Water & Rainbows & Dreaming of Green

Today is officially the first day of Spring.

At circle/calendar time last Friday the children cheered when I told them that.  I think they believe that the snow will miraculously disappear and we won’t need to bundle up to go outdoors.

I’m sorry to say that is not correct. In the fourteen years that I have been providing childcare only twice have we been snow free by the end of March.

This year there is no chance that the snow will be gone any time soon.  There have been a few warmer days – enough to create ‘Lake 108’ as we kindly refer to the puddle in our back lane.

This picture was taken early last week when the lake first formed and we stopped parking in the driveway because we didn’t have a boat.  By yesterday evening it was 18 inches deep in the centre, extended past two houses on either side of us and was on the verge of breaching the mini dike we had built along our fence line.

Thankfully some city workers stopped by this morning to steam open the frozen drain and we no longer have beach front property.  We do still have plenty of snow – and ice.

Last week we also got to celebrate St Patrick’s Day – one of my favourite events.  I’m not Irish, I think for me the appeal of St Patrick’s Day is really the promise of spring. Rainbows and green things and magic.

I didn’t make an all green lunch as I have in the past.  The children do seem to think that it is fun but they simply will not eat artificial green food. I do miss not having ‘rainbow bread’.

Sandwiches with rainbow bread were a St Patrick’s Day tradition here until the local bakery upgraded their bread makers and the new machines can’t create the swirl effect.

We recite our favourite poems like ‘Rainbow Colors’ by Sharon MacDonald

“So, wave your arms above you
Cast your colors high
And, try to make a rainbow
Across a cloudy sky”

And dream of grass and green things to come.