Excitement on Jan 26th!

What I missed out on, since I was back in Toronto at the time. Luckily Toby logged the event:




The morning started with a bang, followed by loud sirens. All in all a pretty ordinary way to greet the day here. But it seemed odd just how many sirens seemed to be going by, so when I'ld finished in the kitchen I looked out the living room window to see a NYPD cruiser which appeared to have been traveling the wrong way down Riverside drive and encountered a car going in the other direction head-on. It looked like the sort of accident that people could walk away from, or that could break bones depending on their luck was that day, but it was not catastrophic.

If the accident hadn't involved a police car, I am sure a couple of ambulances would have been called and probably a couple of cop cars. It would have been taken care of quickly. But instead, three hours or more were required to reopen the street. And during that time their were an awful lot of people. Like anything here, it seems that when people are given a choice between 1) being useful or 2) congregating/standing around they opt for the later. After a few months here I have to say that I have that tendency myself! So, at the height of this event I counted (just from what I could see out my window):

13 police cruisers
1 unmarked car
2 fire department ambulances
1 police department ambulance
2 "emergency services" trucks from the police department


In the end, they wheeled one police officer away on a stretcher. Judging from the haste with which things were not done, I doubt s/he had any life threatening injuries. If it had been me in the car, I don't know if I would be embarrassed to be the focus of 30 guys standing around and chatting, or if I would be flattered that they all wanted to be there. From my vantage point, all I could think was that most places I have lived didn't own 13 marked police cruisers!

Watch out for mushy dog poop!

Ahhh... the signs of spring: chirping birds, blooming crocuses, and doggy doo coming out of snowmelt and running down the sidewalks. Lovely.

We had a record snowfall last weekend - it was winter for, like, 3 days here! It felt surreal, waking up to 2-3 feet of snow Sunday morning. And was our neighbourhood ever transformed! There was hardly anyone out walking yapping dogs, no cranky cab drivers, no car alarms blaring (maybe snow is the new sound insulation?). We had to take advantage of all this newness!

So dressed up in winter gear waded our way across the street to Grant's Tomb. The park was nearly deserted; there were a few children trying to sled down a most pathetic excuse for a hill and a dog happily burying under the snow. We ran through knee-to-thigh-high (on me) snowdrifts, spraying waves of fluffy white stuff everywhere. We lay down and made snow angels. Toby went rolling down an actual hill. We discovered picnic tables around back and made a snow picnic. We'd wanted to make snow creatures, but, alas, the snow was that prairie-like powder. Good for skiers and snowboarders, not so good for snowcats and snowgoblins.

I wonder how those crocuses are doing. They were popping up everywhere the week before, and after being buried in snow for nearly a week, I fear they'll not be blooming. The last couple of weeks also saw squirrels building nests. Yes, in trees! Perhaps the warm winter had their fertility cycles confused. I wonder how those nests fared. And I wonder how people can bear to wear sandals with so many lakes at road intersections. And you have to know that those lakes are full of dog poop run-off! Yuck!



Here's a photo from the last time it snowed in this city (back in November). I thought Toby's photo-sense was right on target, capturing this unusually tranquil scene at Sakura park.

Bear's New Buddy

Here's a photo of Butternut Acorn Tattersworth (right). I knitted "Tatty" (aka Mr. Tattersworth) based on measurements I took of Bear (left), so I'm kind of surprised that they have rather different shapes!