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…and washed the snow away.
But not before we went for a walk in a very snowy Centennial Park in Saanichton.
Just a few snaps – which were not that easy to take given that I was wearing two pairs of gloves to protect my aging hands against the icy wind-chill. Walking is fine; standing still is a mistake!
Tags: British Columbia, Photo, Snow, Walk, winter
Hmmm!
Yesterday I posted some photos of the recent snowfall here on the Saanich peninsula in BC. Anyone who accesses this blog directly will have been able to view them as expected.
I am extremely fortunate in that there are also a decent number of good folk out there who subscribe to these meanderings and thus receive the latest updates routinely by email. The digest that was sent out automatically yesterday – however – for some reason contained no content at all (I send myself a copy just to ensure that all is working smoothly and I too was the recipient of an empty message).
I am sending this post to check that all is in fact well – and I offer my apologies to anyone who sat scratching their heads after yesterday’s episode, wondering what the heck was going on.
This also gives me a chance to post a couple of further photos taken this morning after yet another night of snow. I am just waiting for the flakes to stop falling so that I can go out and clear our drive (once again!).
I should also take this opportunity to correct an egregious error in yesterday’s post. The Girl pointed out – in the strongest possible terms – that I made myself look like an idiot my miss-spelling ‘tuke‘. It is – of course – ‘tuque‘… or ‘touque‘… or ‘toque‘…
…but definitely not ‘tuke‘!
Sorry!
In my last post I promised further and better snow images – should the Arctic Outflow oblige by providing the requisite white stuff as it threatened to do. Yesterday evening it duly delivered. Herewith the evidence:
The inclement weather produced by the outflow led to a number of record low temperatures across the province, a notion which – given that large tracts of Canada are already notorious for bitterly cold winters – should cause the mind to boggle somewhat. Fortunately the worst of these records were set in parts of British Columbia to which right minded folk do not venture, should they be able at all to avoid so doing. Here in Victoria we reached a mere -5C yesterday – though the wind chill factor dropped that to a much less balmy -13C.
The Girl and I went for a swift walk around our neighbourhood yesterday and that gave me an opportunity to try out what has already become a favourite amongst her Christmas gifts to me – this fetching and most excellent tuke (for non-Canadians a tuke is a beanie!). This thing is awesomely warm which is clearly achieved by the appliance of some wonder of science or other… or possibly of magic. Either way it is a life (and ear) saver when the temperatures dip below -10C.
…a white(ish) Christmas!
Well – on the night of Christmas Eve there was fairly widespread snowfall here in western Canada. Naturally it wasn’t that widespread here at the southern end of Vancouver Island – because it usually isn’t. We did – however – wake on Christmas morning to enough of a dusting that we could officially declare it a White Christmas (though possible not the one of which Bing was dreaming!).
No need to be disappointed though. We are apparently trapped on the edge of yet another Arctic Outflow (I do love this modern weather terminology, which appears to come to us courtesy of the worlds of film or TV drama). It is so much more dramatic than simply saying ‘cold weather’. Anyways – this Arctic Outflow will doubtless dump a bunch more snow on us over the next week at some point and when it does I will take bigger and better (and much more dramatic!) snow pictures for your delectation and edification.
In a fit of supreme prescience I popped down to Sidney Tires (or ‘tyres’ should you prefer UK spelling) on the night before Christmas Eve and had them pop on our snow tires (or ‘tyres’ should you… etc, etc) – so we feel well prepared for anything that Mother Nature might care to throw at us.
That – and the fact that we intend remaining steadfastly indoors in the lovely warm over the coming days, rather than venturing out into the Arctic… well – that’s quite enough of that!
Hoping that all gentle readers continue to enjoy their Christmas (and/or other) holidays – and are getting in some serious relaxation.
It is, arguably, a little bit sad that if I look back over the years that I have been churning out entries for this journal, a regular subject of the December offerings has been just how busy everything has been, how tired we are and how much we are looking forward to some quiet downtime over the Christmas break.
I didn’t actually look back to the archive of any previous December’s postings before making that statement. I didn’t have to. I just know that it is true!
The reason that it is a little bit sad is because The Girl and I are notionally retired and should thus probably have time on our hands rather than finding things a bit of a grind. Let’s face it – we are clearly not tuckered out because of our wild round of pre-Christmas socialising. The pandemic has seen to that!
Oh well!
For me the term at College has just finished, the final exam has been sat and marked, term projects have been submitted and assessed and I am just in the process of wrapping things up and recording grades and suchlike. At the point at which in days of yore I might have been enjoying a little post-term social relaxation I am instead contemplating the next term (what here in Canada is pessimistically – if realistically – called the Winter term). The course that I was scheduled to teach has – for the second year running – been heavily under-subscribed (wonderful to be so popular… not!). My Chair has offered me a different course; one which I have not taught before and which would – once again – require that I mug up afresh on another curriculum and set of practices.
Am I getting too old for this sort of thing? Feels as though I might be.
The Girl (who is of course but a youngster) is also finding work something of a grind and – though she has been able these past two years to work almost exclusively from home – there are threats from her volunteer service that everyone might be dragged back into the office for the New Year.
The Omicron variant may, of course, have a considerable say in how things actually pan out for either or for both of us. How will it all end up? In truth – nobody knows!
So my message to good and gentle readers out there is this: Take good care of yourselves, stay safe and don’t take any foolish risks (in particular not for misguided ideological reasons)…
As Bette Davis didn’t quite say in ‘All About Eve’ – “Buckle up – it’s going to be a bumpy ride“…
…of the year?
It is quite a responsibility – owning an expanse of lawn – and I am not at all sure that I am qualified for the job. Certainly I have discovered that I am far better at growing moss and mushrooms than I am at tending grass… and I am not sure that that is anything about which to brag.
This is a crucial time of the year for us lawn owners in the Pacific North West. If the grass is to get its best chance for next year then it must be tended correctly now. Nervous lawn guardians who lack the necessary knowledge (that would be me) naturally turn to the InterwebNet for advice and guidance.
The InterWebNet is agreed upon the following. Winter preparation involves a final close cut, clearance of leaves and other detritus, the addition of lime (almost always necessary here in the damp northwest where the firs and pines do their level best to swing the soil balance to the acid end of the spectrum) and then some slow-release fertilization to ensure that the grass has something on which to chew when it reawakens in the spring.
Most helpful – except that as soon as one tries to dig a little deeper – to get into the details – the advice becomes less certain.
When should one carry out the final cut? Some give vague guidance derived from the phases of the moon. The more down to earth say: “When the grass stops growing”. That’s all well and good in theory, but ascertaining that something is not happening is considerably more difficult than that it is. “What do you think? Has it stopped?” – “Dunno – looks like it might be about to have another spurt“.
Then there is the question of sequencing. Does one cut and clear before applying treatments? Should the liming occur before the fertilizing – or is it the other way around? Or can they be done at the same time? And if not, how long should one wait between treatments?
Apparently (according to the InterWebNet) the answer to all of these question is “Yes“… or “No“… or even “Maybe!“… Or – most helpfully of all – “It depends!“…
None of this would matter too much except that this is wet season on the west coast of Canada. It is also ‘First storms of the winter‘ season. It is also ‘The sun’s shining – better get out in the garden – what shall we do first – oh no! too late – here comes the next downpour!‘ season.
It is little wonder that some years some of this stuff simply doesn’t get done. I’m not doing too badly this year. The lawn has had two final cuts already (“I hadn’t finished!“) and been limed. Autumn fertilizer awaits – as do other important garden tasks (clearing the gutters – cleaning up the last bunch of crap that was blown out of the trees) but at the moment the rain is mounting a major offensive. Who knows when next I will get the chance to venture forth onto the estate.
I will probably keep you posted…
“If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.”
E. Joseph Cossman
So very much has happened in the last year; it is difficult sometimes to ‘get one’s head around it’. These photos were taken a year apart! Where would I rather be?…
Tags: Holiday, Mexico, Photo, Snow, Sunshine, Victoria, Weather, winter
“Snow makes a soft bed, but no man wakes from it. That was the wisdom of the North”.
Mark Lawrence
The gentle reader will probably not need me to point out that tomorrow (for I write this missive on Sunday 17th January!) is known in some circles as ‘Blue Monday’… the most depressing day of the year!
It will also hardly be necessary for me to enumerate the more obvious reasons why this year in particular this January day already has a head start – even before taking into account the financial pressures of the festive season just passed – the generally grim weather throughout the northern hemisphere – the dis-incentives to indulge in exercise or to get out and about – the premature failure to keep up with any of the New Year’s resolutions that one was careless enough to make – the glacial pace with which the days grow longer – the seemingly endless wait for spring…
As suggested – I have not even mentioned the pandemic – the disturbing political situations in all too many places – the dismal fallout of Bre*it!
…and so on…
…and so on…
Is it any wonder that many of us find ourselves feeling a little – er… blue!
So – let us consider one or two cheerier things to raise our spirits a little:
OK – enough of that. In my next post I will look forward to the year ahead – something I have been putting off…
Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart
First things first… The Imperceptible Immigrant and the Kickass Canada Girl wish you all a (slightly belated) Happy New Year.
This Christmas period was always going to be an odd one, given that the necessary response to the pandemic was to curtail much habitual yuletide activity. We attended no gatherings of friends or family – we went to no Christmas-tide theatrical or musical events – we entertained no gatherings of like-minded souls for Christmas feasting.
In the circumstances perhaps the only Christmas-related activities in which we might have been expected to engage would have been the bracing and frequently blustery walks that we use at this time of year to help us counteract the expected surfeit of good cheer (too much food and drink!). Regular readers may recall that I normally take a camera with me on such jaunts – the resultant snaps featuring routinely within these postings.
This year – sadly – there have been no such expeditions. Not – I should hasten to add – for COVID-19 related reasons, but quite simply because for the last week (and more) it has not stopped raining…
…and raining – on occasion – in what can only be described as a biblical manner. Well – we do live on the we(s)t coast of Canada!
Bah!
Oh well – one really mustn’t grumble (no – really one mustn’t!). Things could be much, much worse – and at least we get to sleep in, cuddle up in front of the fire and watch old films and satirical reviews of the year (laugh? I nearly… er – didn’t!).
So – that’s all good then…
Tags: New Year, rain, Vancouver Island, winter
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