store coats, boots, hats and mitts.  Once it is completed in about a month I will begin spring cleaning in earnest. Until then we will have to put up with the dust from the saw and other construction debris.

Even at work I am beginning to be more organized. It is definitely a time of year to begin anew.  And that is what I plan to do.

Until next time,

Bee Rich

Happy GROUND HOG DAY!

February is my favourite month by far!  It is the second month of the year and today is the second day of the second month and sure enough, it is Ground Hog Day.

Exactly what is a groundhog and why does it have a special day?

When I was a lot younger I thought that ground hog was something like ground beef, something that one ate in a meatloaf.  It turns out, I was wrong.  Now that I am a lot older I have the opportunity to check out the real thing virtually on Wikipedia:

Groundhog

Rodent

The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Wikipedia

A groundhog in the summer!

So now you know.  A legend says that a groundhog will come out of its hibernation hole on February 2 (not sure how it knows the date-perhaps it has google calendar).  If it spies its shadow it becomes so frightened that it returns to its hole for at least six weeks, thus delaying Spring.  However, if the groundhog does not see its shadow then all is well with the world and Spring will be right around the corner. 

This morning we went outside before sunrise to shovel the accumulated 15 cm of snow.  Along came dawn but there were no shadows.  I believe that Spring will be upon us soon.  That is good news to an area of the world that endured weeks of sub zero temperatures, icy roads, whiteouts and snow days. 

I googled the phrase "Spring is right around the corner" and found this image:

The panel above demonstrates some people's opinion of the legend or tradition of Ground Hog Day.  That is not me...I am a believer! Happy half way to Spring!  Happy Ground Hog Day!!!

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

Spring Ahead?

Note to Self- This is IMPORTANT!

           Today is a dirty day.  It is grey and rainy. The temperature is hovering around 14 degrees C.  It is pleasantly balmy but very wet and muddy.  I have been home for two days with a headache- not sure if it is weather related or what, but I needed some time to decompress, finish a few assignments for the course I am taking, and clean the house. 
           A big project is going on in our crawl space.  My hubby has been working on providing support for the joists so that when we walk on the floor, it would not bounce and create weird noises.  I think it would be easier if we both lost a few pounds, by my better half is determined to do the job.  About two weeks ago, we crawled around and measured the space to decide the placement of the support posts. Yesterday we hired a man to come in and help pour concrete for the support posts.  Next week our two adult children will be here to help hoist the beams atop the support posts.  Hopefully, this will solve the problem of the weird noises in our home. 
           Teaching is going well.  I have had many calls for Intermediate classes all over the board, which is fine with me.  Interestingly, today one of the authors of the Hall Dennis Report died.  Mr. Dennis was a strong supporter of Living and Learning, a document that I studied at university.  It recommended that we do away with rote learning and corporal punishment in our schools.          
          Spring Break is just around the corner!  Tomorrow is the last teaching day and then there is a week long vacation.  I will be covering in another Intermediate class and I am thinking that it should be fun.  Several of the students will be away on a ski trip.  I am wondering how many of the others will actually show up.  No matter, who is there will be there and I will do the job at hand.  Looking forward to a week of no course and no teaching. 
          Perhaps I will have time once again to write.
          Oh, and I heard today that the time springs ahead this weekend.  That means one less hour of sleep on Saturday night.  This is the first time we have been in the country with the early advent of Daylight Savings Time. It does feel like Spring is in the air!

Until next time,

Bee Rich