Mother Nature wears red lipstick

Author Elisha Dacey
Photo: My sincere apologies to Mike Myers. (Elisha Dacey/Canva)

I’m sitting in the middle of the prairies, watching the Environment Canada weather radar creep across the screen as Mother Nature has one last winter laugh.

I’m not the only Canadian who will be subject to 25 cm of snow this weekend – I hear there’s also an ice storm on the way for southern Ontario – but I’m actually OK with being trapped inside, as I’m still in recovery mode from the Changemaker Wellbeing Summit this week.

Speaking of trapped, do you know how hard it is to type with a stubborn cat resting on your forearms? I can tell you exactly how hard.

My cat Ellie is literally lying on my arms on my computer table, with one paw stretched up to my shoulders while she purrs as I type. If I had more hands, I’d take a photo.

Instead, she keeps yawning in my face. She really, really needs a breath mint.

Those of you who joined my navigating populism conversation with Mohammed Hashim and Shakil Choudhury on Wednesday at the summit actually met Ellie.

She decided to grace the livestream and my forearms with her presence for 25 solid minutes, purring as I stroked her.

And because I was on camera and was expected to look semi-professional instead of my usual Oscar-The-Grouch chic, I was wearing makeup.

This prompted a coworker to send me a message: “Red lipstick, the cat, you look like a villain I’d follow into battle!!!!!!”

Thank you Lynda, I presume this means you think I’m a badass… or that I look like Dr. Evil.

Either way, this weekend I will yield the title of badass villain to Mother Nature, who has decided to lipstick the prairies and parts of Ontario with white powder and ice.

I’m going to make Ellie do the shovelling.

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  • Elisha Dacey is a seasoned journalist with more than two decades of experience in the field. She has worked in various newsrooms across Canada, ranging from small-town papers to major outlets like CBC Manitoba and Global News. Dacey began her journalism career in Manitoba and has held roles such as managing editor, senior producer and digital online journalist. Notably, she launched Metro Winnipeg, the city’s only free daily newspaper, which quickly became the second most-read paper in Winnipeg.

    Elisha Dacey is the Managing Editor for Future of Good.

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