October 6, 2019 I wrote a blog about The Last Wiener Roast. It was a sunny, windy day and our biggest concern was the coming winter. Skip ahead to April 19, 2020 and the first wiener roast of the season. No one could have predicted this new world.
Besides the pandemic, spring has been slow to arrive in Alberta. Temperatures are 10 degrees or so cooler than normal so when the forecast was for seasonal warmth, we got out the package of “gourmet” wieners, added pork and beans and a couple of knives and headed out.
Of course, the dogs came and although they didn’t know the significance of having a fire and eating al fresco, they were up for any activity. We wandered around; the grass is still brown, there are still patches of snow and the trees are bare as they bend in the wind. Gary was excited because he discovered new places to “sit and wait for a deer or moose to pass by”come hunting season.
I saw a Mourning Cloak butterfly. They are dark, with pretty blue markings on the margin of their wings and are the first butterflies to appear in spring. They are tough. There were geese honking and Gary saw a turkey vulture. Small moths fluttered around bare branches of trees. A brilliant blue bluebird flitted by.
We sat on lawn chairs in a hollow out of the wind. It was almost like the beach except that the white substance was snow. Taz played and chased a ball or chewed sticks. She was so delighted that her little tail was a blur. Scruff found a place on the coats Gary and I had taken off and dozed in the sun.
A very simple afternoon but one that made the pandemic seem far away. We forgot it for a while and enjoyed the spring sun. When it was time to go, we doused the fire with snow from the “beach.” Everyone was tired; I think it was the fresh air. Take a break if you can; whatever way that is safe and suits you. It was worth it.
themildsidelinda 