Today felt like the trees should have all been well leafed out … and the grass thick … lined by gardens in full bloom. How strange to have such a warm day with the bare trunks and brown landscape of early spring. We broke the record for high temperature today. 27’C recorded in Ottawa. It was warmer than that here – especially in the full sun. Just eight days ago we were riding out an ice storm.
While working away in the paddocks I was remembering a novel I read with my students. “The Carbon Diaries 2015” by Saci Lloyd. It was written in the early 2000’s and set in the ‘future’ of 2015. What I remember most about the plot was the struggle the characters were having coming to terms with the realization that climate change was wreaking havoc with their lives. It was no longer a ‘future’ concern. It was now. Carbon credits were rationed and monitored for every individual. The teenage protagonist ends up being furious with a sibling who takes a flight across Europe – breaking the ‘carbon bank’ for her family’s foreseeable future.
Now that plot – those characters – and the climate challenges and disasters they were trying to deal with … are feeling more like real life rather than sci-fi. There were lots of pluses to this beautifully warm day. I was soaking it in. I have to admit I was also looking over my shoulder – and checking my weather app to see if it was going to cause some kind of storm. Some kind of GIANT storm.
But then I find the ducks … all tucked into the cool leaves on the last remaining ice patch in the woods … in the shade … sleeping. Or walk a while with the donkeys – doling out snuggles and ear massages. The only thing I can do is be the best animal “I” can be today.
The Meadow View 