Wednesday, November 26, 2008

But there are rabbits...

I spend a good amount of time watching the Comedy Network, whenever I feel like some TV. In particular, the stand-up comics. There's no lack of them and many of them are fellow Canadians. I was listening to one routine and it shames me to say I can't remember whose it was, but the lad was talking about people who claim to be afflicted by the SAD syndrome (Seasonal Affective Disorder). He said they claimed to become depressed when snow was on the ground, that they lacked in energy and motivation...that all they wanted to do was lie on the couch or in bed. So the comic then says: "Christ! Get over it...it's called winter!! It happens every year!! Perhaps you've noticed a pattern developing since when you were a child!!!! Hell, everyone feels that way!!!"

I was thinking about that as I walked home from the bus stop yesterday. In the end, we all choose how we're going to feel about anything. So what kind of positive spin could I manage to put on this winter? I'll freely admit that I'm not a big fan of the white stuff. Oh, I guess there was a time when I was, for any number of reasons. But these days it just means a lessening of mobility and no riding. There is always Winterlude (or more accurately, Water-lude...) and the activities on the Rideau Canal. It's pretty hard to really enjoy a steaming mug of mulled cider in the summertime... But then there's the cold damp, the filth and slush, the salt... Busing in the winter means never being able to see out of the bus' windows. Ever. I swear they never wash the buses during the entire winter season, so once those windows are covered with slush the first time, that's pretty much it...

As I passed one of two empty lots on my way home, I stopped and peered at the cover of freshly fallen snow. There, running parallel to the treeline, were the unmistakable shape of rabbit prints. I smiled and this picked up my spirits, as we had not seen rabbits in our back yard in at least a month. We tend to get a little concerned if it's been a while since we've last seen them. We're always hoping they're all still healthy and well. This then was visible proof that they were still out and about. A visual check of our neighbor's yard proved likewise, as they generally like to set up house under his little yard shed. I know there are some of our neighbors who are less than thrilled with their presence. They do tend to occasionally raid gardens in the neighborhood. But there is nothing we like better than to sit quietly and observe them nibbling away at some of their favorite plants and flowers. We've been priviledged over the last couple of years, to actually have three generations of rabbits come through our back yard. We've watched a mother nursing her three young ones and watched those same young ones return to our yard the following year. They absolutely love dandelions, you know. It's comical to see them take a very long one and start munching it from the cut end, the remainder dangling outside their mouth like some ridiculously long cigarette.

So yeah, okay... winter's here and we'll all get used to it, as we always do. It's only for a couple of months anyway, right? And look at how fast the last spring, summer and fall went by. We'll get splattered and sprayed, partially frozen and spend too many hours of our days in darkness or hidden away indoors. But hey...at least we know there are rabbits.


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