January 6, 2008

We are having a January thaw. It looks to last several days but I am sure it won't make much of a dent in all that snow we have had. The temperature was slightly above freezing yesterday and currently stands at 4C (39F). Monday it is supposed to be 10C (50F). That's jean jacket weather!

Mostly what a January thaw does is make things mucky for walking, although thankfully not life-threatening.

Unless you fall down and drown in this enormous puddle. I was happy to see that when I walked by it two hours later on the way home, the drain had been opened and it had (mostly) drained. It was about ankle deep prior to that.

This tiny mitten was there yesterday and since it was still there today, I took its picture. Someone had placed it on the top of the snow bank, to wait for its owner (or owner's parent) to return. I often wonder what the story was, when I pass these little vignettes. Did the child cry later when its hand got cold? Did the parent only notice when they got home? Do they walk here every day and so will they retrieve the mitt?

On the bike path behind the transit station, I noticed a tiny movement and as I focussed in on it, I saw it was a vole out eating some grass that had been exposed by the snow plow. As I hurried toward him taking out my camera, he scampered into a hole in the snow bank.

I drew up beside the hole and as I peered in, I realized he was still there at the entrance, holding his breath and waiting for me to go away. I snapped a photo and then stepped closer to take another and he vanished. It would have been better with a flash but you can't have everything.

November 22, 2007 "First snow"

Yesterday was the first day we had snow this season, but I didn't get the photos up until today. And then there was more snow.

Yesterday was slightly warmer and we had less snow than today. The skateboard park was quiet and empty. The slopes aren't long enough the attract people with sleds.

When I walked by the split in the bike path in the morning, nothing had been shovelled and there was evidence that at least one person had braved the conditions on his bicycle.

Later in the day however, both sections of the path had been plowed. This seems unusual to me because I don't remember ever having seen the branch of the path that heads toward the river cleared of snow in the past. I wonder if there was a new snow clearing person and they just wandered off down the path without knowing it wasn't part of their job?

Later, when I got to the corner of Woodroffe and Navaho, I saw the usual mess that has prompted me to buy waterproof boots. There are street plows and sidewalk plows and they don't seem to coordinate with each other, so snow piles up on the corners, right where pedestrians need to cross the street. Then when it is mild, a giant deep puddle forms because the snow is blocking the drains.

In addition, as I pointed out earlier, the poles that have the buttons on them to push so you get the "walk" signal, are surrounded by dirt which turns into mud and here is evidence of that.

Even though it was mild, the maintenance folks at OC Transpo had been out distributing more salt than you can imagine. I know they don't want to have people fall but this is ridiculous. And couldn't they use sand, as it is far less corrosive than the salt? When I had a dog, I couldn't walk the poor thing anywhere near the bus stop because the salt would hurt the pads of its feet.

When I left the house this morning, I saw bunny tracks on the driveway in the fresh snow. This is common all winter long but I always find it a pleasant sight. Still, I worry about where these bunnies spend their winter.

I walked by that abandoned chair, making a mental note to remember later when it disappears (finally).

Then I passed this flurry of footprints in the parking lot. It seems to be a combination of pigeon and rabbit tracks and they organize around some sort of food that left crumbs.

It was good and windy and still snowing when I walked home, and I wondered if the conditions met the criteria for a blizzard. They didn't. I looked "blizzard" up first at dictionary dot com and it said a blizzard has to have sustained winds of at least 56 kph and visibility has to be reduced to less than 400 metres. The Wikipedia article (at the link above) says the winds have to be 40 kph, visibility has to be less than a kilometre and this has to last for at least 4 hours. In any event, I don't think this will rate as a blizzard.

October 23, 2007

Today was supposed to be wet and cold but it started off at 16C so I'm glad of that. Now that I'm home for the afternoon, I guess it can go ahead and get cold, but I won't be happy about it.

On the way out of the 'hood, I saw that leaves were blocking some of the storm drains. It wasn't very bad and there was still some drainage, but I kicked the leaves away after I took this photo. Nice colours, anyway.

I looked up from the leaves and saw that the couch I reported on yesterday was gone. Don't know who moved it or where it went, but I'm glad it's gone.

I'm looking ahead to the pedestrian crossing lights here. I'm wondering what traffic the new housing development will bring and how we'll manage to get across the street when 300 people, each with a car, move in. It used to be that I hardly every pushed the "walk" button but now I push it all the time, in order to cross Centrepointe.

Once I cross the street, I look back to take a photo of the construction site. It's about 10 am but no one is around, maybe because it is an all-day rain?

Carrying on, I see that all the donations have been whisked away from the box by the library.

Heading toward the skateboard park, I see ducks have gathered in the "pond" created by rainfall. They are sitting, standing, grooming, wagging tails and eating something from under the water. They don't mind the rain. Please note the graffiti on the half walls of the park. I guess it's the nature of the beast. I think it could be more decorative but I also wonder if the shapes have meaning. Some of them are obviously letters and numbers but some I can't see what they are. And it's not my age, I don't think, because I used to draw stylized words in high school, even if it was back in the 70s. On the other hand, ask me if I really care.

Stepping onto the main bike path, I notice that the usual spot for a giant puddle is already filling up. They have repaved this spot at least once that I remember but apparently, didn't give the surface enough of a convex finish the prevent the water from collecting there. When it gets really cold, a rink develops in this spot. Okay, not really but it is a hazard.

Finally, I took a snap of a grocery cart that someone had trundled all the way over from the Loblaws. I tested it to see if it was one with a locking front wheel, wondering at the persistence of someone to push it that far in a wheelie position but it turned out to have all four wheels mobile. I wonder how long it will stay there and who will either take it away or come get it from Loblaws.