At the time of this writing, it’s the week post to the first day of spring, and I have not heard anyone singing that childhood ditty of rain, rain, go away, come again some other day.
That thought struck me as I lounged in a chair placed in one of my usual advantage spots. I am not what you might call nosey; I just like to know what is going on around me. Here at Westwind Farms, movement of some sort never stops.
I had discarded my jacket, hung my usual well-worn vest on the shovel handle, and rolled up my sleeves with the thought of absorbing a little sun. My original intention was to do a little edging along the garden’s length, but my interest in that soon waned when I realized how hard and dry the garden was. We needed rain badly; the tall, yellow daffodils in the flower beds had actually wilted. When the flower of a fall planted bulb wilts you can bet your bottom dollar that the ground is dry, or the night frost was unusually heavy.
Not many years in the span of my life can I remember such warm spring weather so early in March, although I do remember a year when the farmers all bragged of having their seeding completed by the end of March. I also remember that same year that a major snowstorm blanketed the entire area on April 10. I found bluebirds and tree swallows lying dead from cold and starvation along almost every hedgerow. It is hoped that won’t happen this year.
In the meantime, folks, someone must have twisted my arm or I may have nodded my head at the wrong time, but somehow or other, I find myself holding a membership card of the well-known Saugeen Valley Fur and Feather Fanciers Association. This organization started out in 1987, so do the math – this is its 25th year anniversary.
Its rise to fame was gained through its twice-annual Buy Sell Trade Day at the Mount Forest fair grounds. I have attended that on a regular basis for the past ten years, and believe me, folks, there is little left that one could desire in either fur or feather that can’t be bought, bartered, or traded at both spring and fall dates. This year’s spring Buy Sell Trade Day is April 29. Mark your calendar – perhaps I’ll see you there. You’ll recognize my signature visor.
For some reason or other, I have never been able to wear a watch. They just won’t, and I have tried many, keep proper time on my wrist. People supposedly in the know have told me that I apparently have too much electricity in my system. I know the touch of my hand used to quite often light up my Little Lady’s eyes. It’s sad, when you think of it, that I don’t now have a way of back-feeding my excess into the grid. Think of the loose change I could generate just to rattle around in my pocket.
At this very moment, according to the angle of the sun, the correct time indication of shadow on my wrist is just a hair past a freckle, which is telling me it’s time to get up off of my butt and go turn the eggs in the incubator for the second time today. Forty of them are due to hatch along about Wednesday. The other 40 are set to hatch 10 days down the road.
Take care, ‘cause we care.
barrie@barriehopkins.ca
519-986-4105