Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Temporary lodger

Spring appears to be manifesting itself in unusual ways this year. In my friend Rus Bowden's hometown of Lowell, MA, the Merrimack is flooding its banks. Luckily, Rus hasn't had to break out the scuba gear just yet (or else he wouldn't have been able to bring us the latest installment of Poetry & Poets in Rags). On the other hand, they're forecasting 30 Celsius tomorrow in Calgary, where my sister lives.

Here in Montreal, however, we've had typical rainy May weather. Maybe that's why this robin decided to build her nest under our covered patio. I think she'll be in for a shock once the weather warms up, though. It's going to get warm up there. And there'll be a lot more coming and going too, with S. and me parading back and forth to the pool, and barbecuing and whatnot. I hope she will get used to it.

I have a funny feeling she's going to be a messy, noisy tenant once her kids hatch. Maybe I should have insisted on a damage deposit.

3 comments:

hwf said...

You should at least have asked for the first month's rent :). When the iceberg melts, I imagine S. and you will spend a lot of time in the back yard, with a slight interlude away in August.

Helm.

Rus Bowden said...

Hi Peter,

The Merrimack River is getting back to normal, after cresting a day and a half ago. The basement floor is still damp. And the sun's been out. It was a long time gone.

A couple days before the flood, I was on the phone to New Mexico, where they were wanting rain. And here we were, no sun for days, heading for a flooding. We mused how Fed Ex should overnight each other's weather in a box.

You sure that's not Fed Ex Air up on the beam there?

Yours,
Rus

petergarner said...

Helm, Rus,

Well, if Robin is a FedEx under-cover agent, she sure didn't bring any sunshine in her package. It's still raining here and is forecast to continue to do so through the beginning of next week.

Maybe she's hoarding it for when her chicks hatch.