…and Now for Something Completely Different

…and Now for Something Completely Different - theHumm February 2021

By Glenda Jones

Yesterday I could have sworn I was an extra in the movie Groundhog Day, but today I realize that, just like the proverbial river that is never the same for an instant, life moves on and it’s all completely different every day. So here goes “different”.

Yesterday the woods were grey, dripping dreck down the back of my neck, but this morning there are new tracks marking the elusive deer highway that is a never-ending draw for the dogs. They have this theory that if they follow the tracks the deer will be standing waiting for them. No end of exhortations to “get back here this very minute!” is enough to deter them, so I have to wait until they discover the sad truth for themselves. “Told ya so” also falls on deaf ears.

As much as we have fallen into a routine, they look daily for some new excitement. The squirrels provide a new experience every time they arrive at the feeder. Diva leaps about four feet high in her attempt to drive them away. It’s always different, always exciting, always a new and totally blasé squirrel. If the squirrel fails to elicit a response, we can count on the cat to meander into view and set off a small chase. She’s as nonchalant as the squirrel, but hey, it’s new and different, and that’s all that matters.

We’re fired up about Valentine’s Day. We rarely celebrate in hearts and chocolate fashion, but it would be a fine thing to try. I’m thinking the beer and chocolate experience might be totally different. I’ve got a recipe for a porter cheesecake that beats any other one I’ve had. However, it feeds an army, so I’d have to do some non-essential travel and dole it out to others. That would actually be essential travel though, or that cheesecake would migrate to hips pretty fast!

Our culinary excursions have extended to A&W for lunch. Exciting, eh? That’s definitely different, since otherwise it’s sandwiches at the kitchen table. Further, no dishes to wash is indeed exciting. We’ve even bent the rules and had breakfast pancakes for dinner. Eaten in the dining room with low lighting, pancake supper takes on a whole new ambiance. We pile on whipped cream, something reserved for special occasions. Then we pour a soupçon of white wine to add to the celebration. Breakfast never tasted so good.

We had a wonderful time at Christmas decorating trees in the woods and exchanging gifts with good friends outdoors while we sipped hot drinks and ate shortbread. We’re thinking it might be a good thing to do for Easter. It would clear the winter cobwebs and be something to anticipate before we all get in line for vaccines. (That is going to happen; just you wait, Henry Higgins).

Creativity has to come into this equation, so I’m gathering my old dishes in preparation for mosaic work on birdhouses for the April MVFN auction. It’s been a great way to clear out some old china and turn it into something worthwhile. Every house I’ve made is different than the others, and I can’t wait to get started on this new project.

Every day we need not look far to find something completely different than the previous day. That’s what makes life exciting. If you find yourself in a blue funk, you need to open the door and look for the one thing that wasn’t there yesterday, even if it’s just the smell of fresh cold air, a ray of sunshine making a shadow you’ve never seen before, or the light on one small snowflake. If that doesn’t do it for you, do what a little boy I know used to do: he’d put his boots on the wrong foot and walk in the snow to make crazy tracks. Whatever it takes, every day can be completely different and just a little bit less like Groundhog Day.

Birdhouse Auction, You Say?

Look for the ad and article in this month’s Humm; it’s been in Hummail, in The Millstone and touted about, so get busy on something different and you will be making a contribution to the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists’ Cliff Bennett Bursary as well as joining in the community birdhouse auction. You’re only bound by your imagination in Functional or Decorative creations, with kids getting special attention in both categories. Go down the rabbit hole of YouTube to see the thousands of ideas you might want to pursue. Everyone will see their creations displayed both online and in local store fronts for a couple of weeks before the auction closes in late April. Then stand back when the spring birds arrive and find this whole area becoming birdhouse heaven! Check out mvfn.ca for details or email me at aljones@xplornet.com .

Kaija Savinainen —A Brush with a Gifted Environmental Activist - theHumm February 2021

By Sally Hansen

Art… and Soul

When theHumm first featured oil painter Kaija Savinainen Mountain (her married name) in 2007, she responded to my inevitable question as to why she created her art with this statement: “I have a terrible need to create. It chases me.” She has continued her race to the top of her creative powers, but she has raised the bar on her ambitions. Today her answer is: “Nature needs our respect and care more than ever these days, and I challenge us all to be mindful of......

…and Now for Something Completely Different - theHumm February 2021