Spring? Really? When?

Hi there. Here we are near the end of April and it’s COLD out there. The wind is blowing from the NE making the +3ºC temperature feel significantly colder. And that’s not nice. Nor is the sun shining. Tiny birds are shivering in the tree branches. Cats and dogs have hunkered down. I’m reluctant to go out there without warmth and sunshine too. I opened the front door and the wind nearly ripped the screen door out of my hands. Luckily I had a firm grip on it.

I belong to a photography club in the nearby city of Moncton. Since the group can not meet in person at the moment, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, on-line get togethers are scheduled every other week. The executive of this growing and busy club, the #FocusCameraClub, has been holding daily photography challenges. I, for one, am grateful for the spur to creativity they provide.

At the moment the challenges are revolving around the letters of the alphabet. Today’s, for example, was the letter ‘R’. For my contribution I chose my dear old rocking chair. I think I’ve told the story before, but eons ago, when I was pregnant for my son, I wanted a rocking chair for the nursery. My Dad was a piano tuner and on one of his forays into a client’s home he found a rocking chair frame that the owners were throwing out because it had no seat nor back. He gave them $1.50 for it and took it home.

He learned his trade at the School for the Blind in Halifax. Among other skills, he also learned how to do ‘caning’. So over the next few weeks he painstakingly caned the back and seat on the old rocker and gave it to me for the nursery. My son is 46 years old now and I still have, and cherish, that old rocker. It sits proudly in my bedroom – a connection to my Dad who’s been gone for over 20 years now.

The trip down memory lane that this challenge presented had me digging through my closet for other things that sparked memories and connections to my past.

When I was a little girl my Mum made this Raggedy Andy doll for me. He’s a little shabby now, but nevertheless, he represents a happy time for me.

Decades later I met my birth mother. We met in September and that first Christmas, since she hadn’t had the chance to ever give me a toy or share a childhood Christmas with me, she presented me with a lovely doll – one that shared my red hair and dark brownish-hazel eyes. Both of my mothers are gone now. Both contributed to the woman I am today. Both are dearly missed.

I spend a lot of time writing, much of it on a computer keyboard. However, I have an addiction to fountain pens and find, quite often, that my most creative insights come when I have a pen in hand and a lovely journal to write in. Tools do make a difference.

Looks like my supervisor wants attention, or food. When it warms up I hope to have nice, spring photos to share. In the meantime, stay home, stay safe and wash those hands! Catch you all later!