"The World is but a Canvas to the Imagination"
~Henry David Thoreau~



April's Tender Nest....
Where the Creative Spirit is nurtured and cared for.


April Martin-Ko
Creativity Consultant, Holistic Life Coach and Educator.

Tea Time at April's Tender Nest

Tea Time at April's Tender Nest
Tea Time at April's Tender Nest

Saturday, April 30, 2011

april showers and foolish flowers


as my namesake month comes to an end i am reflecting upon....spring, and if it will ever really arrive.

 i've heard spring is being hampered by a la nina year. during a period of la niƱa, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial eastern central pacific ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C. this translates into....brrr.... cold and has us throwing up our hands questioning "is spring really here?" the plethora of cherry blossoms blooming in the city does fool us into thinking spring is indeed here, however,  this april i was still wearing a scarf and a toque most days.

the cold april weather inspired me to continue knitting..... 

on the eve of april 1st i thought it would be fun to adorn my neighbourhood with some yarnbombing; a tribute to the day of fools, in honor of spring and homage to the month whose name i bear.  but the joke was on me, as it began to rain that day and did straight for two days after, but as they say....."april showers bring may flowers". this proverb has been traced back to about 1557. first attested in the united states in 'colonial american poetry:

"sweet april showers
do spring may flowers"

thomas tusser, a hundred good points of husbandry, april husbandry
From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

 in many parts of the world april does indeed bring rains to help encourage those blooms and plants emerging from the soil, but there isn't anything written about april sweaters.  i know as a resident of the west coast of canada i shouldn't complain, as many other parts of the country actually still receive snow in april.  however, i am used to donning a spring dress in april rather than a thick sweater and tights.  my recent obsession with knitting and the crisp april weather inspired me to knit more cherry blossoms for those trees pushing themselves to bloom, as well as little sweaters to keep those daffodils and tulips warm.  i felt sorry for these flowers who were probably thinking they were foolish to emerge from the ground.
this one i did in downtown vancouver right in the middle of the  fashion district, the girls in the window were looking out at me puzzled as i knit on this little daffodil sweater



we are now on the door step of may; belatane according to the celts.
this translates as "bright fires", lets hope the bright fires of the sun decide to bestow warmth upon us this month!