Last week, as day time temperatures in Toronto reached a balmy 18 degrees celsius, Denver was walloped by a freak snowstorm. I counted my blessings as I lounged on my sun deck and gazed contentedly at a clear blue sky. Admittedly, my deck didn’t do very well over winter and isn’t in the best condition. I’ve debated replacing it with some plastic decking, but to be honest, I’ve got enough to do with the changing of the seasons and there’s never enough time. It’s a pain, I know, but what can I do but hire someone? Perhaps I need to look for Austin Fence & Deck – Repair & Replacement. That being said, it’s still good enough to take a nice relaxing break on.
Spring had finally arrived in these northern climes.
After one of the longest, hardest winters in Toronto’s history, a winter that caused widespread discontent and misery, the freezing cold weather is behind us, the rainy interludes notwithstanding.
Spring is here when the days grow longer and brighter and the rays of the sun feel lukewarm on my face. This usually occurs in the second or third week of March, which brings both the promise of seasonal renewal and the jolting reminder that the cold weather still holds us in its merciless grip.
With spring not too far around the corner, I retire my heavy winter coat and turn to my brown or black leather windbreaker. But I’m still in need a hat and a scarf to keep icy blasts at bay.
By mid-April, garden duties in my back yard beckon.
I rake away dead autumn leaves, now brown and brittle, and clear the lawn of broken twigs, debris and dog manure, compliments of my daughter’s gentle black giant of a dog, Rainbow. I dump most of this bio-degradable refuse into the ravine that adjoins my property.
I also attend to the garden in front of our house, removing rotten leaves lodged in bushes and trees.
April is the month when I tune-up my bicycle for another season of cycling, which lasts until about mid-October in Toronto. I still need to wear warm clothes and thick gloves when I ride, but that wonderful feeling of freedom is coming back.
Spring has definitely arrived by the second week of May.
The sun is stronger. The air is fresh and buoyant. The grass is turning bright green. Dandelions and ferns are bursting through the moist, aromatic earth. Buds on the trees have appeared. The red shoots of peonies have surfaced. The fields are ablaze with Blue Bells. In gardens across neighbourhoods, yellow daffodils are blooming.
I can finally get into my shorts, which I tend to wear until about mid-September. Joggers are out in force, as are dog walkers. On some driveways, people are washing their cars for the first time in months, clearly enjoying the chore in glorious sunshine. My friend was telling me how he wanted to give his car a good wash too, but as his steps are falling apart he thinks that it is unsafe for him to do so. I agree. He needs to think about having an interlock repair done soon as we don’t know how much longer we’ll get to enjoy this weather. And then hopefully, he should be able to join the masses of people who are washing their cars on their driveways in no time.
Perhaps the most magnificent harbingers of spring are the delicate pink petals bursting open on magnolia trees and the showy white and pink cherry blossoms forming on Japanese-imported Sakura cherry trees.
The rain, sadly, will wash away these magnificent petals and blossoms all too soon, but the memory of it all will linger on and sustain me for months to come.
