All Things Nice . . .

 

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The little green things struggling to survive,

The nip of winter in the chilly air,

Lawns lush and green in spite of wind and cold,

An old tree out in blossoms wondrous fair,

Bursting the prison bars of cold and rain,

Proclaiming that spring has come again.

The fields are soggy as an Irish bog,

Only the ridges rise in virgin green,

Starred with a hundred different kinds of flowers,

The little creeks and fills are running clean

From bank to ferny bank and all around,

New life is springing from the ground.

New foals in pastures . . . calves in sheltered nooks

The mother pasturing near keeps watch and guard,

Nuzzling its tiny flanks to voice her joy;

A hatch of yellow chickens in the yard

Make little forays to the kitchen door,

Like an old beggar asking please for more.

The beaches lie deserted as a Fair

After the circus folks have gone away,

The children with their tiny painted pails

Shiver and whimper for a sunny day,

While Spring withholds her bounties and her grace

Like a shy bride who covers up her face.

While farmers watch with calm discouraged eyes,

The laden clouds that hide the summer skies.

~Edna Jacques, Cold Spring

Fireside Poems, 1950

I know 'tis early yet. The first day of Spring is not until Friday next, but I could not resist sharing this poem about a cold spring by Edna. Looking at the weather forecast over the next ten days, there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and it will be cold most days.

Yesterday as Cindy and I were driving to the shops from her place down over the bridge into town here we could see that the river has overrun it's banks and there is a lot of water laying almost into the town and not all that far from where the houses begin. We had a lot of rain the other day and with the snow melt and the runoff of the snow melting from the South Mountain, there is a bit of flooding.  But, I have seen it far worse than that.

When I was a teenager they started a huge project to reroute the river.  The streets at the river end of the town used to get flooded most years and so they took on the huge project of rerouting the river. It was quite a feat. But the earth remembers and that area always floods a tiny bit each year, but not as badly as it did, once upon a time.

 

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 I gave my friend Jackie a call yesterday. I had been wanting to call her all week, but stuff kept getting in the way. Once I got home from shopping and had put everything away, Eileen still wasn't back from her outing so I thought I would call Jackie. She took a bad fall earlier in the week. A delivery man had dropped a package off and rung the bell, which woke her from her nap and in her rush to get to the door, she tripped over her feet and went down. Thankfully she did not break anything, although she says her face is quite bruised from where her eye glasses cut into it. She would not go to get checked out, however. She has a great distrust of modern medicine and Doctors in general. I am afraid that is a mindset I just do not understand. I am very grateful for modern medicine and Doctors. I know that they don't get it right 100% of the time, but I would prefer their odds over alternative means and methods.

The same Doctor that delivered my mother also delivered my brother (who turned 66 earlier this week on the 3rd).   Doctor Kelly. He lived here in town. His house is still there and was for sale not that long ago. I vaguely remember him. He never had a cigarette out of his mouth. His office used to be over top of what is now the dollar store in town now. I can remember the creaky floors. Mom always told us that on the day she was born, he had to jump the creek to get to my great grandparents house as there had been so much rain and his car could not get through. He must have been a very young man then. Mom was born in the summer of 1932, and then he delivered my brother at the old hospital here in town in 1960. Our grandfather had to drive through a snow storm to get our mother there.

The old hospital is a large white house that sits across the road from the High School in town now. It has been converted into apartments. Mom always talked with a great fondness about the lamb stew that she had been given for one of her meals during her stay.

 

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Sometime in the intervening years between 1960 and 1966 they built a new modern hospital at the East end of town. Soldiers Memorial. It has a dedicated Veteran's Wing, otherwise it would probably have been closed now as have almost all of the smaller hospitals here in the Valley.  They built a new hospital in Kentville, Annapolis Valley Regional, which takes on the majority of the health care options now.

They still do a lot of testing here at the hospital in town and there is an emergency room which is opened Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can get blood tests there and x-rays, ultrasounds, etc.

There is always talk of them closing it down and people get in a bit of an up-roar, but for now it stays open.  They are increasing the size of the base at Greenwood (not far from here) along with the number of personnel. So much so that they are building 200 new housing units to house the excess. There is also a huge four story apartment building going up here in town, not far from the hospital.

All these new people will certainly be causing a strain on the services available in this area such as schools, housing, medical.  I don't think we need to worry too much about the hospital closing just yet. The hospital in Kentville is overrun as it is with patients being kept in beds in the halls.  The Emergency waiting room has inadequate seating most of the time. You are left standing for hours while you wait to be seen.  I think we are quite safe for the moment with our hospital here, and perhaps it will even expand it's hours with the influx of residents. Hope springs eternal!

 

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A friend of mine shared a reel with me via Messenger about Honest Lessons learned by the time you reach 70.  What truly matters. It was quite good and really resonated with me. It was things I already espouse. Life becomes more about seeing the world with calmer eyes.

Lesson one - Peace is more valuable than winning arguments. It is often wiser to hold your tongue. winning isn't everything. Silence protects your heart better than words.
Lesson two - Time is precious now. Spend it with people who make you feel calm and not drained.
Lesson three - Your health becomes your greatest treasure. Small daily habits matter more than ever.
Lesson four - Your memories become your greatest wealth. Moments with family worth more than anything money can buy.
Lesson five - Your circle becomes smaller but more meaningful.
Lesson six -  Your worries about the past slowly  lose their power.
Lesson seven - Your heart learns that forgiveness brings more peace than holding onto the pain.
Lesson eight - Life was never about having more. It was about appreciating what you already have.

I hope that you don't mind me sharing it with you this morning.

 

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Daffodils that come before the swallow dares,

and take the winds of March with beauty.

~William Shakespeare

Daffodil season is a long way off here as of yet. One of my biggest regrets of my time living in the U.K. was that I never had the opportunity to go to Ullswater in the Lake District and see the daffodils that William Wordsworth wrote about so eloquently. I was to Ullswater but not during the season of daffodils.

I always loved our holidays that we took in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. When I watch All Creatures Great and Small, I can really appreciate the beautiful scenery shown as I have been there, in the Dales. That is an area of the U.K. filled with intense beauty.  

And the Lakes as well.  If I could live anywhere in the world, it might be there.

 

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Sometimes at night when I am in bed and waiting to fall asleep, after my prayers have been offered up, I can tend to get inside my head a bit.  Last night I was thinking about the horrible comment that someone left here one time about me dying alone and lonely.  I thought 'tis true. I am ending out my days living alone.  But that was always going to be the case. With a husband 17 years older than myself, I was always more likely to end my days alone without a companion.  But lonely?  I think not.  I enjoy my own company far too much. I have so many interests and hobbies that keep me busy. I have family close by who love and care for me. Sure, there are things I wish could have been a bit different, but who doesn't have those things?  There are pieces of each person's life that they wish they could change, given the chance.  I find myself totally at peace with my life, and with what I have built for myself here. I don't really get lonely. I guess that is one of the greatest blessings in my life. I also think attitude has a lot to do with it. And I think having a positive attitude is one of my greatest gifts.

 

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I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was really nice.  I wanted to share it with you. It seems like a wonderful way to usher in the season of spring.  Fresh air. Fresh house. Declutter, etc.

Eileen and I are going to begin today with the refrigerator and the kitchen cupboards! There is nothing like a bit of a refresh to feed the spirit and put a spring (no pun intended) in the step!

And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Sometimes the smallest

step in the right direction

becomes the biggest

step of your life.

~Unknown• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Irish Honey Scones. Light, tender, and gently flavored with honey. These are fabulous served warm with butter and jam, or with some cream and jam. Delicious any which way and quite wholesome.

I hope that you have a beautiful weekend. Its going to be cool and wet here.  Whatever you get up to, stay safe, be blessed and don't forget!

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And I do too!