Christmas Letter From Winnipeg, Canada 2021: Of Manitoba Maples, Monarch Butterflies & Patootie

https://makeagif.com/gif/4k-10min-longest-free-snowflakes-falling-best-video-ultra-high-2160p-resolution-k-dvcJ

'Peace On Earth, Goodwill To Men'

YouTube Video by: Instruments of your Peace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNbdiU1HzUs

December 2021

Season’s Greetings!

“They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we ever recover from the wonder of it?” -- Jeanette Winterson, Author

We hope this letter finds you in good health and fine spirits, enjoying whatever aspects of the season’s activities you celebrate, and surviving the festive mayhem. As the end of the year races toward us at warp speed, it is a reminder to take time for family and friends who mean so much to us.

Thankfully we are both in good health, as are our families and our beloved cats Patootie and Minnie. 

Cutie Patootie [behind] and Skinny Minnie 

are sisters and rescued cats from Montreal. 

Patootie means, 'it's something so cute you

want to put it in your pocket.'

https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/873085

Manitoba Maple Tree and Leaves

In spite of pandemic constraints, 2021 was as full a year as ever for us. In January we bought an electric car and are very happy with it. In the spring we managed to sell our old car (which we both found surprisingly emotional; best car we ever owned, still running like new; we did regular maintenance, but never had to repair it... imagine!). 

Our seemingly endless litany of home projects continued. We finished our bedroom, did window repairs, replaced our sinking front porch, put up a pergola on the back patio, and amidst some argy-bargy’s managed to put up a few gallery walls of our collected art. The next room for wall repairs will be done in January... at last!

"When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbing along"

Photo by BRIAN PRESSEY

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com

Most of the summer was spent indoors, sadly -- extreme heat and toxic smoke from surrounding forest fires made outside a miserable place to be. Garden work was minimal maintenance only, no new projects. Still, nature restored us in so many ways. As examples: In the spring we had large flocks of dozens of robins in the neighbourhood and in our yard. Until now we had never seen more than 3 gathered together at a time. We had about 15 monarch caterpillars in the garden (significantly more than last year), and many of them made it all the way to butterfly, one of which I was able to witness taking its very first flight. Autumn was so long and mild that several plants continued to flower until mid-November, when a heavy snowfall shut that down. The monkshood was particularly lush, and it only began to bloom in October! 

The magnificent Monarch butterfly with 

15 caterpillars in the writer's garden.

https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/20000/nahled/monarch-butterfly-101131293129683U0v.jpg

But ... the pièce de résistance was our very own backyard nature adventure. In June/July we happened to see a pregnant rabbit building a nest at the base of our Manitoba maple, from the start of her digging to her final brilliant camouflage of the entrance. Once the babies were born, we were also blessed to witness -- on 3 occasions -- her feeding and grooming them. (This usually takes place overnight, so it was a real treat.) Mama was a fierce protector of her babes; we swear she didn’t sleep a wink while they were in the nest. If a crow, a squirrel, a cat or even a butterfly intruded on that area of the yard, mama rabbit would fly out of the shrubbery and be on them like a heat-seeking missile, driving them away. Once the babies began to venture out of the nest for short forays, we watched her coaching them on the ways of their world, and when they finally left the nest, we also watched two of them grooming each other in the garden. Needless to say, we were very invested in this little family. A friend even put up a large umbrella to keep the hot sun off the nest area. We had the perfect view from all the back windows of the house, and were very protective of their space. 

A wild and pregnant Canadian rabbit.

https://www.thesprucepets.com/domesticated-rabbits-in-the-wild-1835750

Getting ready for their Easter getup, soon 

they'll be hopping around the garden too.

Travel was out of the question for us, and we remain apprehensive going forward. We long to visit family and friends and to visit those places on our bucket list -- snatched from our plans in 2020 -- but... still biding our time. We are grateful though for the cheering visit of two friends, who hit the road in their camper van, and made time to be with us when passing through Winnipeg... a true highlight of the year.

The Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg with

concerts, plays and conventions galore.

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/manitoba-theatre-centre/

Since late summer we have been going out more to restaurants, visiting with friends in small groupings, and are back at our physical activities and martial arts training. We now go to some concerts and plays in person, but continue with online options for others. That balancing act of living our lives and reducing our risks, at which we all have become so adept. I am not a huge fan of technology, but Zoom and Skype have been a boon, helping us remain connected with people near and far. And ... importantly, we make sure we have at least half an hour of chuckles and belly laughs each and every day, for sure in the evening, but as often as possible. It really is the best medicine.

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We usually make a plea for world peace at this time of year especially -- and we still do, fervently -- but this year we are focusing our energies towards the requirement for significant and meaningful progress re: limiting & ultimately reversing climate change. If we collectively don’t get this right, nothing else will matter. Surely, together, we can heal some of this wounded planet we all call home. If we don’t get it right, there will be no universe large enough to contain our grief and rage. We will not give up hope; without hope none of us could go on. In the meantime, we endeavour to live in the moment, to find joy daily, and to celebrate and be grateful for every blessing in our lives, and for every beauty and wonder in the world ... of which there are so, so many.

We wish you and yours good health and every happiness this festive season and throughout the New Year, and the experience of wonder on a daily basis. 

Joy and many blessings to you and all those you love,

Written by: J. & A. 

Images: Google, Microsoft Bing.