Calgary and the B.C. Fires

 

The Calgary Summer

This summer, Calgary has been a lot warmer than I had expected with weekly highs up into the 30's on a regular basis. Hot.

In the tropics, 32 degrees was the norm BUT it was constant. It was a consistent heat. You would wake up in the morning knowing that it was going to be 32 or so all day long. And the next day, pretty much the same. The temperature might dip slightly by nightfall. But, the temperature every day was pretty consistent, even during thunder storms. You'd never feel "cold".

So, the high temperatures in Calgary (or anywhere in Canada) seem rather extreme when you compare them to the winter weather. From plus 36 degrees to minus 45 degrees means there is an 80 degree difference in the temperature. That covers a lot of ground and it's a huge differentiation. Isn't it?

But Calgarians love the heat! They flock to the Bow River, stripped down to as little clothing as possible, wearing flip-flops and sunglasses. Just thriving on the sun. Soaking it up while they can.

Bow River Rafting

We (my son, his wife and 2 kids and I) went rafting on the Bow River last week-end. WHAT A BLAST. Who knew a piece of latex filled with air could be so much fun? And the river was rapid. There were Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 rapids. We put the raft in north of the city and let the river take us. Of course, our steering man sat at the front to guide us.

Those of us in the back yelled at him from time to time,

"Rapids! Rapids! Shoals! Shoals! Rapids and shoals!"

Of course, he was already well aware of what was up ahead but sometimes he needed another rower or two to speed us off the track of the danger. Twice we were hit with big waves that soaked us through and filled the bottom of the raft with water. Then there was the river security in their motorboats flying past, whipping the waves into rock 'n roll action. That's when we women screamed. Fun!

B.C. Fires 

Along with the intense heat, Calgary has been under a cloud of B.C. smoke quite often these days. It has usually been a haze that blankets in the weather on us. But, lately, fire burning in nearby Banff has sent bigger clouds to us.

Animals Escaping to Water

Fires Raging in British Columbia

 

Where there's Smoke there Must be Fire

Homes were Lost and People were Forced to Leave Them

These fires are out of control and have cost many people their homes. Hundreds are living in tents while the burning rages throughout the northern part of the province.

Whenever there's cloud coverage, a stench of rotten eggs accompanies it. At least, that's the way it is where I live in Elgin. Who knows where the stench comes from? It might be from an old dump nearby.

Mahogany Lake

These housing developments were built on swamp land and former dumps. Clever contractors had the swamps dug deep to bring up the water level and create a lake. Then they moved the excess dirt away and added chemicals to the lake to clean it up.

Abracadabra, please and thank-you and you have lakeside property ready for brand new lake homes. How clever is that? Brilliant. Property prices have now jumped! Useless stinky swamp land is now highly sought-after lake front property with a view. They even have a sandy beach.  Well, a dirt beach anyway.

And fishing is great! One of my grandsons caught a 7 lb trout in Mahogany Lake. That's a big meal. Of course, he uses corn for bate. That's another story.

Mahogany

Mahogany Lake

Brand New Lakefront Property

Ontari - ari - ariO

When I was a kid, there was a song about Ontario and it went "Ontari-ari-ario", so that's why the title. I'm BACK IN CANADA. yay. What a winter I chose to return to.

 This may look like a lot of snow, but there's twice as much now. There are mountains and mountains of snow growing up around us. This is the view out my front door in Barrie, Ontario.

 For those of you who just love the color, white, I have news for you: white is not a color. LOL. But, it is very pretty and pure-looking and refreshing. I guess.

My sister reminded me of how we used to suck on icicles when we were kids. It never occurred to us then that they were chock full of contaminants and toxic waste. They look so clear and crystal clean.

   

And the sun sets slowly in the west. It's not going down quite as early as it was in December. Now it stays light out until 5:50pm.

I suppose if it wasn't so difficult to walk around, I'd go outside a lot more, but the sidewalks here are piled with snow and slush with a thin layer of sneaky ice underneath it all which makes walking very treacherous. I use the word treacherous with all sincerity.

You have to go out sooner or later. I went to the grocery store which is about ten blocks away. A lady who had been walking out in the road came up on the sidewalk beside me and asked,

"How is it over there?" pointing to the sidewalk I'd just come along. I answered,

"Horrendous."

A little further along, I came to a sidewalk with ten-foot walls of snow on either side making it feel like a long tunnel. Or, like you were walking through the Red Sea after God raised up the water on either side. It was a wall of frozen water carved into white walls. Ha.