It's almost May but the week started with so much snow the lane up the hill was still undrivable. So, a lot more shoveling --- at first to make a walking path, but eventually to clear the whole darn thing to drive up. The pond was still frozen over. The crocus stayed strong and colourful through it all.
Yardwork doesn't stop just because of the snow and cold. A new residential development went up next door, but the homes are like small boxes and are strictly for the birds. There was a fiddler on the roof. The Japanese maple was carefully uncovered like opening a Christmas present of delicate lace.
Then wouldn't you know it, a warm spell returned. In direct sunlight, the thermometer rocketed and contradicted the snow around it. The Eager Gardener welcomed the first daffodil. And the pond ice broke up looking like cumulus clouds on a dark sky.
The ferry ChiChemaun left its winter moorings on a foggy shakedown cruise, like seeing the first robin. Actually, more like the first flickers --- on the ash tree or drilling for grubs. Or like the first doves, cooing like teenagers making out in the park.
Rumbling and buzzing sounds from below turned out to be a giant willow tree being removed by the neighbour. Like a buzzard circling roadkill, I asked for the chips to be dumped on our side. Bonanza! The chips went down, then they were chauffeured up. All the garden paths and edges get a new carpet.
But overshadowing all this was the terrible tragedy in Toronto, the van attack that left dead and injured on Yonge Street, the busiest in the city. The memories of the tragedy in Humboldt are still fresh, and now this heartbreaking scene. We felt we had to travel to one of the memorial sites to pay our respects and share the grief.
Tonight there will be a vigil at the spot. 25,000 or more expected to show support and determination to go on. A display of the famous and envied diversity and caring among so many cultures, religions, and origins that define Toronto. Read the scrawled messages and see. That's the magnet for people from everywhere, and yet ironically makes us feel free. Years ago but still vivid, Pat and I worked nearby and walked this very strip. This is our city and it's strong, but this sadness is deep and heartbreaking.
Yardwork doesn't stop just because of the snow and cold. A new residential development went up next door, but the homes are like small boxes and are strictly for the birds. There was a fiddler on the roof. The Japanese maple was carefully uncovered like opening a Christmas present of delicate lace.
Then wouldn't you know it, a warm spell returned. In direct sunlight, the thermometer rocketed and contradicted the snow around it. The Eager Gardener welcomed the first daffodil. And the pond ice broke up looking like cumulus clouds on a dark sky.
The ferry ChiChemaun left its winter moorings on a foggy shakedown cruise, like seeing the first robin. Actually, more like the first flickers --- on the ash tree or drilling for grubs. Or like the first doves, cooing like teenagers making out in the park.
Rumbling and buzzing sounds from below turned out to be a giant willow tree being removed by the neighbour. Like a buzzard circling roadkill, I asked for the chips to be dumped on our side. Bonanza! The chips went down, then they were chauffeured up. All the garden paths and edges get a new carpet.
But overshadowing all this was the terrible tragedy in Toronto, the van attack that left dead and injured on Yonge Street, the busiest in the city. The memories of the tragedy in Humboldt are still fresh, and now this heartbreaking scene. We felt we had to travel to one of the memorial sites to pay our respects and share the grief.
Tonight there will be a vigil at the spot. 25,000 or more expected to show support and determination to go on. A display of the famous and envied diversity and caring among so many cultures, religions, and origins that define Toronto. Read the scrawled messages and see. That's the magnet for people from everywhere, and yet ironically makes us feel free. Years ago but still vivid, Pat and I worked nearby and walked this very strip. This is our city and it's strong, but this sadness is deep and heartbreaking.
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