WEATHER IS RELATIVE

     Many North American posts lately are about weather. There's been tons of snow on the west coast and cold in other places.

     That got me thinking about my weather. Yesterday in the afternoon it was minus 16 C (plus 4 F). Wind was 19 kph with gusts to 29 kph. It was dull and cloudy with light flurries. Over the last 4 days we've had about 12 cm (4 in ) of snow. I've been busy shovelling. 

    Now on the west coast there's been lots of snow ...up to a meter (3 ft). They rarely get snow and then not much. This much snow is difficult for them as they are not prepared for it. They don't have snow removal equipment. Their cars aren't equipped for winter and they have many very steep slopes on their roads. This weather is a challenge for west coasters.

    I've been noticing other blog posts which  report weather that doesn't seem threatening. Somebody reported that they had several nights close to freezing. I suppose vegetation in that area would be harmed by frost.

    Other areas toy with a bit of snow. Other areas rarely get snow and when they do they have all kinds of fun making snow men.

    I think  many people would think of my weather as extreme and it is. We have cold warnings for tonight. A cold warning is given when wind chill is below minus 41 (minus 41 F) Yes, that's right they're both the same at that temp. We don't like weather to be this cold. We're prepared for it but that doesn't make it any easier to cope with. We have warm houses. We have appropriate clothing. Our cars are winterized. However, it's still uncomfortable. With the snow we've been having, I've had to shovel four times. It's okay if you keep moving. I don't get cold hands or face.

   So my point is that the weather is relative thing. We get used to what weather we get in our area. Anything warmer than what I have would seem very pleasant. 

   However, I'm like everybody else. I'm looking forward to spring. It's just that I can't be in a hurry for spring yet as it's a long way off. Our snow usually disappears around April 1 depending on how much we have. April is cool with frost almost every night. So you see spring and summer come very slowly here.

i DON'T DO SPORTS

     On this day of all days of sports I have to tell you that I don't follow sports. Now I'm not going to rain on your party and tell you sports have no value. I completely understand why people like sports. We need something to hold our interest.

    It's just that I have lost all interest in sports. Maybe it's because I don't watch TV? I detest commercials. Commercials really spoil a game. A good old Canadian boy should really like hockey. I haven't watched hockey for years  and was turned off by a certain buffoon of a commentator, Don Cherry. I used to watch the standings for my beloved Edmonton Oilers. Not anymore.

    I liked , followed and attended Canadian football games. My heart bled for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Sorry. I lost interest in Canadian football. 

   I never did get interested in soccer, tennis or baseball. 

   I did play, baseball and football. Other things I tried to play were volleyball, basketball and badminton. I skate and cycle. I ran until I was 71. I Gave spots a good run.

    So on this day of all days in sports I did not get a ton of nibblies and all kinds of other refreshments. In fact, I forgot about the game until I looked at Twitter and found the underdogs ahead by 21 to 3! I've done what I usually do on Sunday afternoons... a few chores, (somebody has to shovel snow), did some reading, had a nap, coffee with the micro manager which can go on for some time. I had lots to do.

    So for those who love sports, keep at it. I know it's enjoyable but not for me!

    How about you? Are you a sport's fan?

VISITING WALTER

      I have written several times about Walter. Walter was my neighbor, a retired college professor and a character.

      It was always interesting to stop and visit Walter or to go for a walk with him. He never wanted to turn around and go back home.

     Walter was a talker. His interests and knowledge were broad. He was bright and curious. He held nothing against you if you disagreed. He would respectfully listen to your point and go on.

     In my last post on Walter I told how he was removed from the home because his dementia had caused great insecurity for his wife. Walter stayed in the local hospital for a month and then a place was found for him in a senior's facility that took dementia patients.

     I went to visit Walter yesterday and I was appalled at the deterioration I found in him. Walter hasn't known me for a year but he would always tell people that I was a "good guy." He had always described me as a "good guy" and I will always remember that complement.

    I have seen dementia patients but I wasn't prepared for what I saw yesterday. I got there at a bad time as he was to go for supper in 5 minutes. I tried to explain that I would visit for five minutes as he had to go for supper. He replied that he was going to have a sleep. I pointed to the clock. That meant nothing to him. The water was  running in his sink. I pointed it out and he went in and was talking to the guy in the mirror. He had a jigsaw puzzle on a table. He told me not to touch it that it was somebody else's jig saw and he would be mad if I touched it.

    I just wasn't prepared to see somebody like Walter in total chaos. He has no sense of time. His wife told me he cannot read the clock or understand time. The staff came to get him for supper so I thought I walk with him to the dining room. He completely forgot that I was the person who came to visit him.

    What an awful way to end your life!

     I wasn't even a "good guy " yesterday.

BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS

      There are two species of waxwings in North America: bohemian and cedar.  Most cedar waxwings spend their summer in Canada and winters in the southern United States. Bohemian waxwings spread out and spend their summers in the boreal forest. Bohemian waxwings winter in south western  Canada where they tend to form large flocks.   Both species of waxwings are very beautiful birds with smooth feathers and small bright yellow or red on wings or tail. You can get quite close to them as they are feeding.

    I've always liked watching the large flock of bohemian waxwings when they spend the winter with us.

   Flocks start appearing in late November and grow larger all winter. Bohemian waxwings like mountain ash berries but actually eat quite a number of different berries.

   The large flocks seem to be joyful as they explode as one and fly around the district.

    Bohemian waxwings have one problem here: the merlin.

    Merlins are a small  falcon and are excellent hunters of birds so they dine on waxwings most days. I see the merlin chase the waxwings many times.

    The other day there was a large flock of waxwings in my neighborhood. They were in a tree in my front yard and of course in many other nearby trees, I got a few photos. Then I looked for another photo. All of a sudden the flock exploded into flight as if they were one. They formed  dense ball and began to climb. All of a sudden I noticed another bird. I thought maybe one waxwing was late to the party. No! It was the merlin. The merlin will get under the flock of waxwings. The waxwings will fly higher to get away from the merlin. All of a sudden a weak or sick bird will fall out of the group. The merlin hones in on the falling bird and like a speeding bullet

 catches it.

    I've seen this many times and it's always fascinating to watch.
  

    

JUICE MAKING DAY

     We have a routine for making juice and it's a long drawn out procedure.

     Starting from the beginning. we have a few small berry bushes that we pick every year. We clean off the berries and put them in the deep freeze. Every two or three years or when the deep freeze gets full we juice the berries. The juice is put in bottles and then back in the deep freeze it goes. 

    We have Nanking cherries, black currant, red currant and somebody always gives us crab apples.

    Then over the two or three years we take out  a bottle of juice and cook it up and make either a syrup or jelly. You can't beat it.

   Now the pioneer way of juicing berries was to cook up the berries and put them in a cloth sack and let the juice drain into a container. This method isn't very efficient as you don't get a lot of juice. 

    So a long time ago we bought a steam  juicer. This gizmo consists of three parts.The bottom part is just  pot with water the produces the steam. The middle section is like a big funnel that catches the juice. The top part is a basket which contains the berries. As the steam goes through the berries juice is released . Each basket of different berries has a prescribed steaming time. Once the 50 minutes or whatever time is required we drain the hot juice out of the middle section and catch it in bottles.

   So the other day we spent the whole day on the juicing project. Today I had some delicious black currant syrup.

     You can see the three sections of the juicer in this photo.

     Two bottles of crab apple juice.

DOES SECURITY HAVE IT IN FOR ME?

     We are a small city of about 100000 people although we think we're pretty big. But then none of us have been to New York!

      We have a courthouse that handles most cases except for Court of Queen's Bench.

     Somehow a few incidents of security happened a few years ago. People involved in court cases became unruly. One poor guy accidentally entered through the back door and security attacked him. He had a breathing tube which they knocked out and the poor guy just about died. Then a security system was set up. The security system has grown larger and larger. In the old days people just walked in and went where they were supposed to. I was called three times for jury selection. I was called at other times for custody disputes. I walked to the rooms I was assigned to.

     So now you have to go through security to enter the Courthouse. A couple of years ago I went to the court house and didn't know there was security. I entered the wrong side of the door . They got a little excited.

    This month I went to the court House. I knew there was security and I thought I was ready. I don't hear well and if it's noisy I have difficulty. So I had to put my coat in a basket  and walk through the scanner while my jacket is being scanned. I got through and was looking for my coat. One of the security guys leans over and asks me to pull my pant legs up. I could have asked , "How high?" but that might have been  big mistake. So here's this old grandpa kind of guy who at times isn't steady on his feet and he has to pull his pant legs up at the same time. It's funny I didn't fall over!

    The pant legs up really got me going. Do they think some 77 year old guy is going to have a knife in his shoe or some other dangerous contra brand?

    I was not amused. I expect security to be able to size people up better than that. As we go about our daily lives our antennae are always up watching for someone who may pose a risk. Why can't security who do this work everyday have a little better sense of who to thoroughly check?

QUESTIONS

    I'm sure there are many questions from the past 6 posts . I will try to answer all questions if there is an answer.

    I like questions as it gives me a good idea of my writing. Am I making things clear? Do I miss things? So no matter if it's just curiosity, fire away and ask questions.

    I enjoyed writing the posts and I will like your questions.