About this time of year, when the rakes and the yard bags come out of hiding from the garage or garden shed and the slow-growing grass gets swept of it's carpet of yellow and gold leaves, many people start thinking about their winter getaways or planned adventures. Will it be on a beach in Mexico or on some Carribean island? Will it be a cruise through the Panama Canal? Maybe, a week or two on some warm Greek Island? Or, perhaps, a skiing or snow-boarding holiday in the mountains somewhere? Or, maybe, some pampering at a luxury spa, coupled with some educational or therapeutic activity? Perhaps, an eco-adventure?
For me, winter is a time for rest, for thinking, for writing, and for playing with some of my favorite hobbies. It's also a time to get together with friends and family, to enjoy a meal together, to just have fun in each others company. Sure, come January, when winter shows its coldest face, my thoughts will turn to travelling to some greener, warmer place. I may also decide to escape Manitoba's winter for a week or so. So far, I have no firm plans but I do often think of a short trip to Vancouver and/or Victoria in late February, just when the first flowers are blooming in the flower beds out there. Or, maybe in early March, when the blossoms first appear on some of the fruit trees out there. I have done that many, many times, over the years, and more often than not, I've been blessed by warm, sunny, spring weather. Time will tell what 2011 will bring.
Meanwhile, there are those leaves to rake, those shrubs to prune, and those sensitive potted plants to bring indoors for the winter. Maybe, I'll even clean the eaves troughs and wash the windows. Certainly, with the fine weather forecast for the coming week, the best place for me to be is outdoors in the sunshine.
Think of heading south. Just think how many tropical flowers and other pictures are possible- more beach scenes!
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