They say April is the cruelest month. In Muskoka, nay Ontario, they wouldn’t be wrong.

April teases us with a sunny, summer-like day, then follows up with a week of snow, wind, and temperatures reserved for January. All of that happened this past week. And on the coldest day, the windiest day, the day after the snowstorm, I was self-distancing for 40 minutes in Bracebridge while my snow tires were being removed and my oil was being changed. With nothing open, I had to walk around a huge block in the middle of nowhere – car dealerships aren’t usually located in interesting spots. The wind was brutal. I was wearing a toque. Mittens. A scarf. Walking for 40 minutes in the wide open, no shelter from the wind…

Okay I’m being overly dramatic.

But April is a hopeful time too. Like yesterday when I was stacking wood, the bugs started swarming.

Not biting. I call them the pre-black-fly Black Flies. Maybe they’re midges. I dunno. But it means the biting beasts are on their way. Which means Trilliums are on their way!

Old folk tales say that when the Trilliums open up, they release the black flies. Me? I think it’s a coincidence because there are no Trilliums growing on my road at all. And it doesn’t stop them from coming at me.

So nature continues as if nothing has changed in the world. In fact nature is thriving because everything’s changed in the world. And believe me, when the black flies start biting, I won’t mind being stuck inside.