0pt out

RCE_7828Crocuses, a sure sign of spring, are blooming in abundance on the benches and valley bottom.

Willow and I went into the bush, yesterday, to get some firewood. Storms have been threatening, clouds raining on the mountains, not much in the valley bottom. Lisa is afraid the government may close the bush due to the virus. The fear is fires will start and the province will not have the resources to fight the fires. It is a legitimate concern.

RCE_7790The surrounding mountains are still covered with many feet of snow. A quick melt could cause flooding in the valley.

The company I work for has extended my hours from three days a week back to five. This is very helpful for Lisa and I. Lisa, who was laid off from work several weeks ago, spends 7 hours a day trying to get through to check on her Employment Insurance claim. So far no luck and I don’t expect that will change. I mentioned in a previous post Lisa and I are not the kind of people who collect or are able to collect on many of the government programs available during the Covid19 crisis. I am okay with that. We are resourceful and will do anything to get by. I do believe, however that we shouldn’t have to pay into EI as we have done our entire lives without ever being able to use it when we lose our jobs, as Lisa has. I still believe, regardless of resourcefulness, a person or families best defence in these strange times is to be sitting on a piss pot full of money with nice secure, defined government pensions rolling in, another thing we pay into but never will collect.

RCE_4944A murder of crows peck seeds from a freshly thawed field.

The Albertan tourists and second home owners are back in force. There is no way they are going to stay away. The reports from BC and Alberta health ministers fall on deaf ears. And who can blame them, living in a concrete shithole like Calgary, spitting distance from their neighbours, it must be downright depressing.

RCE_5075No longer is the ice off the creeks and lake and the Osprey reappears.

Are we going to be different after this virus passes or are we going to go back to jumping on planes winging our way around the world, building second and third homes, piling motorboats onto a tiny lake and polluting and consuming at every opportunity with reckless abandon. I can imagine we will.

Regardless if this slowdown lasts for another week or several months it has been a nice respite from the usual ruck that is the tourist trap we call home.

11 thoughts on “0pt out”

  1. mountaincoward

    Superb shot of the osprey – set off perfectly by those lovely tree branches (look like ash trees) set against a perfectly blue sky.

    I could just romp off up that snowy mountain in your first photo – looks lovely. We didn’t really get any snow this year which was a shame as I have 3 sledges and wanted to go sledging! 😉

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    1. underswansea

      Thanks Carol! Glad you liked the snowy mountain. Still lots of snow in the mountains. It’s tough to get anywhere. You would have a good sled down there, you may even have an avalanche chasing you! 🙂 Take care. Bob

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      1. mountaincoward

        I’ve never actually seen an avalanche (although I’ve obviously seen the debris after them in Scotland). We tend not to have them in England but they have plenty in the Scottish mountains and I did spend about 15 years going there regularly so I’m surprised I haven’t witnessed the actual event. Mind you, if I’m underneath or half way up that bit, I don’t want to! 😉

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      2. underswansea

        Most of the mountains here have avalanches occurring on them. They can be a small or huge. Every year their are several deaths, mostly snowmobile riders. Those machines allow people to get into places they shouldn’t be. If the snow doesn’t mangle you by the time it stops , you are bound to die under the snow before found. The snow after an avalanche isn’t like snow but cement, people can die even under less than a foot. It seems there hasn’t been many deaths this year, due to the tourist snowmobile riders staying home.

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      3. mountaincoward

        Yep – I know all about them setting you in concrete when the avalanche stops – I read a lot of mountain rescue stories. Very few survive being buried!

        Agree about things like snowmobiles getting people who shouldn’t be in the mountains into spots they shouldn’t be able to get to and wouldn’t get to under their own steam. I often think the same about skiers. They go up on ski-lifts/tows but rarely know anything about the mountain they’re going up. With weather like we have over here, where visibility can rapidly dwindle to nothing and stay like that for days, I think they should know more about their mountain before they go up it! They should also carry maps and compasses and know how to use them!

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  2. larry

    Same thing here in PEI, no tourists, no cruise ships and all the operators are screaming to open up as soon as possible. They are looking at their bottom line and to hell with the virus. We have been lucky spared the worst and only a total of 26 cases. So people are not as careful as they should be. I do not know what will happen once this passes. We may get a second wave as seen elsewhere in the world. Will there be change? I somehow doubt it, given a chance people will go back to their old habits in a blink. Take care and keep well.

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    1. underswansea

      Hi Larry, thanks for your comment. From what I have read PEI has been very strict regarding it’s provincial boundary. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to get on a cruise boat anytime soon. Take care. Bob

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    1. underswansea

      Thank you! I believe a group of crows are called a ‘murder’ due to their deep black appearance. Obviously, they are a casuality of human superstition. They are incredibly smart birds and a joy to watch. Thanks for stopping by. Take care. Bob

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