Spring

The "unofficial" start to Summer in Canada is usually Victoria Day long weekend, which just passed. That is the day when you open up cottages and fight off the bugs. Well we certainly fought off the bugs when we visited my brother in law this last weekend. I have never seen so many mosquitoes - I spent the whole weekend in a bug net, and still have arms full of bites.

But I am happy about the impending arrival of summer. Happy enough to appreciate the sentiment of this old hymn.

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill us with the light of day!

Henry Van Dyke

Mount Snowdump

Well, the days are starting to warm up. Near where I work, however, are the giant snow hills created by the past year's snow removal efforts. They don't usually use this area as a snow dump, but the record snowfall necessitated it.

While some of the snow hills are shrinking, one particularly large snow hill, nearly 150 feet in height I suspect, has become the neighbourhood Mount Kilimanjaro. I usually take a great delight in the spring at seeing the last pile of snow. However, with the size of Mount Snowdump, I fear I may be saying goodbye to the snow in September instead.

Happy Flight Suit Day!

You'll remember I snarked on this last year too. This is perhaps the last time we'll be able to observe flight suit day, as this is the last year of the current President's term. Perhaps the next President (whichever party wins) will be a more serious President, less inclined to playing dressup!
I have never worn a flight suit, but I have worn lots of wool khaki uniforms. They're not comfortable. Fatigues are somewhat less uncomfortable. Still, someday someone will design a military uniform that actually doesn't feel like a bag of sauna rocks. :)