Opinion

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody’s around to hear it, does it make a sound? That is a classic condundrum posed by some of our finest modern thinkers – Albert Einstein, George Berkeley, even Bruce Cockburn.

What happened to summer this year? It feels like we barely had two weeks of it. The cool weather has settled in, with cool days and cold nights in the forecast. Most gardens have performed reasonably well.

The effects of a cool, wet start to the season can be mitigated with a few cultural practices. First, the garden soil should have some organic material added every year.

You may have noticed the federal Conservatives have a new leader. Erin O’Toole got the job and is now opposition leader and possibly a future Prime Minister. After O’Toole won, I went to his website to check his platform.

Only a few weeks back, the number of people with COVID-19 dropped to very low levels, not only here in Manitoba but in many places across Canada. In recent weeks, the clear evidence is that COVID-19 is back with a vengeance.

COVID-19 has been a drag. The constant news of death, illness and the toll taken worldwide can be overwhelmingly grim. We must pay attention to it, of course, but let’s think about something we haven’t likely thought much about lately – parties.

Just when many people decided to spend more time gardening because of the pandemic, the weather decided to throw some challenges at those plans. First, we had a cool, wet start. The continuous wet weather affected plants in a number of ways.

Whenever we write an article or post it online dealing with a crime and an offender who cannot be named, people get to chirping. “Name them,” the comments say.

Way down south within the borders of our geographic big brother, in the great state of Indiana, schools have already started to reopen.

I just got back from a week away from work and boy, was it just what I needed. Getting away from the old computer and home office has given me a different perspective on some things that I’d like to share.