od 36 - Sunday, March 17, 1991 - North Shore News LIFESTYLES Spring burst into the north country THERE’S A line in My = Fair Lady’s ‘‘Wouldn‘i it be Loverly?”” about spring creeping in over the window-sill. Eleanor Godley THE VINTAGE YEARS That’s what happens in England, that gentle, almost im- perceptible shift from damp dark winter to damp, less murky spr- ingtime. lt stips in like a burglar. Happens here, too. Some pale shy snow-drops crouch near our fence, right now, arrived as if my magic. The tops of vine-maples and alders blush on the hillsides, and the stores send out flyers showing sandals and bathing costumes. There suddenly are masses of spring blooms in the super- markets, and all the windows in the house look appallingly grungy. The light lasts longer, one doesn’t pull the curtains until after dinner, some nights. Spring’s coming, people say. I'm from the North. From the real old-time North, when there was real old-fashioned weather. | know all about real spring, and it didn’t pussyfoot around in win- dow-sills. Spring came like a freight-train, slamming the door open against the wall. Mind you, i {took its sweet time, sometimes hanging on to winter’s lees till we were well into May. But when it did come there was no question about it. One morning you’d wake up and you could see right away you wouldn't need your rubber boots. The air had warmed enough to begin to dry up the mud. When you went out you could leave your coat open. It was an actual thrill of knowing that soon, soon, you could begin to shed the layers you’d lived under for the fast six months. The water in the ditches would turn a rich deep brown, as the ice weakened on the crecks and drip- ping started on the cut-banks. The soft airs were intoxicating, there was an actual smell of sap, of spr- ing, of fecundity, of awakening, of coming to fife. Even old peo- ple, maybe even 40-year-olds, you'd see their eves gleaming. But creeping over the window- sill? Busting down the wall, more like it. Now the great slabs of ice would begin to pile up where the Nechako meets the Fraser — there'd be groaning in the night as they accumulated at the bends in the river, and creaked and shifted ponderously. Now the night patrols would begin, down at the Cuche, flooding expected. The crows would come back, one or iwo at first, hoarse with conten- ding for place, vigilant us ourselves for the first sighting of robins. In the Peace River country. home of really serious winters, spring had to spend some prelimi- nary time getting rid of the ac- cumulation of snow. The chinooks would come and lick it up pretty efficiently. Hilis that had winded the horses for months suddenly weren't there any more, the land- scape had thrown off the drifts that had piled up and hardened into apparent permanence. Our on the point above the little creek, where the resident bald eagle liked to command the view- ing sometimes, the hairy blue crocus blooms clustered bravely. We kids assumed their hairiness was protection from the possible failure of spring to keep her early appointment. And the greens! Tender new shoots of dandelion and pig's weed, we'd crush them home to our Mother to help take the curse off what we hoped was the last jar of canned moosemeat. After six moaths of mashed rulabaga and canned peas the whole family would salivate over a dish of brilliant new greens. Once things actually have per- mission to grow, in the North, they grow vigorously day and night, because the opportunity won't last very long. The cucum- ber vine on the porch wil: grow as much as five, six inches while | am at schoo! for a day. No wonder there’s such a uni- versal urgency, a seminal force that drives everyone to top speed and maximum output in order to be part of this energy, this actual palpable sensation of things sprouting and growing. There’s only so much time be- fore the blooms fade and the seeds form and the harvester takes over. School's barely started again when the snow falls © once more on the now-withered ste That's spring as 1 ‘should be, shouting, leaping, bursting with juices. rude, impatient, gloriously urgent. You have your own ver- sion, you folks here at the coast. Actually, it’s quite ladylike, pro- perly introduced, gentecl. “No overnight passionate outbursts, no flamboyant eruptions of unrefined pistils, just a gradual greening and flowering with sweet-scented airs overall. The most remarkable and mov- ing manifestation of spring I ever saw was on Good Friday, in 1937, There was a show of Northern Lights such as [ had never before witnessed, nor seen repeated since. We were accustomed at that Iati- tude to seeing and hearing these phenomena, though it never became something commonplace, it was always a sort of gift from the heavens, that vast shifting and rustling of green and blue and golden white shards in the sky. The sight and sound affected one, was always respectfully saluted, Even on the coldest nights we'd stand agape. But on this night, at the start of Easter week, it se.ined especially poignant. The lights were sussurating as usual, and nearly covered the whole night sky, but they were shades of rose, and heliotrope, and wine. We stood for their duration, transfixed. awed, incredulous of what we were seeing. As though the very sky were bleeding. When they finally dissipated and faded we felt changed. That was the most special spr- VISIT FRANCE ON A Sing EEHICeDCIN acc! STUDENT EXCHANGE HONEST SERVICE ' et a fair price Y ° 20 © OFF Aug. 4. You will then return to France together and visit PARTS & LABOUR (with this od) ' their home and country until Aug. 23. For more information please contact Claude Esposito 987-3937 (evenings) Canadian Students 45-19 years of age — 419 can visit France onan exchange. A French student will come to your home and discover your country from July 11 to 1 667 W. 3RD ST. oasit can WASH ' © COMPLETE 987-4183! 1 WIRING Be ee ee we we ee we ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION Italian Cultura! Centre 3075 Siocan Street, Vancouver March 2ist, 1991 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM Admission is FREE! The Vancouver Multicultural Society and the Vancouver Police Department will be hosting an exciting event full of entertainment and information for people of all ages to celebrate this day. For further information cali 731-4647 or 665-2277 Venue: Date: Time: