Spring in Calgary

One of the definitions of whiplash is spring in Calgary. Last Monday (the 18th) was beautiful. T shirt and BBQ weather. Pedal and motorbikes everywhere. Several bees were out looking for flowers. Not yet, little ones. Here's what the yard and garden beds look like after a long hard winter.

1. The front patio, complete with the food bell that has been attracting the bird herd, as we call it. At times we have up to a dozen little birds scuffling to peck at it. Oddly enough, while Celina can easily see them she isn't interested. But the few times a magpie or crow showed up, she paid attention. 

2.

3.

4. The front of the house faces due south, so naturally the snow first melts there. Linda worries about her plants waking up too early.

5.

6.

7. The east side of the house, with the remnants of snow that slid off the roof.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12. 

13. Those of my readers with long memories will note there are no longer any small trees in the garden. The brutal weather changes killed them. I miss the Muckle Plum because it had beautiful pink blossoms. 

14. This is supposed to be the path to get from the back door to the BBQ, except it's ice under the water and dangerously slippery. I didn't use to worry about such things. Falling down wasn't a big deal. I'm getting more and more aware that things start to fall apart in mid-60's, and don't want to accelerate that process through unnecessary events.

15. I don't know if this plant has started growing, even in the snow, or if it's just this colour even when dormant.

16. I don't think anything is actually growing in this garden. The ground is still frozen.

17.

18. One of the peonies, biding it's time.

19. One of the hens and chicks poking out of the rubble and looking around.

20. Linda says this is a tulip. Optimistic, don't you think?

That was Monday. Tuesday started sunny and then began to get cloudy. I was looking at the sky driving home from a swim to see some lovely rays or fingers of clouds from west to east. I was wishing I had a camera and a better viewpoint. It started snowing late that evening and essentially hasn't stopped since. It's now late morning on Thursday, and the forecast says it's going to keep on snowing until Saturday. It's not particularly cold, only a few degrees below zero. Just snowing, complete with idiot drivers. Don't get me started.

You don't need pictures of snow. Just imagine all the above photos to be completely white. Well, ok, the stone siding of the house and the fence are not white. Maybe 10 cm so far? It's hard to tell because the first part of it melted.

In other news, the travellers who are reading this might want to check out Sean's blog. He has been posting photos from his recent travels in 'the Stans'. 

Of the Day

Driftwood (NZ)

Yukon

Film (new)

Double Exposure