"A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary." — Dorothy Canfield Fisher

A big shout out to all you moms out there!  I hope you have a lovely peaceful day with lots of time to spend with the people you love most.  Apparently, that's what moms want.  Not the flowers or the candy or the gym membership (which is apparently what they want LEAST).

Daisy (who was a mom when she was very young -- we often wonder if she remembers that at all -- she was abandoned in a dumpster and was pregnant and about a year old -- she gave birth to her  thirteen puppies at the SPCA and they were all adopted and then poor Daisy was adopted twice and returned both times.  When we adopted her, the SPCA lady was very anxious that we were sure we could accept a dog with so many issues and we thought, "we're dog people" and felt confident that we could and now five years later, our girl is an integral part of the family -- whew! that's a long parentheses!) and I saw three goose families at Rocky Point park this morning, which was a great start to Mothers' Day.

There is a nice array of pictures on the CBC website of animal mothers and babies (here is the link, I hope -- as you all know, I'm not good with these things -- http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mothers-day-by-the-numbers-1.3568796 -- the pictures are at the bottom of the article) and they are so charming and touching.  I especially like the orang-utan because the baby looks completely blissed out!  (But all the animals are sweet.)

Of course, I always think of my own little mother on this day.  I've written about her before, but she was a dear, dear person with many enthusiasms and a kind, gentle heart and a curious mind and an indomitable will.  She is probably the biggest influence on the woman I became and I often hear her voice (not really, but in my mind, her favourite phrases often chime in -- especially "count your blessings") when I'm being petulant or pessimistic or defeated.  She wasn't all sweetness and light, but I think she taught me how to be happy and what a gift that is.  I am grateful to her every day for teaching me the joy of reading and loving nature and caring about people.

Speaking about caring about people, I am sure some of you have seen the horrible photos of the wildfire in Fort MacMurray.  My friend from Calgary knows lots of people from the area and has said if you want to help, it is best to send money to the Red Cross.  I did that -- it is very easy -- you just go on the Canadian Red Cross site and follow the links.  The Canadian government has said it will match any funds donated, so your gift goes twice as far.