Sunday 27 March 2011

Spring Has To Be Somewhere Around Here

The feeder is flocked with shivering birds I haven't seen all winter ...the ones that look like wild canaries and I always forget their name when they first arrive ... goldfinches ... Americans.

The sun is shining and the days are much longer ...

The snow is decaying and ugly and the odd mound of dog poop can be seen ...

I am beginning to spruce up the house in anticipation of a thorough spring cleaning.

I have started to dig my snow tires out from under a huge pile of snow and have scheduled my spring visit to Grant's Garage to have my tires installed, my oil changed and my suspension checked.

I am sorting clothes first by season and then into several piles and boxes ... ones for each season that I will probably wear ... ones I can't bear to get rid of even if I haven't worn then for several years ...  ones I will definitely give to the Sally Ann ... and ones that are fit only for the garbage bin.

But winter is hanging on up here with a cruel and frigid grip.  I washed my down parka the day before yesterday and had to pull it out to wear yesterday ... along with long underwear, winter boots, ice grippers, a hat and mitts.


And last night the air was so clear that CBC almost got lost in the cacophony of other voices.


My hydro bill corroborated the fact that this winter has been harder than the past couple of years, especially in the last two months ... my bill was $150 higher than last year's bill for this period ... Last year I turned off my heat line to the lake in March.  This year I wouldn't even think of it. And I am not one of the Ontarians being expected by her premier to freeze in the dark.

But it really must be spring ... after all it's almost April and an election is on the horizon.  Won't someone please tell the weatherman? 

By the way, check out CBC's questionnaire on your political position (the Compass)  ...I was surprised by a couple of things: first that the political spectrum in Canada is not a line running from left to right as it is elsewhere.  Instead there is one party to the distinct right and all the rest are clustered to the left of centre with the Liberals just a tad closer to centre.  Maybe Canadians should stand up and shout that a coalition would indeed be a great idea especially since that is obviously what Harper fears most and since over half the population votes for those left of centre parties anyway. The second surprise was that my responses coincided most often, not with the NDP or Liberals as I had expected but with the Bloc!  Of course those three parties and the Greens share a great many viewpoints, so it really was a toss-up. Except I have never even considered voting for the Bloc so I was surprised.

I have tried on all my slacks and now I am going back to my painting.  Have you any idea how many coats are required for vibrant colours? Enjoy the sunshine, but bundle up.

3 comments:

kingmisha said...

I was quite surprised by the CBC poll. The politician I had the most in common with was Elizabeth May. But she ranked lowest in my choice for leadership. But the party that came last in my voting choice was the Conservatives - no surprise there.

I'm also all over the place with policies. In some categories I'm a social conservative and in others I'm extremely progressive.
I'm clearly not doctrinaire (which is a good thing).

I agree with the value of a coalition government. The best government we had in Ontario was the coalition between the NDP and the Liberals. It was the most balanced and respectful period in Ontario governance. I worked under five administrations and it was the most peaceful and responsible of them all.

The Harris Conservatives were the most polarizing and mean spirited of them all. Very different from the Davis Conservatives. What is in the water they drink that makes them such a destructive bunch?

Oma said...

My results were much like your own ... I too am glad I am not doctrinaire. In my youth I was far more rigid, I think.

The Conservatives really are an odd bunch ... how can you have a Stanfield and a Harper leading the federal Conservatives?? I cannot remember any prime minister who has had as little respect for parliament and the people it represents, and who has been as rigidly doctrinaire, especially in a minority situation. And he is either the most self deluded or the most dishonest one I've experienced as well. Surely he can't really believe that he and his party are actually responsible for Canada's relative solvency ... he inherited a government with a surplus and a strong banking system! And, dear heavens, how could he possibly think that he has enhanced Canada's international reputation? i could go on but then it would be a rant!

kingmisha said...

Oh heaven forbid, we mustn't rant.

He is neither deluded nor dishonest. He is a politician who is promoting the party line. In his world, he is perfectly honest espousing the traditional position which is "what went before is not relevant to what is happening today. He only sees history in five year chunks so whatever he inherited when he assumed power is now his. Ergo - he owns the current economy.

It is very difficult to recruit intelligent, principled people to politics. Most well balanced, mature individuals are not narcissistic enough. Harper is not troubled by such self-doubt.