Spring rituals in Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/04/2017 (3248 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A dramatic change of seasons comes with rituals that welcome the new season onto the stage.

I always forget what it means if the groundhog sees his shadow or not, whether winter will be longer or not, and how one measures the length of winter anyway, because where does winter actually start and end? One thing we have learned about the seasons in Manitoba is not to put away winter jackets ever, because you might just need them in July. Seasons like to sneak back onto the stage without cue around these parts.

I have lived in Fort Garry for almost 15 years. Each place we have lived comes with its rituals. These are some of the spring rituals that we have observed here:

There’s the “going to check the water level” ritual. In passing on the street, neighbours will ask, “Have you seen the river?” Or “You should see the water level this year.”

Sunday afternoon outings include a walk to Crescent Drive park to check on the water level. The park gate is closed but that does not prevent us all from going past the gate to see the water across the road.

Conversations ensue between the people in the neighbourhood, even if you have never met them before, about how high the water is, how high it was last year, you wonder together whether it will rise any further, and whether the flood forecast is correct. Water becomes the topic of conversation in walks and around the table.

Another ritual that we have noticed is the “raking of the grass” ritual. I remember with puzzlement watching neighbours, with special rakes, rake the grass in spring, like combing matted hair, rubbing the earth’s scalp and carefully massaging spring into the soil. Somehow people seemed to intuitively know when to accomplish this task because the dry grass and sand always seemed to be neatly raked onto the curbside just in time for the “spring street cleaning” ritual.

The first time we observed the spring street cleaning ritual we watched from our bedroom window with amazement as street cleaners descended upon our neighbourhood in the middle of the night. Like a cluster of bees landing, they droned back and forth giving the street a thorough sweeping and washing.

Then there is the “shovelling snow around” ritual. To speed up the grass-drying process, even I am out in the backyard spreading the leftover snow evenly on the ground to give spring just a little head start.

Whether the groundhog saw his or her shadow or not sometime in February, when spring comes, Fort Garry breathes deeply and settles comfortably into warmer temperatures, with the soil readied and expectant for the first shoots of spring to emerge from winter’s grave.

Helen Lepp Friesen is a community correspondent for Fort Garry. You can contact her at helenfriesen@hotmail.com