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7 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,A pril 4,2019 theifp.ca • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 Wehandleall insurance work. We handle all insurance work. Furnace Air Conditioning Gaslines Boilers Water Heaters Radiant Heating 905-877-3100 proud local dealer of Canadian made products .caTo book this space call 905-873-0301 To book this space YOUR AD HERE! As we arrive in April, I find myself becoming im- patient - I might even say that I'm a bit cranky. It's that time of the year when Mother Nature is constantly teasing us, dan- gling that 'carrot' called 'spring' in front of us as we look out the window and see blue skies and sun- shine, making us smile in anticipation of basking in the warmth of spring. Then she slaps us with reality the moment we step outside. I think as I age, I become more aware of the cold and how it affects our bodies. At the end of February, The Sidekick and I took a weeklong cruise in the Ca- ribbean and enjoyed 30 C- plus temperatures; it was wonderful, an experience I've never enjoyed before. For seven short days, my joints were warm and nothing in my body ached. But it was short-lived: after three or four days back to our Canadian win- ter, the chills and aches re- turned. It was the first time that I had ever been away to 'someplace warm' in the middle of winter. And I'm pretty sure I've now been spoiled. So, as we get closer to mid-April, when we can ex- pect things to warm up, the more impatient I become. Some people call that im- patience seasonal affective disorder, or SAD - a condi- tion that makes us become cranky or sad due to the lack of sunshine. I might agree to a point, but I can get lots of 'sunshine' if I want to go outside and freeze. For me, it's not a lack of sunshine, it's simply a lack of warm weather. I look around the prop- erty here and want to do things - clean up the yard, convert the tractors for summer jobs, you name it - but everything around me is still mud or ice. But I recently stumbled across a stopgap measure to counter that absence of warmth. When The Sidekick and I take Hamish the dog out- side to do his business, we walk him around the back of the house, and he wan- ders down the hill to select the perfect spot to do it. Now, as many dog own- ers out there know, a dog cannot simply walk over to a spot and just 'do it.' There is a great deal of research and sniffing to locate that 'perfect place.' After a while, I could use a seat to watch the dog do his thing. So, in the interest of making myself more com- fortable, I took two of those cheap plastic lawn chairs out back for The Sidekick and I to sit on while Ham- ish searches for his spot. And once I set up the chairs and sat down, I sud- denly discovered some- thing - it was warm there. Believe it or not, the light-coloured siding on our house was acting like a simple parabolic mirror of sorts, collecting the warmth of the sun, and concentrating the heat into one area. The Sidekick and I could sit there and actual- ly bask in the warmth of the shelter of the house. We were still wearing our winter coats, but we found it surprisingly cosy; we even opened our coats and enjoyed the warm sun- shine on our faces. We were in a private lit- tle sanctuary, tucked away from the rest of the world. And most importantly, it doesn't seem cold or raw, especially since there's no mud or ice in sight (out of sight, out of mind works for me). The last few days, when the sun is shining, I pull up a chair to watch the dog defe- cate down the back hill. At times I've even taken a coffee along, to make it a truly relaxing event. I'm certainly less impa- tient now. And hopefully I'll be able to hold out until the ground dries up - unless the dog changes his spot .... Ted Brown is a free- lance journalist for the IFP. He can be contacted at tedbit@hotmail.com. THIS TIME OF YEAR, 'OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND' WORKS FOR ME OPINION HOT SPOT MAKES US FORGET ABOUT THE COLD, WRITES TED BROWN TED BROWN Column Young Georgetown figure skaters prepare for the annual carnival in March 1968. This photo is provided by the Esquesing Historical Society. EHS photo THE WAY WE WERE SUBMIT YOUR EASTER EVENTS AT THEIFP.CA FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS AT THEIFP.CA