Time passing ...

Back at Jokers Hill on a rainy April day—with ice pellets threatened for later. Though in fact the day, at nearly noon, is brightening. Shortly I’ll walk over to the research barn to post this blog entry and attend this afternoon’s meeting of the Naturalists’ Training Course. Then this evening I’m to give a reading in the Moriyama Gazebo … though with the rain we’ve had I’m wondering how accessible the gazebo will be. The road over to it is pretty sandy …

Last week at the Naturalists’ Course we were learning about plant reproduction. Because the spring is late this year—Robin mentioned all we’d find blooming if we went out were catkins—we didn’t go hunting for flowers. Instead we dissected  flowers—snapdragons (and nearly all of us ritually made those blossoms open their mouths as if to bite) and gerbera daisies.

A few days before (so a week and a half or so ago) I’d found a small twig with “pussy willows” on it … but I knew it wasn’t a willow. Poplar maybe, or birch, and a lovely sign of spring to have picked up on a windy day. I brought the twig home and put it in a jar with water and photographed it.

Today, those soft furry nubs have stretched themselves out into long dangles that may be harbouring pollen. Or perhaps waiting to receive pollen. It’s amazing what happens as time passes. Here’s what they look like, after about 10 days of being in the house in water.

I’m very aware of time passing these days – my tenure of this lovely house ends at the end of April. Though I will be departing it a little earlier than the very end of the month, to head to Banff where I’ve been accepted at the Writing Studio for five weeks. Perhaps while I’m there I’ll manage to write up some of the posts I’ve made notes for but not yet managed to articulate.