Kind of a perfect summer day. A little hot for me but nothing a bit of shade couldn’t take care of. No smoke, and a couple of brief rain episodes have greened things up. More rain would be great, but today’s circuitous walk via the museum to Tom’s was super nice. Also, a bonus kitty!
Tiny perfect pinecones…
The Panther of Glenora
26C, 10,342 steps.
First big storm of the summer last night. Much needed torrential rain, and lots of thunder and lightning. It was awesome. Early this morning we went for a cool walk, no smell of smoke although the sky was a bit apocalyptic.
Saw a bunch of hawks, not sure what kind. Probably peregrines.
12C, 11,690 steps.
It’s been exceptionally smoky (BC forest fires) these last few days, but to put a positive spin on it, if there is one, the temperature has dropped drastically. What a summer. First it’s too damn hot, now it’s too damn smoky. I think it was smokier in 2010 but yesterday (July 18) the air index was 10+ (high risk) so Tom and I did not walk. Neither one of us has any lung issues, but just to be safe. Also, the air smells gross. Coming home from a restaurant (yay!) around 7 pm, it was like a cold autumn evening (about 13C). Definitely not shorts weather, I discovered…
We did walk July 16 and 17 in the mornings, around 6:30 am. Hard to know what to be more distressed about: the smoke or the drought, although they are related. Always good to get out and walk though, and as mentioned, the temperature was about 17C, so it was very pleasant.
To beat the heat, back to morning walks with Tom. Early morning walks, like 6:00 am. I don’t even shower. Out of bed, drive over, start walking. It makes the after-walk shower and breakfast truly righteous.
Started out foggy and cool (12C), ended sunny and warm (19C), with a hot afternoon on the way. One of the other benefits of walking early is that I can take photos of people’s gardens without them knowing. About 11,799 steps.
I pretty much hate everything about this heat wave, and heat in general. Yesterday (Saturday) was 31C and Wednesday could be 40C, which would be a historical high. In my opinion, anything over 22C is excessive, and the sun (which I normally love) streams though my south and especially west windows until 10 pm. The blinds and fans only go so far.
On the bright side however, Tom and I have been heading out in the early mornings for our walk (today, 6:30 a.m.). The temperature is in the high teens but feels cool and beautiful. Hardly any people, mostly shade, and the cool shower after I’ve come back home feels absolutely gorgeous.
One disturbing observation, however. In Glenora south (across 102 Ave), there are worms hanging from some of the trees. I hadn’t noticed that the Elms of Glenora eventually give way to Ash trees, and I fear these might be the dreaded leafroller caterpillars that I’ve written about ad nauseum in previous posts. Up until this year (as far as I know), they’ve only infested Rossdale and the lower river valley near the University of Alberta. Could they be up here now, or is this some other vile pest? In either case, we are able to mostly avoid them by walking down the middle of the street, but that first early morning walk, I had to brush a few off Tom. Ugh.
Addendum to this post: the record breaking heat continues. As of Monday, we stopped walking in the mornings. It’s no longer cooling off at night, so it’s already too hot to walk (especially after an uncomfortable sleep). Hopefully we can return to our morning walks this weekend!
And now a word about magpies. This is not a walking post, but I thought I would share some of the photos of the young magpies who are all over the city right now. As my favourite bird, I figured it was only fitting that I celebrate the continuation of their species, helped in no small part by the peanuts and sunflower seeds I provide them year round, as does my family. Carry on dudes and dudettes.
