April started with a strong thunderstorm in the wee hours of the morning. I was awakened at 1:11 am as a long rumble of thunder shook the house. Thunderstorms are not common at this time of year but this one lasted a couple hours and it seemed like Mother Nature was playing an April Fool's trick on us.
Southern Ontario reportedly experienced its darkest winter in 83 years as there was little sunshine due to frequent storms and low-pressure systems. We went 14 days without sunlight in January, a month that is usually cold with clear skies.
April 1st was sunny and mild at first but rain and cold air moved in after lunch. While on an errand, I drove by a local art gallery where Snowdrops are the first spring flower to bloom. They did not disappoint and reassured me that spring is really here.
April 1, 2023, also marked the successful return of the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival after a three-year absence because of Covid. It has been an excellent year for maple syrup and the quality is exceptional due to the cool temperatures. We are now awakened by spring birdsong in the morning and when the sun does shine, it is warm and strong in spite of cold winds.
The poem of the day in my Lenten devotional was a beautiful verse by C.S. Lewis. Each stanza features one of the four elements;-water, fire, air and earth. Spring is coming as surely as Holy week begins tomorrow.
Love's as Warm as Tearsby C. S. Lewis
Love's as warm as tears,
Love is tears:
Pressure within the brain,
Tension at the throat,
Deluge, weeks of rain,
Haystacks afloat,
Featureless seas between
Hedges, where once was green.
Love's as fierce as fire,
Love is fire:
All sorts - infernal heat
Clinkered with greed and pride,
Laughing, even when denied,
And that empyreal flame
Whence all loves came.
Love's as fresh as spring,
Love is spring:
Bird song hung in the air,
Cool smells in a wood,
Whispering, "Dare! Dare!"
To sap, to blood,
Telling "Ease, safety, rest,
Are good; not best."
Love's as hard as nails,
Love is nails:
Blunt, thick, hammered through
The medial nerves of One
Who, having made us, knew
The thing He had done,
Seeing (with all that is)
Our cross, and His.
The Snowdrops are so pretty.
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