Once I finished emptying the boxes of books which were on this love seat in the man cave, Achilles had his bed back. This is by far his favourite spot in the house. Kendal rarely uses this love seat, Stella never. He’s got my back while I compute.
Images
A welcome splash of colour
This African violet is blooming on December 22. I have had potted plants for decades, never having luck getting African violets to bloom until moving to Canada, now it seems I can’t prevent them from blooming.
Its colour is very welcome on this gray and grismal day.
Snug as a bug
We were very fortunate to not see the icing and snow that other parts of southwestern Ontario got during the past day or so. A few of our online friends are without hydro, and I wish for them that it’s restored soon.
Here in Dresden we’ve gotten 1.30″ (39-ish mm) of rain since yesterday morning. Much of the snow is gone had it’s a sloppy mess outside. We’ve largely stayed in today, puttering on various projects. Faye and I did walk the dogs a short time ago. Now Stella is ensconced on the couch.
Bufflehead
Bufflehead seen to be shy birds. This flock began moving away from the shore as my car turned the corner, and kept moving when I got out with the camera. They are funny looking birds and it was amusing to watch as one suddenly bobbed underwater, then bobbed back to the surface.
Soggy boggy day
Today is opening as a foggy and wet day, it seems that the warm frontal boundary moved just far enough north to take the chances of freezing precipitation one county to the north. The snowpack won’t melt though it will be compacted by the predicted rain.
Sunrise, December 19
My words would only get in the way of the loveliness.
Winter storm
It seem that there is the potential for us to experience a ‘major icing event’ to use Environment Canadas’ phrase this weekend. I am a weather junkie – I surf Environment Canada, the US National Weather Service, Weather Network, Weather Underground, Intellicast.
Not out of fear or because I Freak Out about the weather. There is too much Freaking Out about the weather by weather forecasting services, I very rarely watch teh forecaster’s videos. Instead I enjoy learning about the weather, like to read the various forecasts, then try to get my own sense of what may happen.
It seems there is a high probability of some icing this weekend, so we will hunker down and settle in. I’ve requested some good movies from the library – The King’s Speech, The Madness of King George, Lawrence of Arabia, two Lord of the Rings movies, The Ides of March.
Watching like a hawk
I heard a quiet cry from overhead.After a moment I triangulated it to our Manitoba maple, then to this hawk. I am nearly certain it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk because I have seen one before,and because we are more likely to see this species than a Cooper’s Hawk in this habitat. It flew on after a few moments. The hawk will likely return because of my participation in Project FeederWatch. Feeding songbirds means setting the table for their predators. I don’t enjoy that but it is an inevitable result, and it is a part of life.
Moonrise, December 16
The moon was rising shortly after I left work. Though looking forward to getting home, actually usually in a hurry to get to the place I am blessed to share with three dogs and my marvellous wife, I had to stop and admire. A flock of Canada geese in the near distance heading to their night roost calling to one another lent timelessness and enchantment. It’s important to me to keep in at least minimal contact with my world, this wonderful world around me.
Sunrise, December 16
Winter sunrises are so beautiful. The starkness of the snow, the muted colours of the landscape, seem to force me to more deeply see and appreciate the colours of the sunrise and the sky. I love sunrises during this time of year.
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