MAY 7, ‘25 // The stairs are no longer lined with boots. Winter is really, yes really over! My house is turning over a new leaf, as well as turning over sundries that need a tikkun after Pesach. My guests have gone back home and the memories of Pesach are mutating into dreams and plans for the new season. Winter did not leave a graceful goodbye, leaving Montreal with a fair share of snow during Pesach. Spring has replaced the mountainous masses of snow which turned into undulating white hills, and then slowly into slush which eventually reduced itself to rivulets and puddles, to reveal that, all through those cold winter months the veins of life, though invisible, were throbbing. The icy cover has been removed. A splash of green has erupted, and the workings of this beautiful world are free for all to see and enjoy. I feel revitalized at this transformation, that is until I notice impudent fruit flies hovering over a freshly cut cantaloupe. It is a reminder that the spring panorama is complemented in this truly miraculous ecosystem, by a network of creatures great and small. Whether I like it or not they share my world. Downstairs young mothers dressed in their sneakers and snoods are gathered, some trying to coax just one more mouthful of porridge into their child before their bus turns into the street. They animatedly confer about common interests, such as spring cleaning, simchas, country plans, or update each other over where the best metsiyos are to be found. Their exchange of recipes and tips on how to cope with colicky babies continue long CHANA LEBOVITS My Natural Habitat 164
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