Where's that Rabbit?

At least I think I see Spring approaching...

It’s Good Friday in Nova Scotia, which means that more or less everything is closed. After decades in Vancouver, where the idea of a general holiday where all businesses shut down and employees enjoy a day of rest is almost unknown, I actually appreciate that the Maritimes still enjoys these basic, fundamental pleasures.

At least until I run out of milk.

It is spring in Western Head. As promised by the locals, winter ran right up to April Fools Day, with snow continuing until a couple of days after.

And then, suddenly, it’s warmer, and rainy, and I feel an insane urge to be outside doing yard work. I’m ordering lumber to build a deck, and gardens, and a compost bin. I’m scouring Richters’ Seeds for just the right exotic vegetables and herbs to grow this year (Cinnamon Basil! Yeah!) (I mean, they’ll sell you tobacco plants!)

One thing that I’m enjoying is having the time to slow down and really plan the work that is coming up. To think through the steps that I’ll be taking, and to re-measure the spaces, and to be really, really sure of exactly what I’ll be doing.

One of my first projects on arriving in Western Head was to finally spend the money on a proper collection of tools - drills, power saws, a new table saw, wheel-barrow and an extension ladder. I know that there are more to come but this is a good base for the work that’s approaching. After decades of second-hand, or cheap, or free on Craiglist tools this is really something that I prize - stuff that works, and works well.

So it’s build a deck, and a compost bin, and get our raised bed gardens in place and planted, then move onto insulating our floors, and shingling our barn.

And, in the midst of all of this, I find myself watching the birds out of our window, and the feeder that I put up, and debating whether I really want to go whole-hog and start learning to identify the little feathered friends. For decades I have loudly proclaimed that life is too short to become a bird-watcher, so I am conflicted.

But at least I feel that I have the time to stop, and ponder, and choose a direction.