Spring Comes to Oaxaca

Suddenly, the beautiful Jacaranda blossoms appeared. They are the color of lilacs.

In Manitoba, located in the central part of Canada, it's very cold in winter, and lilac blossoms welcome spring.  The awakening of the earth begins with the prairie crocus, which pop up through the ground as soon as the snow begins to melt away, the daffodils soon follow and finally the tulips.  As the tulips show their full splendor, the lilacs blossom.

Jacaranda: Tropical spring blossoms

Just as the winter solstice here in the tropics holds far less impact than a Canadian prairie winter solstice, the welcoming of spring holds only a minutia of change.  Although beautiful, the Jacaranda marks an insignificant change of seasons.  But the lilac has a clear duty to perform, welcoming the warmth of spring after an obvious winter of snow, ice and days of -25C.

Along with the blooming of the Jacaranda, came the street vendors selling tulips.  It was my friend Joan's birthday on Friday.  We partied Sunday.  I bought a pot with three tulips, thinking she could plant them, and they would come up again next year.  Perhaps if she keeps them in her freezer?

Speaking of Joan, she turned sixty-seven.  Nieves, Loretta, Joan and I hiked the hills then settled in for an hour of aerobics with Joan's aerobics instructor.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate the passing of another year, all of us, with of course the exception of Nieves, over sixty and able to hike mountainous terrain, lift our legs, jump up and down and cha-cha with the best of them.

Joan's husband Doug is an amateur chef, and the first time in my life that I can remember I over ate, and suffered the consequences.

Manitoba Weather - Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Hello all you lucky people, I'm back!

I know, I know, I have an audience of one. That's o-kay, I'll just blog for myself.

Should I review yesterday or should I preview today?

Should I write fiction, non-fiction or creative non-fiction?

Should I delve into my psyche or write about the external world?

What I will do for the time being is simply write everyday for fifteen minutes and at the end of a month analyze my writing and see where it has gone. This will help me find my voice.

O-kay it's 7:47 and I need to go to work at 8 am. So, I begin:

I want to begin with the weather, I always want to begin with the weather. My mother talked about the weather when I was growing up. Have I become my mother, or were/are both my mother and I simply following the dictates of a culture.

Culture? or a human truth? Do all cultures throughout all time concern themselves with the weather, just as all humans in all cultures throughout all time must concern themselves with eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom?

So many questions, so few answers. However, I can hypothesis. Weather needs to be a concern, and is a concern, to all animals. Some are equipped with better radar than others.

We need to know when it's getting colder, time to travel south or hibernate, whatever.

Weather controls food, scarcity or abundance.

As for me, today, I live in air conditioning, heat and can afford appropriate clothing and if there isn't enough food in Manitoba, so what, it will be imported. I buy my food from the store. Weather may, or may not effect the number of ads in the newspaper.

Management says weather has an impact, could be, retailers have commented on how the weather effects their business. But, whether the ad count is up or down I still get the same pay cheque, and that pay cheque allows me to buy food at the store and pay whatever I have to for that food.

So, because I live where I live at a time in the earth's history that is now, the weather does not have the impact on me that it had on my forebearers.

But, if it's too hot this evening I will not ride my bicycle, and if it's raining I won't weed my garden.

Even though I am my mother's daughter, it's also true that we all think about the weather. We can't control it, but we are effected by it.

The prairie has a harsh climate. I have often thought a harsh climate creates a harsh people. Struggle with the basic elements makes life hard and a hard life may harden people.

But, Manitobans aren't particularly hard, and Canadians, Canada being the second coldest country in the world, is a kind and gentle nation.

8 am time to go to work.

Have I bored you lucky people?

If by chance there is someone besided me reading these ramblings, if you can, post a message.