It’s a dreary day today.  While listlessly motoring about the County in the rain, I listened to the radio news, five or more channels, all of which focussed upon the identical headline (although FOX NEWS was the most vocal). Seemingly the allegations of sexual misconduct affect only representatives of congress or the senate, not the president of the United States of America.  It is a peculiar result in similar episodes of political grandstanding. My only conclusion is that, the closer one is to power, the less is the influence of human conduct howsoever lewd. By contrast, the defeat of perfection in anything but the upper tiers of governance is a lethal wound from which few if any recover.  Once the dissolution has begun, the decline is precipitous – remorsefully affecting not only the candidate but also his family.

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The earliest proclamation of springtime was the arrival of flocks of geese along the river.  Their boisterous honking, combined with massive flight patterns, identified them and the season. At the outset the river was bordered by snow-covered ice that afforded the geese a riparian platform on which to settle until the moment they precipitously abandoned the haunt and miraculously sailed into the distance to an undetermined landing. Occasionally they would fly close to the drawing room windows, providing a defined contrasting view of their white undercarriage.

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Having just returned from a slap-happy drive through three counties (Lanark, United Leeds and Grenville and Carleton) and a succession of hamlets (Rideau Ferry, Lombardy, Portland, Crosby, Elgin, Seely’s Bay, Gananoque, Halstead’s Bay, Ivy Lea, Mallorytown Landing, Maitland and Wexford) leading to the St. Lawrence Seaway, we have nicely recovered our weekend stability notwithstanding the blustery weather.

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The precedents to my day today were as usual 1) an exceedingly agreeable breakfast of two eggs fried in avocado oil sprinkled with Maldon salt followed by steel cut oats blended with kéfir topped with 3 luscious dates; 2) a 4 Kms tricycle ride throughout the neighbourhood amidst an unmistakably cool breeze; and, 3) lounging and dozing on a balcony chair in the morning sunshine in order to capture the relieving Vitamin D which is as much an allure to my face as it is to the face of plants.

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It was my younger sister’s 76th birthday a couple of days ago.  We – my sister, her husband, their junior daughter (who flew in from California), my partner and I – arranged to meet for a celebratory luncheon today at Pelican Seafood Market & Grill on Bank Street in Ottawa South. The restaurant is a favourite of my sister who regularly frequents the place – both for dining in and when ordering bespoke take-out platters. Replete with chowder, ceviche, oysters, tuna tartare, PEI mussels, Arctic Char fillet, tiramisu and crème brûlée it wasn’t until a respectable 3-hours later that we concluded our confab and said a cheery au revoir.

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When viewed as a question of balance, getting just the right amount is appropriately characterized as an acrobatic delicacy, a veritable work of art. It involves the critical application of self-expression to seemingly dry and purely logical elements, not unlike the components of any creation. There is push and pull; up and down; side to side; big and small; slow and fast; loud and quiet; bright and dull. Stability is not just steadiness but importantly also equilibrium or evenness. The trick is deftly estimating the two in the abstract, avoiding any compulsion to do otherwise, neither less nor more. It is an even distribution of weight not the denial of constituents.

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There isn’t more favourability possible today!  Notwithstanding having arisen from the virginal lair before eight o’clock this morning, already it is nearing seven o’clock in the evening – and still the setting sun is brightly shining across the river reflecting its and our own glimmering response to the day’s welcome though unanticipated beneficence.  In all it has been an exceptional day.

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The peril of the high seas – like the occasional intemperance of the weather – cannot be overlooked; but nor can it determine the ultimate course of action in our daily lives. In short, in pursuit of our goal, we’re bound to confront the dilemma whatever it may be.

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Passover is celebrated by Jews every year, commemorating the anniversary of the miraculous Exodus from Egyptian slavery as told in the Bible.

Pesach (Passover) 2026 is from April 1 to April 9, 2026.

According to the Book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to tell the Israelites to slaughter a lamb and mark their doorframes with its blood, in addition to instructions for consuming the lamb that night. For that night, God would bring about the tenth plague, in which God would smite all the firstborn in Egypt. But when God saw the blood on the Israelites’ doorframes, God would pass over their homes so that the plague should not enter (hence the name). The story is part of the broader Exodus narrative, in which the Israelites, while living in Egypt, are enslaved en masse by the Pharaoh to suppress them; when Pharaoh refuses God’s demand to let them go, God sends ten plagues upon Egypt. After the tenth plague, Pharaoh permits the Israelites to leave.

Scholars widely believe that the origins of Passover predate the biblical Exodus, with theories suggesting it evolved from earlier semi-nomadic or pre-Israelite rituals and was later transformed through religious and cultic traditions. Wikipedia

Lest one feels in the shallows regarding this or any other biblical liturgy, there is at this time of year the optional mystery of the Easter bunny and chocolate eggs. During our adventure today to the hinterland of Renfrew County we stopped along the way to secure a modest supply of Ferrero Rocher sweets as an expression of our deeply-rooted spiritual imperative.

The Easter bunny and chocolate eggs originate from ancient pagan fertility traditions symbolizing spring rebirth, later adopted into Christian customs. The rabbit, or “Osterhase” stems from German, “egg-laying” hare legends, while eggs represent new life and the end of Lenten fasting.

Chocolate, a modern addition, solidified in the 19th-20th century.The “Osterhase” was transformed into chocolate by German and American candy makers in the 19th/20th century, cementing its role as a commercial mascot. Idem

Amusingly everyone with whom we chatted today – either by email, by telephone or in the elevator – confessed to having indulged themselves in a sufficient supply of sweets. The addictive element of sugar is indisputable – an affliction spawning unparalleled absorption in rudimentary avarice and governance.

The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the “Easter Hare” originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide, similar to the “naughty or nice” list made by Santa Claus. As part of the legend, the creature carries colored eggs in its basket, as well as candy, and sometimes toys, to the homes of children.

It is no accident that Pesach is notable for story telling as well. The narratives surrounding Nature’s springtime evolution abound in metaphors of one description or another. And as usual in this or any other comparative analysis, the proclamations evolve from similar or identical themes. It is useful to keep this in mind when assessing the influence of religious rituals; namely, that all religions – without exception – suffer the weight of myth and fantasy. These fantastic tales spring from pre-historic times from which the only surviving detail is that of folklore handed down from generation to generation, frequently in the manner of legends and apochrypha. Recall, for example, that children were taught these fundamental features of life by the employment of digestible and memorable stories.

For those who have the distinction of having attended worship service today – Easter Sunday – it will no doubt enable you the better to calculate the meaning of the sermon to consume a relieving bit of chocolate. There is so much about springtime to celebrate unequivocally. While not all the snow has melted and gone, the fields are predominantly amassed by brittle yellow stalks and furrowed parallel rows. Everything appears to await an overnight transformation.