The Word

A busy week leading up to the first long weekend of the year. We have been fortunate not to have had to clear snow.

***

Our son-in-law, Tom, broke his ankle. Lisa and I have been looking after Scarlett and Cooper while Tom and Kelsie waited in the city for surgery. After three days of waiting from 2pm to 10pm in the hospital, all gowned, prepped, fasting, no pain killers, not able to drink, spending the nights in a motel, Tom was called and had his surgery to pin his ankle back together. He is home resting.

Everyone says that’s the way our healthcare system works now. Wait and hope. Still better than most of the world.

I think we could do better. What Tom went through is bullshit. Because it is ‘the way it is now’ doesn’t make it better. Six days after it was broken he had it fixed. It is lucky they didn’t have to rebreak it.

***

The kids have been great. It’s been a long time since we have had to get kids ready and get them off to school. It takes energy and time. My boss has been very understanding considering it is busy.

One of the things I like about being just a regular employee is management doesn’t expect you to be as committed to the ‘job’ as, they have to be.

***

Coming home after work. I was cut off by one of our neighbours/tourists from the next province, narrowly avoiding an accident. Later, I was tailgated by another, before they blew by me, a Mercedes SUV, one license plate, in a hurry to have fun.

It is the first long weekend of the year and I’m already sick of them.

Mid February

Things ain’t all bad. It’s easy to forget we are lucky. Busier than a one-armed-paper-hanger-with-a-seven-year-itch. That’s what my Dad used to say.

Going to one job than another without properly sewing up the previous job. That’s how it feels. That’s when we forget things. Getting older doesn’t help.

***

The birds have been singing like they are getting serious. Moving among the trees, putting branches between them and the sky. Plenty of cold weather coming. It’s only mid Feb after all.

***

The northern lights came out last night. Green and red shooting straight up in the east. The big and little dipper, along with Polaris seemed unfazed.

***

The snow crunches when walked on. The long legged dog breaks through. The small hounds run on top. A herd, about eight, Whitetail Deer, rustled, and run. Hooves scarring the frozen earth with fresh tracks. The dogs, perk, but stay close. Thank Christ! I’m too old to chase after them.

Bright Day

Lisa and I chased the moon this morning. Anticipating angles where it would set over Nelson. Willow seemed happiest. We didn’t quite get it perfect in the picture. Good enough.

We watched Cooper play a hockey game. He tried hard and got two goals. We were very proud. He was very happy.

***

The days are longer. The birds are reappearing. The sun felt good straight on the face today. Kelsie said, Something stinks, is that Dad? I always deny it.

***

It won’t be long and the garden will need turning over.

Early February

A wonderful weekend so far. Lisa and I went to school with Scarlett to hear her read. We were proud. The kids came over for supper. Willow barked and let on. Vocal she is.

Dave came over with a $100 bottle of wine to accompany us watching the sun go down. We drank it out of mason jars. I rustled up some cheese, meat and bread. We were like a couple of high breds.

There are worse deaths than bumping your head on the sky.

Lisa and I drove the loop around Lake Windermere, spotting Eagles and Deer.

Willow barked and let on.

So far so good.

Fog

The cold sure makes the wood split easier. We used to throw the wet birch aside until a cold spell. Same as the twisted spruce.

The cold can be accompanied by a brilliant day, blue skies and defined mountains. That’s today for you. They don’t come around often. It’s best to put your face towards the sun and count your lucky stars.

Chilly

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is dsc_1171-pano.jpg — Colour in the sky. The Milky Way will start rising in the coming months, first parallel to the the valley bottom, slowly turning straight up and down. Six satellites can be seen in this photo. It’s tough to get a photo without them showing up.

It is not often the cold is too much for Willow and I. Perhaps it is that we aren’t used to it, it having been a mild winter.

We headed for the south end of the lake. It surprised me that it dipped to -31°c. I took a few pictures but wasn’t really into it, my hands freezing on the aluminum tripod legs. Willow whined when we stopped to take photos.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is dsc_1166-pano.jpg — Looking back towards the lights of town. The curve of the shoreline is due to the Space-Time Warp continuum. Just kidding! It is caused by sewing multiple images together to form a panorama.

I spotted Comet E3 ZTF and took a photo, however not that interesting as I had to point the camera almost straight overhead. It would be nice to try to take a photo with the 200mm lens, but I would need a sky tracker.

A fog started to roll in hastening our departure. The last thing I wanted to do is depend on a compass to find our way off the lake.

A damn cold morning.

Skating

A spectacular day, after so many with cloud cover. Lisa and I headed beyond the ruck to skate beyond Windermere.

Each year we get older and loose a little balance. Thats the way it works. We try harder to compensate, but are mindful not to bump our head.

Old Man

Snow day. I shovelled here and there, not as fast as I used to. My stock is going down.

I envy folks that reinvent themselves. One day throwing fertilizer out a hopper, the next, an IT specialist or an acupunturist.

That’s not me. I shovel snow and will always shovel snow.

***

The birds have disappeared. It was a good cone year and they should be out in force. I hear them. Not many. It worries me.

***

It is the same thing with birds as it is with the river, we aren’t here long enough to become an expert.

***

All the good things are the same. Take the sky for instance. The clouds and stars offer a pass.

***

Still old, still part of the earth. No quarter asked or given.

Good and Bad

Watched the moon, still a crescent, go down with Jupiter. At one time, and for most of human history, the position of the stars and phase of the moon was of great importance, allowing us to plant and find our way.

It took a lot of common knowledge to get this far. Now humankind seems to care more about how we differ.

What was once a commonality, something to steer the ship, has been washed out and polluted with our own false sense of superiority.

***

When our girls were growing up, Lisa and I emphasized that they had to keep themselves safe. We told them everything from, don’t leave your drink, to stay with groups, and always trust your gut, among other things.

We tried to do it without scaring them. But the truth is the world is a tough place, especially for women.

***

I worked with a man who hated women. Every relationship he was in ended badly. He married and had kids and physically and emotionally abused them. He could be cheerful, even charming, but it would never last. He would be put off with a perceived slight or someone unresponsive to his advances.

Our girls were teenagers at the time. I remember thinking, this man was a predator looking for an opportunity. He may never have an opportunity and always stay on the side of the law, content on making the lives of the people closest to him hell, but given the opportunity he could wreak havoc on anyone unsuspecting.

He had a big influence on what we tried to impart on our two young daughters and keeping themselves safe.

***

The world is small that way. The dangers and beauty are always both right there.

Sliver

A thin new moon appeared before dark. Later Venus and Saturn showed up. The tripod stayed put, I ratcheted the new camera up to 5000 ISO and shot it handheld. It’s grainy, the detail leaves a little to be desired, just to be able to do it is something.

The moon, Bison Horn or Witchcraft Symbol. It’s all good.

A skiff of snow, too little too plow, but enough to shovel. Later, it turned into a glorious day. If this keeps up, I may have to ask for a few days off. Nice winter days are the best days of the year and hard to come by.

Palliser Pass

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Tag: environment