Flora, Fauna & Fowl

I was biking on the weekend, around the reservoir and was just astounded at the beauty around me. Because of all the rain last week, the fields have lots of temporary ponds and the frogs were raising a chorus in the early morning sunshine. As I came around a corner, a deer daintly stepped through the new grass and passed by 10 feet from me as I stopped and marvelled at its lack of fear. The swallows were out in full force, hundreds of them swooping over the river as they gorged themselves on the healthy crop of mosquitos. The prairie dogs were nibbling on grasses and probably trying to dry out their burrows. There were Canada Geese and ducks and sparrows and a variety of other birds that just chirped and twittered from the bushes. Even though I live in a major city, it's always amazing to me how much wildlife still manages to survive and thrive!

And spring is definitely here. The aspen and cottonwood leaves are getting bigger by the minute. The crocuses have already passed and gone to seed. But me thinks, it might be about the right time for violets to be peaking through last year's leaf litter. Even the dandelions look cute and healthy and are a welcome addition to spring. Actually... when you think about it dandelions look cute when they're in flower and when they're in full puff-ball mode. They don't look so cute in between those stages and after the puffballs are done but... they are beautiful in their own right.

I suppose we just have to have the eyes to see the beauty around us... because it is everywhere... if we only look and see.

Books

There was an article on the news the other day that said ebooks are outselling paper books. The demise of paper books (real books) is at hand? Is it possible?? Could it really happen? I see more and more people reading their ebooks or their tablet... and it makes me wonder. So far, I have resisted the urge to buy an ebook reader... having quite a backlog of unread books to work my way through at the moment anyhow. Plus, I do like to buy recycled books at the local second-hand bookstore. I can trade in my old books and get some "new" books for me...

But still, at some point... it will make more sense to get an ebook reader... At which point I will be faced with the ultimate dilemman for an avid reader and book lover... what to do with all of the "real" books on my shelves!?

To be honest, I have decluttered and let go of a lot of my paper back books over the years. As I read books, I continue to purge and let go of ones that no longer hold my interest. But... to let go of all of them? What would I put on my bookshelves??? What would I do with my bookshelves?? My rooms would look so bare without all that furniture! Or are we headed to a world of minimalism... no CD racks... no book shelves...

Hmm... for now... I debate and dither... It is enough for me to be letting go of CDs... we'll give the books a while yet!

Music

We have gone through quite a progression in my time in regards to music. I remember reel-to-reel tapes. Then there were 8-tracks. We had 78 rpm records, then 45 rpm and then 33 rpm. We had cassettes. We had CDs. And now we have digital music. All in the space of 45 years or so! How is a person supposed to keep up!

I've thinned out my record collection quite a bit in the last decade or so. I transferred a bunch of them to CDs, including all of the 45s. I got rid of my cassette tapes a while ago. The 78 rpm records from my Dad went to Value Village years ago. Which leaves me with hundreds of CDs. They are neatly arranged on shelves... but the truth is... I hardly listen to them anymore! Somehow it's too much trouble to go and find a CD and put it in the CD player, especially when I'm working in my office. I have a bunch of songs on my computer, and I tend to listen to them... or to the radio.

So, in the interests of increasing my music library... and decluttering... I am transferring all of my CDs to the computer, into iTunes. It's not that hard, and once I'm done, I can put them all on my iPod and take them with me wherever I go. And get rid of the hundreds of CDs... hmmm...

Get rid of the CDs? But I spent so much money on them!! Yes, I'll have them in my computer but... what if that crashes? What if I lose all that music? Ahh!! Isn't that the way it goes with any sort of decluttering... I might need it some day! The truth is, I hardly listen to them anymore in the form that they are in... they take up space... I have outgrown some of them... and isn't it time to just let them go? There are many second-hand music stores that would possibly buy them... or at least some of them... and then there is always Value Village.

It would be quite the feat for me to let them go... and I dither over it. But... I think it's time... I think... maybe... It is time!

Rain Rain

Somewhere along the way this past week, we got transplanted to Vancouver. It's been raining pretty steady since last weekend, with 5 cm some days. Let's just say, enough now! It's good for the forests, but maybe mother nature could spread it out a little bit! Send some a bit north for the high risk fire zones! Anyhow, I haven't been out on my bike for almost 2 weeks and I'm missing it. Today was not too bad, so I'm thinking tomorrow might be a good biking day.

Spring has definitely come, although there is always a risk of frost, so tonight we're going to have to cover up some tender plants. We put a lot of effort into them and it would be a shame if they all bit the bucket because of a touch of frost!

Rain, frost, snow, sun, clouds, fog... we get it all... which makes for interesting weather forecasts! You never know what might be coming. Which is a good metaphor for life as well. Never know what is coming, and sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and be prepared for a bit of frost!

Traffic

I was driving to Starbucks and in the opposite lanes, there was an on-ramp that has two lanes, merging into three lanes of traffic. The on-ramp is usually a bottleneck area anyways, but today there was a fender bender that had the two lanes down to one lane. Which meant that traffic behind the bottleneck was well and truely backed up... hundreds and hundreds of cars as far as the eye could see.

Which makes me think... one person's inattention or impatience... leads to a minor fender-bender... which inconveniences 100's if not 1000's of people. How does that work? One person trying to get somewhere 10 seconds faster, means that all of those other people are going to get somewhere minutes, maybe hours later... When you add up all that lost time, it's actually pretty impressive.

A good lesson for all of us... our haste to get somewhere, could affect a gazillion other people... The question to ask our selves... is it worth it?

Cats & Birds

Well, talk about bird-brains... We've had a robin hanging around outside the office window the last few weeks. It started by knocking on the window, fluttering and bumping, trying to get in. I thought it might be attracted to the lights... but no. Attracted to the mirror in the dining room... nope. Attracted to something? Not sure what. I called in reinforcements... namely the two cats. Well, they were very happy to knock back against the window but it eventually turned into a staring contest. Robin... meet... Rascal (on a leash).

The upshot is Rascal now knows the word "bird" and will come running from anywhere in the house to say "hello". It makes for office entertainment... but also papers all over the floor and tipped over house plants. But it does keep the felines entertained!

Not sure what the robin is up to... something for sure!

Crocuses

For all of my life, crocuses have been the primary harbinger of spring. Crocuses pushing up through the seemingly frozen earth. Crocuses sticking their cheery heads through a spring snowfall. Where I live now, I don't see a lot of crocuses. People seem to have tulips and daffodils, but not so many crocuses. Which is kind of strange but... that's the way it is.

Mind you, what we do have here, if you know where to look, is prairie crocuses... the wild varient of crocuses. For a while now, I've known of one spot on a slope in behind a big shopping centre. But the other week, I spotted some along my regular bike route. And ever since then, I've been meaning to bring my camera along and take some pictures of these beauties. Today is the day! I think I might even be able to get a picture in here of them. They are getting older and some are going to seed, but I found a few that are still very pretty.... I'll know better for next year!

For me, it is finding these little places of beauty that keep me riding my bike. I never know what I might find. Maybe it'll be violets next time... or the reflection of a stump in the still water of a lagoon... I might not live out in the bush, but there are still beauties of nature to be discovered in the urban centre.