More Signs of Spring

From Human Behaviour point of view, I think that perhaps today may be counted as the first proper day of spring around here.

Walking into town, I saw a student lying flat on his stomach on the lawn outside a school building, reading a book. (Don’t ask why the sofa is outside - or, seeing that it is, why he was not using that. I haven’t got a clue! But it is a sure sign of spring, because it wouldn’t happen in winter!)

Approaching the main square, there was music in the air. It turned out to be coming from live street musicians; and lots of people were sitting around just enjoying both the music and the sunshine.

I got infected by the spring bug as well, and got some balcony stuff out from winter storage. My clematis plants will remain covered for a while yet though as otherwise the variation between frosty nights and sunny afternoons may be too much of a shock to them.

 

 

(And yes I will be careful with myself too.)

Macro View That Makes A Difference

“Birds view” from decorated window at the Textile Museum.

for Macro Monday at Lisa’s Chaos

 

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“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
~ William Jones ~

 

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William Jones who? The mathematician? The philologist? The anthropologist? Admiral or soldier? British, US or New Zealand politician? Man on the street? Blogger? Sorry. I have no idea!!! I just saw the quote somewhere – probably in the gadget in my sidebar – and added it in my notebook… Whoever the man was who said it… I like the double twist of the quote. One of those you can chew on for a good while. (Er? But? Hmm. Yes. Or?)

 

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My thoughts with this photo and quote go to New Zealand, to the people living in or otherwise affected by the earthquakes in Christchurch: May you be able to hold on and get ‘a new grip’ and once more rebuild your future, even if vision may seem blurry and confused right now. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

 

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If you did not already read my post from last Tuesday: Lace, Punch Cards and the World Wide Web, there are some related thoughts there. I refer you back instead of repeating them again.

 

One thing the news of the earthquake in NZ made me do was to ask myself if I know where blogging friends live. The answers vary between exact address (only a few) to not even being sure of the country. What’s more, on my Blogger dashboard list, it happens that I find myself staring at some title, unable to connect blog with blogger. (I suspect others may have the same problems with mine!) Comes from adding quite a few new ones lately that I’ve come across participating in various ‘memes’. 

 

So I spent some time this week on updating my ‘blog rolls’. One advantage of the sidebar gadgets (compared to the dashboard list) is that there I’m able to add a bit to the standard info; giving my memory a bit more to hold on to about who’s who.

 

One of the links I recently added goes to Fi at Four Paws and Whiskers in Christchurch, NZ. A blogger I’ve not been following on a regular basis, but yet familiar from the comment sections of other friends’ blogs. Familiar enough that I did remember her location; so when I heard of the earthquake I thought of her.

 

She has been been doing some really admirable reporting this past week, in the midst of chaos. A living example of acting as if what you do makes a difference. It does make a difference! I’d call some of her posts a “macro” view of the situation – focusing on detail in a way that gives a better understanding of the whole.

Weekend Reflection

Some of you will recognize this statue in the river by now. His name is Bodhy and he was made in the image of his creator. What made me stop and take his picture on this occasion was partly the light reflections on the wall behind him and partly the people on the bench, absorbed in contemplation (or perhaps conversation) of their own. A not too common sight in mid winter.

This photo was taken three weeks ago but as for the amount of snow and ice and light it could just as well have been today. In between we had some thaw and slush but then it froze again and snowed again, and since then it has stayed cold (well below 0°C). No major weather change is predicted for next week either, so in spite of increasing daylight, spring still seems far away.

See more Weekend Reflections at Newtown Area Photo.