March Nature Notes

Little glimpses of nature in my corner of the world, inspired by Edith Holden.

One might get the impression from these photos that spring arrived this month.  If only.  We have shovelled our front walk every single morning for a week.  We did have a reprieve earlier in the month when we saw some blue in the sky to relieve us of the incessant grey, and we did enjoy some chinooks that melted almost all the accumulated snow.

That's my great-grandmother in the white.

I've been working on a family history project which has reduced my reading time, but I have enjoyed a few good books this month.  I am very close to completing my first classic in quite some time - The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - an anomoly amongst all the uncharacteristic 21st century books.  This is my introduction to Edith Wharton and although it took me a little bit of time to get into the swing of it, I am thoroughly enjoying her wonderful character building, and the depictions of Old New York, and the struggle between individual desires and the sacrifice of self for the stability in the status quo.  Such impressive representations of women!

I finally read Lynn Coady this month (Saints of Big Harbour) and immediately got my hands on Hellgoing (most recent Giller winner) and Strange Heaven (her first novel).  I like her writing a lot, and having grown up in small town Nova Scotia I felt a real connection to the setting.

One of the parts of parenting I enjoy is keeping current with what my daughters are reading, what they are discovering on their own, and having them recommend their favourites to me so we can discuss them.  Elizabeth is just dipping in to the YA-type books and I'm having a bit of trouble keeping up!  I made it through 2/3 of the Veronica Roth Divergent trilogy in time to see the movie with her.  While I cannot admit to enjoying the writing (each 500 page book could easily have been pruned down to 150 pages, and read like the first draft of a screenplay), the themes have served for terrific discussions.  She just finished The Fault in Our Stars, and is starting The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Such great catalyst for discussion!

Happy April everyone!