Well, the city’s been hit with the ugly stick. So beautiful last week, and now, heaps of dirty oily snow and GIANT puddles everywhere. The scary thing is that it’s returning to below zero tomorrow and for the next week. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I hope it snows.

Took the LRT over to Churchill again and then over to McKinney. Unbelievably, the city has blocked off the main path for ‘further promenade developments.’ Goddammit! The ramification today was that I lost five minutes of sunshine looking for the detour, which at the moment is a mud path. The ramification long-term is that the main path of Louise McKinney has been blocked off, and there’s only so many paths available in winter. What are they thinking?? How much work can they do in January? I suppose I’m not the target audience for these improvements. I already use the river valley on an almost daily basis, so further development only means annoyance, detours, and arguably less ‘wild’ space. As I’ve mentioned before, I still remember how beautiful McKinney was before the development, when the hill was an open area, full of overgrown green grass and wildflowers. And this is only the beginning. When the LRT construction starts gouging into the side of the park, I imagine all the paths will be blocked. For years.

However, the sunset was spectacularly gorgeous, and I had the perfect view at McKinney and also at the Muttart. Decided to take the paved path through Mill Creek because it has a few ‘off-ramps’, one of which I took once it got too dark. Another mostly lovely walk.

5:45PM/7C