YES, WE'VE ARRIVED

I'm writing to you from our new locale.

And it's a zoo! (As in crazy busy with bringing the last bits over from the house, unpacking here, and figuring our what goes where.)

But it's a zoo with a view!

I don't have the time to give you a full explanation of these pictures, except to say that the first two pictures are of the downtown riverbank area of our city, and the last picture is looking up the river valley (which runs north-east from downtown). BTW, what you can't see, to the right of the third picture, is our sprawling University Campus; another time.

By time we get fully settled in, I'm sure our sixth-floor suite will seem much less zoo-like.

WHOA! WHAT'S HAPPENING?

What is this bright light shining into my den?

What's this puddle of water beside where I'm sleeping?

Spring already?

Can't be; I haven't lost any weight.

OK. I'm out of my den, but the sun is way too bright. It's hard on my eyes. I'll look the other way.

Right. Clear blue sky — gorgeous! Sunny and warm. I'll bet it's 15°C. And the snow is all gone.

Time to stretch way up, and yawn, and shake my head, and try to come alive.

There are a couple of squirrels, running around the spruce trees, checking for any more seed cones.

I hear a chickadee, and a nuthatch. There are two thieving magpies chasing each other, practically right in front of my face. I hear a Blue Jay, right, . . . oh, there he is.

There's a Mountain Ash tree, with quite a few bright orange berries. I must have missed that one. Yeah; I was getting pretty dozy.

Seeing as I'm up, I might as well have something to eat. Those berries will be tasty.

Oh, but I'm stiff already. Grumble, trundle, mumble, trundle, mumble. …

Sigh.

I really hate it when my solar alarm clock goes off at the wrong time!

TAKING RISKS — HOPEFULLY SURVIVING

Sonia (over at Gutsy Writer) got me thinking about this topic a few days ago. I had some questions for myself. 
  
What does it mean do take risks?
Why should I take risks?
What kinds of risks could/should/would I take?

I've taken a lot of risks in my life. Changing jobs; changing careers; moving across a country for work; walking into burning buildings with nothing more than an inch and a half (diameter) fire hose; getting married; having children; writing, broadcasting and blogging; upholding unpopular beliefs and ideas. In each case, these were things I did because I thought they were the right thing to do. A couple of those proved to be really bad (two were health destroying); the vast majority were good, and I'd do them again.

Even though I'm hitting retirement, I don't expect my attitude will change much. I'm probably a bit old for walking into burning buildings and having more children. I'll probably spend more time upholding unpopular ideas, in a time when democracy, human rights, co-operation, citizen action, and faith are all under attack, particularly in North America.
   
I'd love to have you come along. And if you're coming along, I really hope you will chat with me about what you and I are thinking.

Do we have a deal?

RACHEL'S BEAR POETRY CONTEST

In response to questions about finding the various poems in the Bear poetry contest, you need to go to Rachel Westfall's blog, The Waxing Moon. The contributions are spread over several postings; check the attached comments to the posts. I've put in the links for all four of the key posts on Rachel's blog

 
Happy reading! There's great stuff for those who like poetry.
 
http://thewaxingmoon.blogspot.com/2010/06/bear-haiku-challenge-prizes.html

http://thewaxingmoon.blogspot.com/2010/06/one-more-week-bear-haiku-challenge.html 
 
http://thewaxingmoon.blogspot.com/2010/07/bear-poetry.html
  
http://thewaxingmoon.blogspot.com/2010/07/beautiful-bear-poetry-and-announcing.html

WHAT'S A BEAR TO DO? (3)

Subtitle: "In which Bear and J work several hours in the garden, and accomplish some improvements."

Ah, yes; this IS starting to look better.

GONE YESTERDAY, HERE TODAY (still a bit Loony).

Well, J and I took of for a few days. Enough of sitting around the house in the rain; at least try a new view. So we did. On Anglin Lake. For those of you not familiar with the geography of Saskatchewan, Canada, the lake is on the border between the southern and northern halves of the province. The north is mostly lakes, rivers, swamps and trees (primarily Trembling Aspen, White Birch, Black Spruce, and White Spruce). Think of it as wall-to-wall trees with a few lakes and clearings (and communities) thrown in for contrast.

We went up to see and hear the Loons. Common Loons. Unfortunately, we didn't get close enough for good pictures. However,  I tried to get a few shots.

The most exciting part was to hear them calling. They have four distinct calls; we actually saw and heard them calling when we were on the water. 

In terms of pictures, the stained glass windows at the "very rustic" place we stayed are much prettier than what I could get in our camera.

And yes, the chicks (babies) do ride on their parents' backs for about the first week of their lives. It is the most vulnerable time for parent and chick alike, because the adult cannot dive to save itself from predators with the chick on its back.


For the record, Her Ladyship, Miss Sadie, did not come with us on our Loon-seeking adventure. She, being a bird-dog, would probably have wanted to jump in the water and play with them. They would not have been amused, especially when one pair had a chick. 


We had a great time (except for our encounters with the mosquitoes).


I'll have more, in due course.

DIY OF A DIFFERENT SORT

Despite the freezing weather last night, and the fact that there is still snow on the ground, one member of our community was very busy.

Yup, the resident Beaver was doing his thing,
leaving all the evidence behind.

The really interesting thing was that he decided to drop a tree right beside the walking path, . . .

meaning he (or she) had to climb up a fairly steep 25 foot embankment, drop the tree, and haul all the goods back down.

(This picture doesn't do justice to the steepness of the climb.)

But that wasn't the first time.

The night before, Beaver had been busy too.

J and K (our granddaughter) found this work

when they were walking home to our son's last evening.

This was, actually, just a bit of an afterthought.

 The real prize lay about 50 feet north.

Those six were about the diameter of your forearm. Not small stuff at all. Not only cut, but hauled down to the river.

So far, the lower trail (just a muddy footpath along the river's edge) hasn't been walkable. Now, I'm going to have to go down there and find out where the Beaver's lodge is.

I don't think Beaver will mind a visit from Bear,
though Sadie might be upsetting.

AH, SPRING . . . THE OTHER SIDE

"March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers."

That's the way it should be.

But this is RIDICULOUS!
     

This is a "Winter Storm" in April. ("Winter Storm" according to the meteorologists at Environment Canada.) 

Moderate to heavy snow. High winds (up to 107 km/hr). 

Snow blowing sideways instead of falling downwards.

"Whiteout" (blizzard) conditions on a number of roads

(including Highway 16, the equivalent of a British Motorway,

that connects Regina and Saskatoon,

Saskatchewan's two main cities).

Cars and trucks (lorries) in the ditches.

Her Ladyship, Miss Sadie, doesn't even want to go out in this. 

Nor does the Bear.

Sigh! Grr @$#%$^rr!

Today was set aside as a day to start getting

our vegetable and flower gardens ready

(though way too early to plant vegetables —

as you can see).

Next week, I guess. 

I'm not going to shovel the snow; we might get more over night.

Or it might all melt tomorrow.  

Time to hang out with J and Sadie, have a hot cuppa tea,

and read a book. 

MORE SLUSH AND STUFF

This is a bit different from the last "Slush and Stuff."

In this case the "Stuff" includes some dislocated joints in my back. This, courtesy of Her Ladyship, Miss Sadie, who is now strong enough to move me around at will — as in her will. This is a real pain, both physically and in matters of canine management. Bear will survive both, thanks to good medication and extra rest, and some good planning (which has yet to be done).

The "Slush" is inside the Bear's head, thanks to another "black dog" (as Sir Winston Churchill put it) who has come to reside. This seems to happen every year when winter turns to spring. Bear will survive; the other dog will leave. Bear just doesn't know when.

Please Bear with me; Bear has other stories to tell, when he is able.
v

SLUSH AND STUFF

First, the hangover got much, much worse.

Then, the walk beside our house turned into an ice track. Ideal for Bobsleigh, Luge, or Skeleton — except the Olympics are over.

Then the ice started to melt — thanks to warmer weather and a well-place application of salt and grit.

I've been able to do some chopping as well (after a few days of dodgy health). Now, it's almost safe to walk beside the house. Miss Sadie and I have done it a couple of times, without incident.

In a few days, I expect the path will be clear.

And by then, our very muddy back yard will appear, and I'll start thinking of building Miss Sadie her own private race track, so she isn't bringing half the back yard into the house, four paws-full at a time.

Ah, well.

Hope your spring it turning out nicely at this point.

What's happening in your corner of the world as spring emerges?

DESERT EPIPHANIES — "BIBLICAL AND POST-BIBLICAL (GREEK) CHRISTIANITY"

While I've been busy telling you about Bears Noting, I didn't mention my other blog: Desert Epiphanies. That's were I do my wonderings about God, faith, and the world.

Ironically, I have blogged there before my promised comments on Bears Noting. In this case it is about the Greek influence in the writing of the New Testament and Christian doctrine, which confounds many peoples' ability to believe today. That confusion arises because we do not live in the context of Greek philosophy, particularly the writings of Plato and Aristotle.

What we need to do is find a 21st century context for our faith, realizing that ideas are going to be "lost in translation." I'm sure that's going to be scary for many people. And helpful to others.

If you're wondering about this, click on the link and hop over.

A LITTLE BIT OF SNOW

We are having just a bit of a winter storm here. Environment Canada posted a "Winter Storm Warning" about 43 hours ago, and it's been snowing ever since. Not heavy snow; tiny flakes that kept coming, and coming, and coming. I don't know exactly how much snow we have, but it's banked up against our basement windows. I'm guessing at least 20 cms (about 8 inches). And the wind came up overnight; 70 kph (about 40 mph). Not a lot of fun.


And there is so much snow that Sadie isn't really getting out. I took her for a walk after supper yesterday, but traction was so bad, it was difficult getting anywhere. It was a short walk. Today, no walking at all.

I've cleared the walkway beside the house twice since this snow began. But that was pretty useless, as you can see.


I have to encourage Sadie a lot just to go outside and get off the porch. So after supper today, I cleared the sidewalks for the third time and made a circuit in the back yard for Sadie. She loves it!

But we're not alone, in terms of feeling "snowed in." City Transit pulled all its buses off the streets earlier today, because the going was so difficult. I do hope they get enough plowed that people can get to wherever tomorrow (Monday). Meanwhile, a lot of activities were canceled today, because of the snow.

I stayed on our nice warm basement, with the gas heater, drinking tea and think deep, Bear-like thoughts. Sadie was here; J came down, too. Whole family together!

LIFE IN THE FAIRY CASTLE

When the weather changes here, and we get very cold air meeting flowing water, our world is transformed.




We go walking in a winter wonderland.
√

IT'S CRISP!

November in our part of the world was quite lovely: warm, sunny, dry.

December is, however, like Eric the Red -- a Norse of a different colour. Last night's temperature was down to -33°C (-27°F), the wind chill took it down to -37°C (-35°F). When Sadie and I tried to go for a very short walk, she would just stop and hold her paws up, one after the other. So we beat a hasty retreat home. I went out for a short walk by myself, mostly just to stretch out my back. But it was too cold for me to go very far. By then, the temperature was up to a balmy -31°C, when I checked it out.

Yesterday, the ice pans on the river were quite large. We could hear them scraping against each other. Sadie kept stopping and trying to figure out what this strange, new noise was.

Today, we're one step past that.


The ice pans have piled up, and river is frozen right over, except for a few open spots.


There is still mist coming off the open bits of water, and the sun lends an etherial quality to the scene.


But the geese haven't left!


Silly as a goose, or what?

This is pretty much what it will be like until spring. Makes for hardy stock -- human and animal. If you want to come for a visit, just make sure to bring your ice skates (we've got lot of skating rinks -- but no skating on the river -- too dangerous!). Or you could bring your cross-country skis.

Here's hoping you have a pleasant day, wherever you are. Sadie and I will likely sit on the sofa, beside the gas stove. I'll read; she'll sleep.

PHRIDAY PHOTOS

WINTER TRANSFORMATION

Temperatures hit -20°C last night (-4°F). Under such conditions, our world is transformed -- at least along the river. The cold air hitting the warmer water raises huge clouds of mist.



The sand bar on which the ducks and geese are accustomed to gathering turns into an island of snow and ice.


And the world around us is turned into something of a fairy castle -- suitable for Fairy Nuff, and others.


Ah, yes; it IS that time of year. Soon it will be too cold for taking Sadie out, except for the shortest of walks. Even the birds have gone into hiding.

LETS GO FOR A WALK (part 2)

For those who like to drive to their local health club or gym for their "physical fits," (or fitness), this will probably be of little interest. While I do, from time to time, stop to take pictures of my world, by time Sadie and I get home from our walk, both my heart rate and respiration rate are up. Is that an aerobic work out? You tell me. I simply draw my inspiration in this matter from Exmoore Jane. You can take it up with her.

§ * § * §

Once we're past the turret house (described in the first part of this adventure tale), it's a simple walk along the trail until we reach the water treatment plant. At that point the trail is closed, and has been for about four years, while there have been renovations to the plant.

Here's the Water Treatment Plant. Buried deep within this complex is the city's old "Filtration Plant." It is made from the same Tyndall stone of which many of our city's major old buildings were constructed. Sadly, many of them have been torn down. The remaining examples are buildings on our university campus.


At the Water treatment plant, we turn left and head west.

Across the street from the water treatment plant is the water department's maintenance building. It used to be a simple garage for housing water department vehicles. Many homes, some dating from the early part of the last century, were expropriated for this maintenance building. As you can see, much of the expropriate land is vacant, or filled with piles of dirt and rubble, Very sad!


As we continue along our walk, we pass by older houses with beautiful gardens and trees.


At the end of this block, we turn left again, and go two block south, until we reach home.

§ * § * §

The one other piece in this story was a question from "Chesrhire Wife," and a very reasonable question: "Do you walk the same route all the time or do you vary it?"

The answer is "usually." Sometimes, for the sake of variety, I take a slightly different route. When there is road construction, I avoid it.

And in the evenings, I stay away from the San Site. There are no lights there, and the path is within 100 yards/metres of dense bush. Teenagers like to party there. But they're not really the problem. The bush is home to skunks (the primary carriers of rabies). And Porcupines (the North American equivalent of hedgehogs or echidnas). And racoons. And deer. And cougars (also known as puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount or panther, depending on the region).


During the last few years, there have been several Cougar sitings well within the city limits. In fact, last year, a cougar was shot (dead) within two block of our grandchildrens' home. Just a bit unnerving, considering that a small child, or dog, would stand no chance if attacked by a mature cougar -- and an adult's chances would be not much better. So Sadie and I tend to be fairly circumspect in terms of where we go in the evnings.

GOOSE PARADISE?

Sadie and I went for our usual walk last night, just after sunset. It was dark, but we could still see things farily easily.

No fewer than seven flocks of Canada Geese flew over us, all heading for the sand bar on the river, just below our house.

When we walked this morning, the sandbar was covered with geese, and a large number had been resting along the shoreline (which they quickly left as Sadie and I approached).

This of course, got me thinking. Are there more Canadians in Canada than Canada Geese, or are there more geese than people? If anyone has any ideas, I'd be interested in knowing. If this fall has been any indication, I would think more geese than people. But I'm only a Bear -- what do I know?

I THINK THAT I SHALL NEVER SEE . . .

A billboard lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all.

~ Ogden Nash, "Song of the Open Road," 1933

Now that I'm starting to feel better, Sadie puppy is taking me for walks more often. Today we walked through the civic park just a block from our house, and had a chance to observe some of the beautiful trees there.

(The Larches are turning. These are the only coniferous trees to shed
their leaves, or needles, all at the same time.
The Aspen at the borders of the picture have already shed their leaves)

(The Blue Spruce stand tall and ready for winter. In the
background you can see the stately elms, which are tuning.)

(The Junipers are ready for winter too, and will continue to be
green while the shrubs in the background are leafless.)

It is really such a joy to live where we do. One block to the east, we're at the river. One block to the west, we're at the park (where there are also play structures for children, and a baseball diamond further west).

"HEY, SADIE . . .

. . . whats all this white stuff on the ground?"


"I dunno, Nuala; tastes kinda like water, but it's cold."

"Sure is slippery, too, Sadie!"


Such was our puppies introduction to snow. Environment Canada had been saying for several days we might get a few snow flurries on Thursday, When I was out with the puppies at noon, I think I counted four snow flakes -- almost too small to see. "Yeah," I figured, "that's the snow we were promised." But when I woke up following my afternoon nap, we had a few more flakes than I had imagined.

That didn't stop the puppies from chasing round and playing in it, and having a dandy time.


Although the whole experience caused Sadie to stop for a moment and try to figure out exactly what was happening in her world.


Meanwhile Environment Canada is promising more of the same today, with temperatures of -2°C (wind chills as low as -9°C). It's a bit cool for me, but the puppies are wearing their fur coats, so I don't know that it makes a whole lot of difference to them.

But any crops that haven't been harvested ae going to take a real beating from this.

Oh, yes; I have to get out and shovel the sidewalks, too.
√

PHRIDAY PHOTO

On either side the river lie
Long fields and of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And through the fields the road runs by
√√To many-towered Camelot.

– Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Lady of Shalott"

Autumn has surely arrived. The barley is ripening; the trees' leaves are turning. The sky is clear and cloudless. The sun is bright and warm, but not too hot. A gentle breeze freshens the air. A glorious time of the year.

(This picture was taken at a spot about five minutes drive from our home.
The river, in the background, curves north from here,
and cuts through the middle of our many-towered city.)
√