The Walkable City: From Haussmann's Boulevards to Jane Jacobs' Streets and Beyond
Nevertheless, somehow the plant last week sensed that spring was upon us and started sending out green leaves. Lee carried it upstairs to the second floor landing on Sunday, and now it is growing wonderfully under the skylight.
I find it amazing that minimal cues can prompt plants into new life when spring arrives. There are a lot of things that we don't know about the world...
Many birds though, including red winged blackbirds that seem to be delighted to be back where they nest.
It's easy to forget just how far the tidal influences extend up the St. Lawrence estuary. I knew tides were felt as far as Quebec City, but I really didn't realize the extent of that flow until this week when we spent a few days there. One of the day's two high tides came at the end of the afternoon so we spent a lot of time watching the ice run upstream. Fascinating!
Once again, I bowled over the wonders of nature.
I have two indulgences. One is a good haircut from Wayne McLaughlin at Furisme. The other is a subscription to The New Yorker. Must go see Wayne soon, because I'm getting shaggy, but here are two great covers from the magazine.
As I've been enjoying the weather (much prefer sun and cold to mild and grey) I've been wondering if we all should be storing up a lot of memories of what a good winter is like. The latest report by the International Panel on Climate Change says that things are going to get worse.
According to to the background info: “This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. “It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”
Take heed, everyone. And enjoy what we've got when we can.
But given all the stupidity going around, I'm feeling just as out-of-sorts as he does.
I've spent far more time on pickets lines and at various demonstrations than I care to remember, but I've never seen such folly as in the last few days.
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There's a decorative orange tree too, that spends the winter at the top of the stairs under a sky light. Until last summer we took it outside too, but it now is really too big to wrestle down the stairs. Last summer we got it out on a balcony, but I dont know how long that dodge will work.
Nice to have plants that live a long time, particularly when the world seems to be so dangerous these days...
The photo was taken several years ago, but I still like it. Saw several kids out this morning trying their skates out.
I hear our youngest grandkid just graduated from two-blade skates to the real thing, and I imagine he's out today despite the cold.
The only thing to do in the middle of a pandemic, even when it's cold, is go play outside!
Remember it, friends, when the way looks obscured ahead.
Best wishes for a wonderful holiday. Here's the link to our blog:
My hands smell like fish now, but there are four jars in the fridge to be opened when the holiday festivities begin.
What has happened in BC and to a lesser extent in Washington State these last couple of weeks should summon us all to action. Will it?
And the first snowfall is about two weeks later than it has been over the last several decades. My bench mark has always been my birthday, Nov. 8, before which a few flakes have fallen every years since we came to Montreal in 1968. Not so this year, another bit of evidence to confirm the climate change trend.
Not something to smile about, but at least we've been spared weather drama around here so far this year.
It was all done by Monday afternoon, the delivery date the publisher and I had agreed upon. So, I never did make it to Jakarta, but the book has come together anyway. This is a photo taken by my "eyes" in Jakarta, Aly Fauzy and Thareq M.
