springtime in Alberta.

After all, what do we really expect? Of course there's a snowfall warning for this week! Naturally, it looks like Christmas outside! It's only late March- the first week of 'calendar' spring! I actually really enjoyed my walk this morning. The snow fell constantly, but it was neither cold nor windy. We trudged around in our snow gear, and Jasper shook off once or twice. What I am grateful for in all of this is that I am ok with this weather... When we moved to Alberta I was 10, and it was February. I recall thinking that my parents had brought us to the north pole! ;) I didn't think too much about it when I was growing up, except when my April birthday was almost always snowy... As an adult, though, I haven't fared so well. Until very recently. I found the long cold winters with extreme temperatures and conditions almost unbearable. I'd still go out walking, but I felt like curling up and waiting for winter to pass- quickly!
I eventually got low moods over it, and felt desperate to get away. But within the past couple years something has changed. I am still not a fan, but I have somehow been blessed with the grace to accept the climate in which I live. It has its advantages; lots of blue skies, clear lakes, and chinooks, plus very few nasty bugs can survive here! And not expecting spring until summertime really works for me! I am more or less resigned to winter weather until summer holidays- when life gets really good and I feel like I'm coming alive again! There is more to a place than weather, anyway. It's nice and warm in Libya...
I am just so grateful that spring snow is all I have to complain about here!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

my husband and I...

Twenty years ago I married the man I love. Today, I am blessed and so grateful to still be his wife and to love him more than I then knew I could. Kirby and I fell in love taking long walks around Garneau and Old Strathcona near the U of A in Edmonton. Since then we've walked up and down mountains, along oceans and lakes and rivers and Pincher Creek. (a lot there- home for half our marriage so far!) The first book we read to each other was Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I wish I'd kept a list of our shared reading since then. (what happens when a couple of English majors fall hard for each other ;) The first couple decades of our life together have been largely devoted to raising our three wonderful children. So far, so good! I can only hope (and trust me, I pray) that the rest of our lives will be spent basking in the light of them and eventually their own families... We have enjoyed cooking and eating countless meals together, and for one another and our fami...
Read more

giving thanks.

I was out walking yesterday afternoon and saw a wooden painted sign on someone's front door, which said "LET US GIVE THANKS"... I am so grateful to live in a place where we stop and celebrate how blessed we are! And what a holiday for us; this long weekend is the final harvest and clean-up of our vegetable garden. In this blessing, I am thankful for our kind friends who share with us their large garden plot on an acreage at the other end of town. There is a deer fence, and an irrigation system which involves collecting water from a pond at the edge of the creek. I always feel rich and bountifully blessed whenever I go down there. I love walking down the hill through the long green grass and opening up the gate into our wonderful shared place. We couldn't enjoy any of this without the generosity of good friends. My favorite part of our veggie garden is Kirby! He's the man who grows it, works it, and without him we definitely wouldn't have any of this earth...
Read more

songbirds.

Sitting here at the desk in the living room alcove, I can hear the dishwasher humming its way through today's kitchen mess. But above this happy sound, I am listening to the bird outside who is keenly expressing something about which s/he feels pretty enthusiastic. It's the sweetest music. Late in the evening, early in the morning when bed still feels like the best idea, when I'm outside gardening or in the house at the computer- songbirds are always a gift. Thank Heaven for this; the sound of a smile.
Read more