The songs that were written in the northern hemisphere seem to make more sense now and I quite understand the meaning behind the words of the Mammas and the Pappas all those years ago……
We live our lives here in Canada according to the weather outside and so you make your plans as you put your nose out the door in the morning. The last of the Fall leaves have turned brown and are dropping onto the soft, lush green lawns and the fastidious homeowners rake them up as fast as they fall. Fortunately we don’t consider ourselves as part of that group and leave them a while as Josh likes to do his springbuck leap through them. He has started to hesitate in the mornings when I open the front door as wet grass is not his favourite. Oh dear, we are not the only one learning our life lessons here!
The rain has swelled the banks of our small stream at the bottom of the garden and we brave it each time we go outside. It reminds me of the days in Cape Town when as a new teacher I would make my way to school without a car. Those Cape winters were harsh and we would have weeks of continuous rain at time. You would think nothing of packing a different pair of shoes and a change of clothing in for the day. Although my mom always maintained that we, Creech children, had the ability to dodge rain drops. Well, I know for sure that my talent for evading them has somewhat subsided but am grateful for all the under cover bus shelters and underground pathways that we have here. Yesterday in Toronto I managed to get half way across the city like a mole when I used The Path. It is a 27 km underground path and shopping centre that links different parts of the city together. This subterranean lifestyle will force us to stock up on the bottles of vitamin D so that we can indulge in a bit of liquid sunshine over the next few months!
The water has changed the habits of our kleinwild (small wild life) in the garden. The squirrels are less frantic as they seem to have filled their larders and just pop out now and again to taunt Josh and to prove to him that they still reign supreme in the trees. The birds have gone south and we only hear the sad lament of the die –hards, namely the black crows, and we catch the odd glimpse of a magnificent raptor who always gazes quizzically across at Josh on the deck. I have these visions of a fish eagle gracefully picking up a stray fish from a river while it shouts out its majestic call over the plains. I shudder at this thought!
The salmon have done their frantic swim up the rivers at Bronte Creek and have deposited their precious eggs in the safety of the small pools. And so with life, there is a time for everything….A time to enjoy the sunshine and a time to make the most of the inclement weather!
So a good read, hot homemade soup and a reconnection with forgotten hobbies are the order of the day……
The splendour of Bronte Creek
Toronto Calling 