Silly Little Country

I Love the Smell of Pig Manure in the Morning

At least a couple of days past the vernal equinox.

It is a duty of mine to drive between Toronto and London (Ontario) and back on frequent weekends, and this was one of them. What a delight - the trip goes through some of the most fertile farming country in the world, I assume, and this is the time of year to do it. Not far from Hickson, Ontario, the smell of pig manure filled the car (actually both directions), and it filled me with delight, knowing what it meant in terms of the crops to be appearing soon on these drives (largely corn in the North American sense, and soybeans, around here)

And the symptoms of renewal grow in general. Robins were visible in many places along the way. Hawks were working very hard at earning their keep (and mice no doubt just as hard at doing the same without becoming part of that keep) . Many of the plowed fields were showing signs of premature vegetative renewal, much of which I expect to see plowed under to ethnically cleanse the fields for their planned inhabitants.

The one spring symptom I have yet to see is my Nith River kingfisher. Maybe in two weeks on the next mission.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 1:58 PM