Looks gloomy, but I found the walk home to be rather mild and pleasant. I don’t know why some cloudy days seem oppressive and others, like today, feel cozy. Maybe it has more to do with my own internal weather patterns than what’s happening in the sky.

In late fall and early spring, I find the dull, but exquisitely detailed browns and greys of an unfoliated landscape wonderfully calming. Unless I’m in a bad mood, and then I just want to open a vein.

Walked through the woods behind the University to the LRT bridge, over to the Leg grounds, Rossdale and then various monkey paths to home. I wasn’t intending on a long walk today, but I was having such a good time listening to Dean Martin and Stevie Wonder on my iTouch, I just kept walking. (About 75 minutes)

5:48 PM/4C

Took the LRT to the north side of the river to see if the wind was any less windy over there, and I can now say with full authority that it is not. The wind tunnel that is downtown Edmonton extended all the way into the river valley.

Three of the four McKinney geese were sitting in their usual afternoon spot sunning their feathers and pecking at the brown grass. Don’t know where the fourth one was…maybe picking up a few groceries. Can’t be too many yummy things on the hill to eat this early in spring.

Once I got into Mill Creek, I kept my eye open for the coyote, but he must have moved on. In fact it was surprisingly quiet on the trail. No other walkers, no bikers. Few birds. Well, I did see Mr and Mrs Mallard (or perhaps they’re just wading in sin) sitting quietly on a bit of sand near the creek, and another small flock of waxwings, but the usual cacophony of birdsong was absent. I wonder if the wind disturbs them? It certainly disturbs me.

5:31 PM/7C

Saw my first coyote of 2010!

I was walking along one of the upper trails in Mill Creek when a biker stopped to say a coyote was on the adjacent trail. I said ‘thanks’ and turned around. It occurred to me later that he may have been trying to warn me, but as I am neither a poodle nor a small child, coyotes don’t scare me. I hear them all the time in the ravine, but I rarely see them, and I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to see one up close. I walked to where the biker guy had pointed and spotted the coyote almost immediately, wandering through the bush. He was relatively far away and quite blendy with his surroundings. If the coyote saw me, he chose to ignore me…not being a tasty poodle or an even tastier small child. Very cool.

Also spotted a couple of yellow birds (possibly goldfinches or warblers) and either a hairy or a downy woodpecker, but it was hard to tell from a distance. It seemed neither hairy or particularly downy…just ferociously intent on pecking out whatever was napping below the bark of the tree.

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…to stay inside, drink coffee, read a book, and be thankful I’m not one of the birds being knocked about by this wind.

2:06 PM/1C

An understatement. The wind could not decide if it wanted to restyle my hair a la Peg Bundy or exfoliate my skin, so it did both, with a bonus cornea scraping thrown for good measure. It was nasty, but I still walked for about 90 minutes through Rossdale and then over to Scona Hill, where the wind was marginally less blowy.

The weatherman’s hyperbolic promise of an epic deluge came to nought, as expected. The snow that fell last night dried up this morning. Whatevs. It was brown yesterday, it’s brown today, but there are strokes of green amongst the brown, which is encouraging.

The birds seemed to be on standby…literally standing by, waiting for the wind to subside. I ran across a goose by the Epcor side of the Walterdale Bridge, waiting for someone to come along with a camera. I happily obliged, but was only able to snap a few shots before it hissed at me. What a tease.

The thing about bad weather is that it can be deceiving when viewed through a window. In my experience, it’s usually better to be out than in, and unlike books and people, I try not to judge a day by its cover. A walk through the woods on a gloomy day is often a calming, contemplative pleasure. However, today was a perfect example of WYSIWYG. It was just as grim outside as it appeared to be inside. But I’m glad I walked. I’m always glad I walked, even when I get snowed on, or rained on, or if the wind slaps me around a bit. I can take it.

5:40 PM/5C

I am become dust.

Excuse me for stating the obvious, but wind is not rain. Also self-evident?  Paths that cross giant dirt fields should be avoided on windy days. Ouch.

5:20 PM/7C and blowing  =: o