#2624 "Spring Cumulus in Winter"

#2624 "Spring Cumulus in Winter"
16x20 inches oil

The cold front had passed through earlier in the day. Strong and blustery northwesterly winds were causing blowing and drifting snow. 

Various meteorological fields depicting the
weather of that March sunset

The spring sun was still strong enough to ignite the unstable boundary layer. The sky was full of vigourous cumulus and virga suggesting that spring and the growing season was really just around the corner. There was an organized structure to the cumulus that was laying down the heavy sunset snow flurries. 

The family farm just south of Athens, Ontario seemed overwhelmed to me by the turbulent weather – a mix of spring and winter. Benoni Wiltse, a United Empire Loyalist, and his brothers settled the community in 1792. Their village of "Farmersville" was renamed to Athens in 1888 by Arza Parish in honour of Athens, Greece. Both "Athens" were educational centres with grammar school, a model school for teacher training, and a high school. 

The increasing costs of fuel and fertilizer in the spring of 2022 were added burdens to the family farm but perhaps those threats could be alleviated by a return to the old ways and land stewardship. Looking after the land might soon become more profitable in the long run as compared to the high yield but costly pouring of petroleum products into the soil. 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels. Thank you.