Saturday Photo: Let's Celebrate All Holidays....

 

So Quebec and Canada are secular? Why then do we have national holidays on Good Friday and Easter Monday? Why not Eid Muburak or Passover? Or none at all?

Saturday Photo: Time and the River Flowing

 The edge of the Ottawa River in March, 2024.  No ice, just reflections.

Saturday Photo: End of Winter, Sad Rink

 Visited some young friends this week.  Their Dad had made a rink in their front yard which only got a little use this winter because it wasn't nearly as cold as it should be.

And this, it appears, is the end of the rink for this year.  A little ice left, true, but you need rain boots instead of skatkes.  The neighborhood squirrels have discovered it, too.  I saw one perched on the edge, leaning over to get a drink one afternoon.

Saturday Photo: Snowdrops--Is This the New Normal?

 This photo was taken in April 2008 when we still had snow on the ground.  The snowdrops this year are already up--March 9!--and the snow cover is long gone.

I'm afraid this is the new normal...  Climate change is upon us.

Saturday Photo: Ice, Open Water and Red-winged Blackbirds

 You can't see them, but we definitely heard them.  Red-winged Blackbirds were buzzing and calling this morning at the Parc des Rapides de Lachine. 

Usually they arrive the third week in March, but obviously they got the word that things will be a little different this year and came north to check out their nesting ground.

Climate change!

Saturday Photo: Blue and Sunny Skies!

 Haven't had many sunny days this winter, but today was one!  Hoorah!

Saturday Photo: Skating at Parc Outremont

It's been a hard winter here  for people who like winter sports.  There has been some snow but the temperature has gone up and down and the outdoor ice rinks have suffered.   This weekend looks like it will be one where folks can have some fun.
 

Saturday Photo: Waiting for the End of Winter

 The snow is melting fast, even though it's not even the middle of February.  But some folks have everything ready for sunny days and barbecues.

Saturday Photo: Lanewalker in the City

 Lots of alleys in Montreal don't get plowed, and so during the winter they take on the appearance of country lanes.  Good for walking, good for thinking that you're far away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Saturday Photo: Seeing Double in the Winter

This photo was taken several years ago, but it seems appropriate today.  You have to look at it twice or on two levels anyway.  In the reflection of outside in the window you see the snow of a Montreal winter, but inside there are flowers and plants braving the season.

Good to have double vision on these days when it is cold, but the world is growing hotter...
 

Saturday Photo: Sunrise, Waning Moon, Winter...

Took this out the front window on one of the few days lately when the skies are clear.

Nice to see the moon  for a change, although as you can see it's waning.  Full moon January 25: hope there will be clear skies so we can enjoy the spectacle.

Saturday Photo: First Morning of the Year

 Cold morning of January 1 when the water was warmer than the air.  Happy New Year all, a little late.

Saturday Photo: Happy New Year

 

Saturday Photo: Stars...

Season's Greetings, and all that.

Here's a link to my Christmas blog, in which there is much about stars...including the sun.  https://soderstromyule.blogspot.com/
 

Saturday Photo: Ice Doesn't Reflect

 

Maybe you knew this, but I didn't.  Ice doesn't reflect  the same way that waer does. 

This morning at the Lachine Rapids, it was chilly and windy, but the terempuerature was above freezing. Nevertheless, there was a thin layer of ice on part of the pond, enough to support a few gulls, and to interfere with the reflections of the trees surrounding it.

 There is a message there, I'm sure, but it's been a busy couple of days and I can't entertain any weighty thoughts at all... It's like my brain as is frozen as that still portion of pond.  

Saturday Photo: Winter Wonderland

 Great snow for sledding this week.  A shame it is raining now, but for a while the kids (most of whose teachers are on strike) had a lot of opportunity for playing outside.

Saturday Photo: Winter Flowers

 One of the sadder things about winter here is the disappearance of flowers.  After the leaves have changed colour and fallen off the trees, the world is much drabber.  And if the snow has not fallen, there's not even the splendour of sunlight on a white landscape with a blue sky as a backdrop.

 

Except...except people fight back with flowers in windows.  These geraniums were peeking out from a window in le Vieux Québec the last time we were there.  A brave and cheering sight.

Saturday Photo: Good for 500 Years?

 Where Canada keeps its memories: Took a trip to Gatineau to lend a hand during the current teachers' strike, but I also visited the Preservation facility of the Library and Archives of Canada. Couldn't see inside, but very impressive outside. The aim is to shelter both hard copy and digital records and documents for 500 years. @dundurnpress

Saturday Photo: Visit to the Reserve

A little outing Friday to the Musée des Abénakis in Odanak on the St-François river. Very interesting, and afterwards lunch at Café Masko.

Saturday Photo: Early Snow...

 Snow this week, the second flurry of the year. My birthday is November 8, and last year was the first year since I arrived in Montreal decades ago that it hadn't snowed before then. This year, as if to make up for its tardy appearance in 2022, we had snow on the ground October 30 and again on Nov. 9. Gone now, but there are still leaves on the trees even though it's kind of cold.