Victoria Day is Approaching.

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Mid month already. May is passing us so quickly. I love this time of the year as the spring weather is ever changing. It has been quite cool and even cold, but the days are warming as we get increased sunshine. Our furnace was coming on during the day yesterday, it was a cloudy and damp day. I used my happy lamp to keep my spirits up during the day-and it never fails me. Today I only work until noon. I was owed a paid half day for an award that I received earlier in the year. I thought that today would be a great day to cash that chip in. Monday is Victoria Day here in Canada. We have been celebrating Victoria Day, in honour of Queen Victoria, since 1845. She holds a special place in my family's history. She pushed to give poor Irish immigrants 50 acre land parcels in the 1830's. My family arrived here during that time and 2 brothers applied for, and received a 50 acre parcel of land each. Those 2 parcels have been worked and reworked over the generations. Taking the land grants was not just taking free land. It meant settling that area-building the roads, digging the drainage ditches, building the towns and cities and scratching a living out of the hard clay land that they received. Unlike today, there were no social services, no welfare, no baby bonus, no old age security pensions. Naturally the land is not enough to support a family today, it has been passed down and many other farms have been added to the acreage. With the cost of farm machinery and drying operations that need to be constructed (in order to be cost efficient) a farmer has to work alot of land. My nephews are working the homestead now, which makes them the seventh generation to bounce around over that hard old clay. I will enjoy Monday, Victoria Day, as I always have, quietly and giving thanks for the opportunity that this queen provided to my family.