Saturday Photo: The Thaw Continues...

 Break-up at the Lachine Rapids park. Above freezing but still chilly. 

Many birds though, including red winged blackbirds that seem to be delighted to be back where they nest.

Saturday Photo: The Break-up and the Moon

 

Full moon this week, which coincided with the break up of ice on the St. Lawrence, which in turn meant strong tidal flow.  Half the day the fractured ice flowed with the water down toward the sea, but for the other half it was pushed back by the incoming tide.  

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.

Saturday Photo:Two from The New Yorker

 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.

Saturday Photo: More Bad News on Climate Change, But Winter Is Terrific Here

 March 5 here, and there's still a lot of snow on the ground.  This has been a great winter for skating, playing in the snow, skiing (I guess, I don't) and just enjoying brisk and sunny days.  Often by now the snow is gone, and certainly skating outside is problematic.

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.