The maple syrup season around here was also rather short-lived due to the weather. A friend of ours was going to call it quits and pull the taps last weekend on his sugar bush grove, and according to the television and local talk, nobody had any great amount to brag about this year.
There is a vast amount of sickness in the area, including my husband Ron, who after almost a week of me trying to cure him and one batch of antibiotics down – decided to go to the doctors to be told he had two infections – one in his lungs and one in his throat. At church last Sunday I heard reports of pneumonia requiring hospitalization, and a case of shingles lasting several weeks in a very painful state – AFTER the person had received the so called vaccination against it. Interesting. I wonder if those other folks had their flu shot vaccine.
Other rather depressing news is reports of a couple of large gas well related businesses in the area having major lay-offs, right here at the beginning of spring when they should be gearing up to get busy for the summer. I most certainly hope it’s temporary.
Another sign of spring is reports of large flocks of red-winged blackbirds moving into the area, and also, my dog Palin coming in the house loaded with burdocks from frolicking near the neighbor’s fence. (Chasing cats and birds, no doubt)
It didn’t take long for the political races to heat up – both locally, as in county, and nationally. Once the petition signing ended they started putting it in the newspapers and calling on the phone. Reminder: Election Day is May 19th I believe.
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about the expiration dates that manufacturers put on their products. It’s either “expires by”, “use by”, “sell by”, or “best if used by”. I now noticed even my bath powder has an “expiration” date. Are you kidding? Use by such and such a date or WHAT? It no longer will have a fresh, floral deodorant scent? I hope it doesn’t explode or something. At least if it’s cheese you can tell right away if you’ve gone past the “best if used by” date…
On March 30, 1858, Hyman Lipman patented the first pencil with an eraser top. Remember that the saying goes: “If March comes in with adder’s head, it goes out with peacock’s tail”. In like a lion, out like a lamb – and vice-versa. I can hardly remember many days that were in any way associated with a lamb, but rather with a roaring lion. With this next Sunday (the 29th) being Palm Sunday, we begin Holy Week leading up to Good Friday (April 3rd) and Easter Sunday (5th). This, in itself, is a most humbling time to know why we are Christians.
Are you an April Fool? In France, the gullible ones are called poisson d’avril, or “April fish,” perhaps because of the folklore that says “April fish are easily caught.” The name April comes from the Latin word aperire, meaning “to open or bud.” This month’s full moon was called “Full Pink Moon (after the wild ground phlox) by Native Americans, or Full Sprouting Grass Moon or the Full Egg Moon.
Quote by Thomas Aquinas: “The object of hope is a future good which is arduous yet possible to obtain. It is therefore necessary that the object of hope should be proposed to a man as something which is possible, in order that he may hope.”
Food for thought: The heart of a man cannot be determined by the size of his pocketbook. (And for that, I am truly grateful.)