After the Long Winter: Spring in Canada

Spring in Canada feels like a reward after months of winter, and in this episode, we talk all about it! From blossoming trees and spring flowers to muddy parks, allergies, and the unpredictable weather, we share what this season is really like in Canada. We also talk about why spring feels so important after a long Canadian winter.

If you’re learning English, this episode is full of natural conversation, seasonal vocabulary, and relatable experiences about life in Canada.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I answer the door. Larissa knocks or rings a bell or whatever. I'm expecting nothing. I answer the door. Here she is with a branch at my door.

SPEAKER_01 0:08

This is for you. Big branch. Like almost like a tree. Like a single tree. Like tiny. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

I should have just planted it. Hello, Eepers.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Welcome to another episode of Extra English Podcast with Misha and Larissa. We're two Canadian English teachers talking about life in Canada, our lives, and anything else that might interest us. And hopefully it will interest you too. So join us for another conversation. Today we're going to talk about spring. Spring. I love spring. Amazing season. It is spring. On the day that we are recording, it is like full-on spring season.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

We're looking out my window, and there's a tree just starting to grow its little leaves.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Yeah, it's beautiful. It's a light green color, and the sun isn't shining, but I just saw a bird fly by. There are birds.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

The sun was shining yesterday. It was. Yeah. When you live somewhere that has a winter like we do, people are so happy when spring comes.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

So happy. Like every everything changes. Everything. People start coming outside, the parks aren't empty anymore. There's a new energy that comes with the warmer weather, the melting of the snow. We're more optimistic, even I would say. Absolutely. Anything is possible. The mood lifts. Agreed. Yeah. Yeah. And so let's talk about that. Here we are. What do you love about spring?

SPEAKER_02 1:45

Do you know a funny thing I just thought about when you were saying the parks are full again? Is I find Canadians, as soon as it's a little bit warm, people are like, t-shirt shorts and sandals. Like we go wake, we're just so excited. We don't have to wear winter coats. We go whoosh. And then we have to pull it back a bit because it doesn't go from minus 20 to 20 overnight.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

No, no, it's not. It's true. But it is surprising how many people I see in uh I'm sorry, there's a cardinal right there on the balcony. He heard us talking. Oh, welcome.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Oh my gosh. He's beautiful. I haven't seen a cardinal right there before. I'm sorry. He's coming for the episode. Oh, bye. Off he goes. Perfect. I really want to put a bird feeder somewhere where my son and I could watch it. My parents live out in the country and they have a number of bird feeders for different kinds of birds. Um, and it's a pastime of us. Like we'll just sit at the window and and they'll send us email updates about, oh, we saw this bird today, and or this one was at the neighbors. They have a little friendly competition with the neighbors about who's getting the blue birds.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Would they consider themselves birders? I don't think so. I guess a birder is someone who goes into nature seeking out birds.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Yes. I have another friend who's a birder, and she likes there's a community, there there are rules. Like if you find an owl, you're not allowed to tell people. Why? Because owls, owls are you'll scare them off if everyone goes, you know, if you say there's an owl at the corner of these two streets and everyone goes to look, that owl's gone. Oh so they're she's a birder.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Okay, yeah. I feel like you have to go see. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Anyway, spring related. Spring related. Absolutely. And I I would come and watch the birds at your bird feeder. But the problem is bird feeders make a lot of poop. Uh-huh. So I can't put it on my balcony. The bird feeders don't make poop. It's a special kind you buy at the store.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

But you're right. The bird feeders draw the birds, and then when you have a lot of birds, you have a lot of poop. So you need some grass.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Mmm.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

So we'll see if I can find a solution. Do you know what else creates a lot of mess? Berry trees. They do. You know I love a berry tree. Yeah. I love a berry tree.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

She loves collecting berries from the various trees in the various parts of spring and summer in our city.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

So much. But if you have one in your property, on your property or in your area, you'll often find purple-colored poop all over the place because birds, they just eat, then they go. It's a pretty short tract. It is, it is, but worth it.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

I think worth it. Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

So speaking of berry trees, that's one thing I love about spring, collecting them. But that's not till later in the spring, end of spring, beginning of summer. Yeah. I would say. But right now, all the fruit trees are in bloom. So the cherry trees, like the Sakura. If you were if we were in Japan, we would see like the big cherry blossom festival. But we have our own cherry trees here and peach trees, apple trees, and then the berries and what else? Like just, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

The trees are beautiful. There is a tree a couple blocks from me that's on my way to places we often go. And I live for this time of year when it's in bloom. It must be a cherry tree, those pink blossoms. It's so beautiful. And people will come to look at it. Like often when I pass it, and we always will detour to go under and stare up. There's usually a number number of other people doing the same or taking pictures. It's just big, it's beautiful. It's right when we need color and life and growth.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

If it's bright pink, I wonder if it's a crab apple tree.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

It may be. The blossoms are very small and close together.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Oh I don't know. I don't know. But there's a a crab apple tree on a public space near my home. Yeah. And for like three or four days, so vibrantly pink and gorgeous. Love that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

No, this tree's more the color of your shirt almost. A light pink. Okay. Anyway. Well. I should get the fruit tree expert. Come with me, I'll bring my app. My app and I can identify anything. So useful, these apps. Also, maybe you mentioned this already, but magnolia trees are so beautiful this time of year. Oh, yes. Love magnolia. Don't they don't provide fruit. No. Just a beautiful big pink. They provide joy. Joy. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 6:29

And lilacs. We're not quite there yet. No. Well, I have a lilac tree in front of my window, and the the flowers are coming. They're still green. Mine, mine are white. They will turn white and they will get so fragrant. Actually, kind of gives my son a headache. He doesn't love the smell of it. It's strong. It's strong. I love it. Me too. Yeah. But already the bees are coming. Oh. So it is, they are being drawn. So something is happening there. There's already pollen.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

Some sort of smell.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

I guess.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Do be smell? Do we smell? What attracts them to the pollen?

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Must be smell. We need to research. We should keep a little notepad, things that come up that we want to know more about. Yes. One of you could tell us.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

If only we could rely on you, yes, to just be our be our researcher.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

In addition to the trees, there's those common spring flowers like tulips, the daffodils. Yes. It's just such there are flowers all summer. Yeah. But the ones in the spring matter more. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Absolutely. Right. They're the first ones. Yeah. They're so vibrant. I think most of the ones you just named are are not even, they're not even native. Like they were brought by the Europeans. Yeah. Um, but we've associated them with spring. I guess maybe they've become naturalized. Maybe we consider them as as part of the landscape here. But yes, when you see a tulip, you know it's really spring. Yeah, exactly.

unknown 7:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

One of my very favorite spring plants is a forsythia bush.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

I love those too.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

It um it's got lots and lots of branches, and this time of year it has yellow flowers. Bright, yes, bright yellow flowers. In a few weeks, they'll fall off and then it'll grow green leaves and it'll stay green all spring, uh, all summer, excuse me. But Misha, do you remember?

SPEAKER_02 8:29

I know, I know what you're gonna talk about. I do remember.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

I know that Misha loves forsythia too. And I have one in my backyard. And so I was coming over to visit her, what is this? Like a few years ago. Yeah. And I thought, I'm gonna bring her some forsythia. Well, instead of cutting off a number of little pieces, I just got one giant branch. I don't know what possessed me to do it like this. I think it was the only one I could reach or something, and I thought, oh, she can just cut it down or must have been at least partially for the comedic effect. No.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

I don't know if I'm that clever. I answer the door. Larissa knocks or rings a bell or whatever. I'm expecting nothing. I answer the door. Here she is with a branch at my door.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

This is for you. Big branch, like almost like a tree, like a single tree. Like tiny. We should have just planted it.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

I have a picture. So I'll post the picture on our Instagram so you can all see it if you want of the giant forsythia branch.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Every time the forsythia blooms, I think, I wonder if I should bring a branch to me, Jack. Where's my branch, Larissa?

SPEAKER_02 9:40

Next time you come over, expectations are expectations are high. Yep. Uh-huh. That's the kind of friend you want to have. The friend who thinks I should show up with a branch to someone who was very excited to receive a branch.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

But you would be more excited to receive a few shorter, reasonably sized pieces. No. Zero percent. That was hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

It was. It was a great prop. I had to take photos that day. I'll tell you why. But it was a great prop for my photos. Anyone can bring me a little bundle of twigs, blossoming twigs. Very few people are gonna bring a whole branch.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Well then, I am happy to have served you so well. Yeah, well done.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Okay, what are you alluding to? Well, it's May right now. It's May 1st. Yes, when we're recording this. Hopefully, we'll release it soon. Uh, but during May, and at the time you brought me that, it must have been May. Yeah. Because during May, there's an event in the sewing community. Me made May. You got it. I love the name of that. Me made May. It's so cute. What does it even mean? Me made means something you made yourself. And we mostly refers to clothes. So I sew a lot of my own clothes, this shirt included. Uh, and so me made, I would say this is a me made. People use it like a noun. It's not like a real word outside of the sewing community, like Larissa, people don't know what it means.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

You would say I made this. But this is this is chromatically correct. Homemade, no, handmade, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

But we we use it as an adjective or a noun. It's a meme, or it's me made. And then me made me is just cute alliteration, ma m. Uh, and it's a month where people people do different things. You can kind of make a pledge, which is like a promise or a commitment to do a certain thing. Like maybe someone might pledge to wear a meme every day or make three new things during the month. Okay. Or go through their fabric, whatever you want. Yeah. But but people also often post every day on Instagram their homemade clothes. So if you Google the hashtag me made me, you'll find tons of these. It's just people, just really the community of people kind of coming together and interacting. Like, I don't know any of these people in real life, but we're friends in this kind of online community, and this is like a celeb celebratory month for us.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

So you use the forsithia in your me made may post? I did.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

Because sometimes I don't know how to pose, right? But when I have an object, like a branch, it just made for a fun photo opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

Do you have enough me made clothes that you could wear them for a month? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:26

Wow. These days, you know, I have a young child, so sewing time is very, very limited. So I haven't made a lot of new clothes in the last couple of years. And some of my clothes have worn out. Or so right now I wear a real mix, like half and half. But half and half, me made, half and made store bought? Yes. When I was really sewing all the time, most of what I wore was made by me. Amazing. Pants, coats, shirts, dresses. Isn't that amazing? It's pretty fun. Yeah. I miss it though. So this year, usually I'm so excited for a meme. But this year I feel a little down about it just because I would love to make some new things or freshen up my wardrobe, and I really don't have the time.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Well, can I give you a challenge?

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Oh, please.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Can you please wear something that you have made every time we record for May?

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Done. I ironed two other shirts today to give myself some Me Made options for recording. So I'll save them. I like that pledge. Yeah, it's pretty fun. Maybe one day you'll take part in Me Made May. Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Larissa also likes to sew. I like to sew, but I don't like to follow a pattern. Yeah. I am a free spirit. I like to create with fabrics and textiles, but I don't want to follow the instructions. So clothing really It's hard to make clothes without for us.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

We don't have those skills of that's a real high-level skill to make your own clothes without a pattern. Yeah. I don't anyway, maybe. But have you sewn you've sewn a couple garments, a couple pieces of clothing, no? But I don't wear them because they didn't work. I know. I have told her this before. I used to not really like patterns, and then I would make clothes and never wear them because they didn't look good. No. A pattern's helpful. It is. But but you have fun with what you make.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

I I am celebrating Thrift May.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Thrift thraft May. I don't know. I'm trying to think of a it doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

It doesn't work. Maybe someday. You can inspire me somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

I'll keep working on it. You know, my son likes to go outside in the spring, but he likes to go outside all year round. He always wants to be outside. And in the winter, of course, I go with him, but it's a chore.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:52

All right. I don't love the winter. I mean, some of it is nice, the snow is beautiful, and then it continues and continues and continues. And you get a little, it's a bit much. And you have to really bundle up. And uh so I'm so excited for the spring for him and I to go outside. Yes. Because it's more fun for me. Yeah. And the park, like in the winter, you can kind of play on the playground equipment, but the snow can make it really slippery. Yeah. It's not the same, but now's the time. So we go to the park. There's one near here. We go most nights. Swing, slide.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Is it wet? So spring is also usually like everything is melting and it rains a lot. So do you have to sometimes?

SPEAKER_02 15:34

So I keep a scarf in the bottom of the stroller. That's my like wipe things off. Or if it starts to rain, throw it over the stroller so he doesn't get wet. So I'm prepared. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:44

Good. Um, my daughter is also always outside in the spring. She gets upset if she has homework or classwork or chores or anything to do in the evening on a sunny day.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

Like on a rainy day, whatever, fine. But or if there's no friends available to play with her, she's she gets she gets a little grumpy because it's spring. We should be outside.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

And usually if she just walks to the park or to the school, there's a bunch of kids out there playing. Yeah, that's nice. I like that energy.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Everybody comes outside. Everybody. And everyone will talk to each other like Canadians love to talk to each other about the weather.

unknown 16:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

We love this. If you ever meet a Canadian or if you live in Canada, it's always the right conversation to have. But in the spring, like all past perfect strangers just walking, and I'm like, isn't this day beautiful? Yes. Enjoy the sun. Like we're all just excited to interact about the weather. It's true.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

And you'll find neighbors outside. Somebody's cutting their lawn and somebody is, you know, cleaning up the leaves. And although there's also a thing called no mo may. Have you heard of this?

SPEAKER_02 16:51

No mo may, no.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

No mo me. M-O-W. The idea is that you don't clean up your garden, you don't mow your grass until later in the season.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

In order to protect the insects, the bees, the butterflies, the things that are hibernating or that are like sleeping in in the plants. Let them emerge and then you can take care of everything. You don't want to disturb them. I have heard of that. I hadn't heard that cute name. Nomo May. That's a good idea. Nomo May. My neighbor did mow his lawn today, so I think he believes in Nomo April.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Doesn't have quite the same ring.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

But really, I think it's not exactly about the date, but really more like the temperature. And because I think that's what wakes up the the insects. And so maybe it's okay to do it now.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. You know, one negative thing about spring, since we're mostly singing its praises. Uh I've learned only in recent years that I have allergies that kick up in the spring.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

I guess that's part of getting older. I hate it. I've heard that some people outgrow their allergies. So they have them when they're young and then they don't have them when they're older. But maybe you can also grow into your allergies. Maybe I'm cheese.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

Reverse aging.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Hey.

SPEAKER_02 18:09

I don't know if that's a thing, but we can pretend. We can we can pretend. Anyway, the mostly they bug my eyes. My eyes get itchy, I have drops. Uh but I can feel them kicking in now.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Yeah, this is a a tough time of year for allergy sufferers, people with environmental allergies because the pollen is everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Avoid it.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

It's yeah. I'm sorry. Ah, that's all right. We have fortunately there are lots of over-the-counter and remedies.

SPEAKER_02 18:36

Mine is pretty minimal, the the effect. Some people I think are really. Yeah. They suffer. They suffer through the season. And maybe in the fall also. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think and so like I think through the summer, I think there are different I can't remember. I did an allergy test just last year. They like pricked a bunch of spots on my arms and then tested things. And I I think it was grass and certain trees. Okay. Oh, and ragweed, which is a really common one. Yeah. But I had an allergic reaction eating a peach. Oh no. And the doctor told me that what happens with uh fruit trees is the blossom becomes the fruit. Yes. So some of the pollen that has been collected and transferred and whatever can end up as part of that final fruit. So it's not that I'm allergic to a peach, but maybe the ragweed pollen or the grass pollen got in the peach.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

And maybe because a peach is fuzzy, it can it can catch that pollen more than some other fruits. Because like that would be true, could be true for any fruit.

SPEAKER_02 19:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

But I wonder if the peach skin has something to do with it.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

Maybe I just have to anyway.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Wash your peaches better.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

Well, I have an appointment when it's peach season to go back to the allergist with a peach. Bought at the same market I bought the last one. What are we gonna do with it? I said, Am I just gonna eat it in the office and you're gonna watch me? And he said, No, they'll make like a tincture and do the same process. They'll prick prick a little spot on my skin and well, can you eat the rest of it?

SPEAKER_00 20:10

After it doesn't react to my skin. Of course, yes. Yes. I'll lolly know how it goes. Yeah, interesting. I feel really fortunate not to have any allergies. Yet. Oh, yeah. Well, thank you for that optimism.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

Who knew they could come out of nowhere? You'll be fine. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

I don't believe her. So, Misha, you said the one negative thing about spring is the allergies, but another thing is the in unpredictability of the weather.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

That's true.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

It can go from a beautiful 17 sunny, 17 degree sunny day, and the next day be four degrees and rainy. It can snow.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

The snow doesn't last, but it can snow.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

It can.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

And so it's hard to make plans because you're not really sure what's gonna come.

SPEAKER_02 21:10

You have to check it all the time, bring lots of layers.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

And then it can also be really wet and muddy. Yeah. Yeah. Which is like just part of spring. It is. It's not all perfect. No. I'll take it though.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

Me too. You know, I there my son gets around by crawling mostly or walking on his knees. He has a disability, so he doesn't walk on his feet yet. And it is very hard to manage in spring. Yes. Right? Because I mean he'll just get covered in mud. Yeah. His clothes. Anyway, so we really wear splash pants a lot. Yes. At least to have one layer. Yeah. Splash pants are like a sort of waterproof thin pant that go over mostly they're for kids, although you could find them for adults. Yeah. Um, that go over his pants. But it's it is it's tricky.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Yeah, because in in winter, You have snow pants. So there's a protective layer, but in the spring.

SPEAKER_02 22:04

And in the winter, like the snow is nice and soft and doesn't scratch up his clothes or okay. But now I'm thinking about the summer when he's wearing shorts. He doesn't wear shorts.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Oh, because it would scratch his knees on the pavement. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

It is tricky though when we go swimming. He wears shorts to swim. So when we go to like a splash pad, he will scratch his knees or the top of his foot. Yeah. He doesn't really seem to mind, but I don't like you. He's having so much fun. I need to get him um watershoes this year. That's a great idea. That's what I need. That'll help. Yeah. The other thing about this unpredictability is that during Me Made May, I always have this kind of document of what happens during that month. And there's always a day where it's snowing, some rain. So it's like this little snapshot of that particular season every year. It's kind of fun to see. But you also can't plan out what you're gonna wear for Me Made May. But it does mean I get to wear almost everything. Yes. Right? There'll be days where I can wear the t-shirts. Yeah. Exactly. It's the perfect month for it.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

The end of May, well, usually the third weekend is our long weekend, a holiday in Canada Victoria Day, and a lot of people go camping. Yes. But it's also hit and miss. It is. It can be beautiful. It can be like, it can feel like summertime and you can go swimming in a in a pond or a lake, or it can be frigid and you are just shivering away. It's hard to know.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

It is hard to know. It's a risk. Yeah. Yeah. Speaking of that holiday, it's a funny one because it's called Victoria Day for Queen Victoria. But I don't know anyone who has a celebration that has anything to do with the Queen. And in fact, people don't often call it Victoria Day. In Ontario, we call it May 2-4. Yeah. Because it happens near the 24th of May. Yeah. And also a 2-4 is a case of beer. Yep. And people like to go camping, go outside, go to their cottage and drink beer.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Yeah. Yeah. My sister who lives in the west of Canada calls it May Long. Yeah, May Long. That's a cute one. That's a cute name. But they also have like the July long and the August long. Yeah. Oh, they're called. Oh, I've never heard that. I had heard that about May Long, but I didn't realize it was a pattern. I mean, it's nice. They don't have to think about what's the holiday. Yeah. But then also maybe they don't celebrate the holiday. Maybe it's just a long weekend. Yeah. I think that's how people here sort of treat it.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

Most of the time. People often think about May two four as the time when you can start putting plants outside. That's what I think of it as.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

I don't drink beer. No. I put plants in the ground.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

That's how I spend my May two floor.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

And the idea behind that is that the ground usually isn't warm enough, or the the the risk of frost hasn't passed until then. But I kind of wonder the ground's pretty warm this year. I wonder if we could get away with it earlier. We'll have a frost again, don't you think? I don't know. We'll wait and see. I could be patient, I guess. So spring. We love it. Love it. Um and and it is so fleeting. It yes. It's a very fast, a very short season, and and every day there are changes, noticeable changes. So my advice for myself and for anybody else is to get outside every single day.

SPEAKER_02 25:30

Agreed.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

Walk along the same path, go along the same route, and just notice what's different. It's it's incredible. I love spring.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

It really makes you live in the moment, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

Yeah. Thanks for listening to another episode.

SPEAKER_02 25:47

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