This weekend we had a fun-filled sleepover with our 5 and 8
year-old granddaughters. We spent the
evening making paper dolls, something they hadn’t seen before. Yesterday we went for a nature walk and a
walk in the “forest” (the woods surrounding our property). They carried baskets and collected seed pods,
moss, bark, rocks and some snail shells.
They schlepped it all back up the hill and built a fairy house, the
first of the season.
And while this post is about the wonderful time I have as a
grandmother spending these moments sharing the things I love with them. And it’s
about the hilarious things they say, especially the five-year-old, i.e. “Did
you know I can speak to all the animals because I know all of their
languages?” And “When I sleep I can see
my brain.” There’s something more I want
to say here.
Yesterday as we did all of these amazing things outside I
had to remind the girls it was not spring but indeed, it’s still winter. Yesterday, February 19 was 76 degrees, our
sixth day in the seventies this month.
And while today will make it to a high in the sixties, we have another 3
days forecast to hit the seventies this week.
This is eastern Kansas . This is the time for hot chocolate, snow and
building snowmen, extended cold, and yes possible dreaded ice storms. And while in the past I can remember a very few times we might have had one or two warm days this time of year I certainly don’t ever remember a time like this. What an incredible stretch of weather we've seen across the country this month.
Along with my gratefulness for this warm day in February
spent with grandchildren in the woods was a feeling of concern; what changes in climate lay ahead in their futures? Let’s face it, the past
four weeks has brought me much fear for their futures in general, as well as their
parents’ futures, and ours.
So, that being said I want to share this link with
information about the March for Science on April 22. I hope you will consider finding a march near
you and taking part in this important event.
Meanwhile I will continue to enjoy this stretch of winter
warmth but also continue to do my part in protecting the environment and paying attention to what the science community is telling us. I hope you will too. Does it seem a bit conceited that we, laymen citizens, or even our politicians would assume to know more?
