I love Summertime!

You'd think that all I do is listen to music, play Dungeons and Dragons and mow the lawn!

Mowing is actually rather therapeutic, as you get outside, do a little bit of exercize and enjoy the sunshine, and there is a sense of accomplishment and pride in a job well done. Plus, it's a perfect time to wax philosophic on some aspect of Dungeons and Dragons. In this case, I was pondering a couple of topics as I mowed, the importance of systems and three-dimensional dungeons.

I'm currently making dinner, but I promise to get to both topics before mid-week.

Now get out there and do some yard-work of your own!

I love Summertime!

You'd think that all I do is listen to music, play Dungeons and Dragons and mow the lawn!

Mowing is actually rather therapeutic, as you get outside, do a little bit of exercize and enjoy the sunshine, and there is a sense of accomplishment and pride in a job well done. Plus, it's a perfect time to wax philosophic on some aspect of Dungeons and Dragons. In this case, I was pondering a couple of topics as I mowed, the importance of systems and three-dimensional dungeons.

I'm currently making dinner, but I promise to get to both topics before mid-week.

Now get out there and do some yard-work of your own!

Happy Memorial Day

We in Canada have only one holiday, Remembrance Day (celebrated November 11) to honour those who fell in battle, fighting for Queen and Country. Happy Memorial Day, to those American readers who are celebrating the first of their two "Veteran's Days".

We spent our two-day weekend cleaning house, gardening and attending a dinner party at a neighbour's house at the end of the culdesac.

As you can see, the weather has improved significantly. Much improved, compared to the last time I did a weather post.

Happy Freedom Day.

Happy Memorial Day

We in Canada have only one holiday, Remembrance Day (celebrated November 11) to honour those who fell in battle, fighting for Queen and Country. Happy Memorial Day, to those American readers who are celebrating the first of their two "Veteran's Days".

We spent our two-day weekend cleaning house, gardening and attending a dinner party at a neighbour's house at the end of the culdesac.

As you can see, the weather has improved significantly. Much improved, compared to the last time I did a weather post.

Happy Freedom Day.

Freezy Freezy

So much for the snow melting, and spring arriving.

As Pat predicted, more snow arrived, annihilating my enthusiasm and optimism.

Ah, well, tomorrow's another day.

Freezy Freezy

So much for the snow melting, and spring arriving.

As Pat predicted, more snow arrived, annihilating my enthusiasm and optimism.

Ah, well, tomorrow's another day.

Melty Melty!

It's been a while since my last weather post, so here is what it looks like on the culdesac today.

Still cold outside, but all the snow on the sidewalks has melted, along with most of the ice on the street. The neighbours across the street have their usual lake forming in front of their driveway, but one or two days of above average temperatures should break the ice-dam and allow the water to drain away.

Spring can't be too far away now!

Melty Melty!

It's been a while since my last weather post, so here is what it looks like on the culdesac today.

Still cold outside, but all the snow on the sidewalks has melted, along with most of the ice on the street. The neighbours across the street have their usual lake forming in front of their driveway, but one or two days of above average temperatures should break the ice-dam and allow the water to drain away.

Spring can't be too far away now!

Mid-Winter Blues

The sky is gray, it's cold outside, and the snow is piled high around the driveway. The perfect prescription for the mid-winter blues!

This coming Monday (February 21) is Family Day, a provincial holiday created back in the early 1990's when the-then Premier of Alberta (your U.S. equivalent would be State Governor) discovered his son had been arrested for drug possession, and wanted to do something to encourage closer families.

Prior to that, it was quite a stretch between the holidays of New Year's Day and Good Friday.

Now, if they could just come up with some excuse for a statutory holiday in March...

Mid-Winter Blues

The sky is gray, it's cold outside, and the snow is piled high around the driveway. The perfect prescription for the mid-winter blues!

This coming Monday (February 21) is Family Day, a provincial holiday created back in the early 1990's when the-then Premier of Alberta (your U.S. equivalent would be State Governor) discovered his son had been arrested for drug possession, and wanted to do something to encourage closer families.

Prior to that, it was quite a stretch between the holidays of New Year's Day and Good Friday.

Now, if they could just come up with some excuse for a statutory holiday in March...

Chinooks

Ivy over at The Happy Whisk, was asking me what a Chinook is. Here is the answer to that question, courtesy of wikipedia, along with a picture of a "chinook arch" over downtown Calgary. Click picture to embiggen.

A "Chinook" is a wind from the Pacific ocean flowing over the Rockies into the interior regions of southern Alberta (ie. Calgary and environs). A strong Chinook can melt one foot of snow in a day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days.

The ch digraph in Chinook is pronounced as in French (i.e., shinook). This is because the French-speaking voyageurs of the fur companies brought the term from the mountains.

In Lethbridge (south of Calgary), Chinook winds can gust in excess of hurricane force (120 km/h or 75 mph). On November 19, 1962, an especially powerful chinook there gusted to 171 km/h (107 mph).

In Pincher Creek (also South of Calgary), the temperature rose by 41°C (from -19°C to 22°C) in one hour in 1962 - trains have been known to be derailed by chinook winds there. During the winter, driving can be treacherous as the wind blows snow across roadways sometimes causing roads to vanish and snowdrifts to pile up higher than 1 meter. Empty semi trucks driving along Highway 3 and other routes in Southern Alberta have been blown over by the high gusts of wind caused by chinooks.

Calgary gets many chinooks - the Bow Valley, in the Canadian Rockies west of Calgary, acts as a natural wind tunnel funneling the chinook winds.

Chinooks

Ivy over at The Happy Whisk, was asking me what a Chinook is. Here is the answer to that question, courtesy of wikipedia, along with a picture of a "chinook arch" over downtown Calgary. Click picture to embiggen.

A "Chinook" is a wind from the Pacific ocean flowing over the Rockies into the interior regions of southern Alberta (ie. Calgary and environs). A strong Chinook can melt one foot of snow in a day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days.

The ch digraph in Chinook is pronounced as in French (i.e., shinook). This is because the French-speaking voyageurs of the fur companies brought the term from the mountains.

In Lethbridge (south of Calgary), Chinook winds can gust in excess of hurricane force (120 km/h or 75 mph). On November 19, 1962, an especially powerful chinook there gusted to 171 km/h (107 mph).

In Pincher Creek (also South of Calgary), the temperature rose by 41°C (from -19°C to 22°C) in one hour in 1962 - trains have been known to be derailed by chinook winds there. During the winter, driving can be treacherous as the wind blows snow across roadways sometimes causing roads to vanish and snowdrifts to pile up higher than 1 meter. Empty semi trucks driving along Highway 3 and other routes in Southern Alberta have been blown over by the high gusts of wind caused by chinooks.

Calgary gets many chinooks - the Bow Valley, in the Canadian Rockies west of Calgary, acts as a natural wind tunnel funneling the chinook winds.

Weather, Politics and Religion

There are three topics you are supposed to avoid in polite company: weather, politics and religion (why they don't include sex in that list is beyond me). Yet it seems I engage in discussing all three topics on this blog. Here's another instance of my bad behaviour. This photo is a view of my street at 9:00 pm last night. Pretty dismal, I know. We've had a couple of snowfalls already this Autumn, (the last time being October 26) but this time it's the read deal. The weatherman's predicting cold and snow for the next five days, at least. Winter has finally arrived.

Weather, Politics and Religion

There are three topics you are supposed to avoid in polite company: weather, politics and religion (why they don't include sex in that list is beyond me). Yet it seems I engage in discussing all three topics on this blog. Here's another instance of my bad behaviour. This photo is a view of my street at 9:00 pm last night. Pretty dismal, I know. We've had a couple of snowfalls already this Autumn, (the last time being October 26) but this time it's the read deal. The weatherman's predicting cold and snow for the next five days, at least. Winter has finally arrived.

Another Snow Day In Calgary

Brrrrr! It was yet another pre-Halloween snowfall yesterday. The temperature was sufficiently cool that my neighbour decided to leave his car running to warm up. Tsk tsk, that's an environmental no-no!

While the rest of Calgary shed its' snow by mid-day yesterday, we're at a high enough elevation that the snow in our neighbourhood failed to melt.

Another Snow Day In Calgary

Brrrrr! It was yet another pre-Halloween snowfall yesterday. The temperature was sufficiently cool that my neighbour decided to leave his car running to warm up. Tsk tsk, that's an environmental no-no!

While the rest of Calgary shed its' snow by mid-day yesterday, we're at a high enough elevation that the snow in our neighbourhood failed to melt.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

We've already done two Canadian Thanks giving dinners. One, at our place on Saturday night, with about 15 of our family members. Roast turkey and cranberries, sausage and apple stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and the usual accompaniments. The second was at a friend's house on Sunday night, again about 15 of us, but this time the menu included Ham, shwartzies potatoes, carrot soup, brussel sprouts and brocolli, and ice cream and pecan and apple pies.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

We've already done two Canadian Thanks giving dinners. One, at our place on Saturday night, with about 15 of our family members. Roast turkey and cranberries, sausage and apple stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and the usual accompaniments. The second was at a friend's house on Sunday night, again about 15 of us, but this time the menu included Ham, shwartzies potatoes, carrot soup, brussel sprouts and brocolli, and ice cream and pecan and apple pies.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Why Celebrate Thanksgiving Early: Reason #4

Here's the weather that was waiting for us this morning: the first snowfall of the year. I posted several months ago, revelling in the whole two weeks of summer we get each year. Well, it looks like we went directly from spring to winter.

Note the rabbit on the sidewalk. As I was standing on the sidewalk, preparing to snap a photo, the rabbit hopped across the street and decided to stop here, long enough for me to take his picture. What a narcissist!

Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated more than a month before American Thanksgiving -- October 11 vs. November 25. I was reminded of this because my wife purchased a frozen turkey on the weekend, and is planning out the guest-list.

Which brings me to reason to celebrate thanksgiving early, #4: because everybody loves turkey, and you can never eat it too early in the year.

Why Celebrate Thanksgiving Early: Reason #4

Here's the weather that was waiting for us this morning: the first snowfall of the year. I posted several months ago, revelling in the whole two weeks of summer we get each year. Well, it looks like we went directly from spring to winter.

Note the rabbit on the sidewalk. As I was standing on the sidewalk, preparing to snap a photo, the rabbit hopped across the street and decided to stop here, long enough for me to take his picture. What a narcissist!

Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated more than a month before American Thanksgiving -- October 11 vs. November 25. I was reminded of this because my wife purchased a frozen turkey on the weekend, and is planning out the guest-list.

Which brings me to reason to celebrate thanksgiving early, #4: because everybody loves turkey, and you can never eat it too early in the year.