early morning river frost

these tiny little curlicue vines grabbed feathers of frost overnight . . .

on my way home . . .

arc en ciel . . .

the long shadows

it's that time of year . . . even the smallest plants cast long shadows . . . .

a patriotic moment . . .

i discovered this morning that despite the indisputable fact that my genetics are 100% english, if i press my belly button when the temperature is below minus thirty celsius, a canadian flag pops out of my head. oh so cool!!!

looking upriver . . .

in the middle of a flurry of snow . . .

iced abalone

the ice by the open parts of the river gets waterworn and catches the sunlight in a unique way . . . wendy said these looked like the insides of abalone shells . . .

everything changes

when it gets very very cold, the frozen skin of the river changes. from a smooth windblown snowy landscape, some of the snow appears to dry off and then harden leaving these gorgeous patterns . . .

thirty nine below zero celsius windchill . . .

a beautiful walk - five and a half kms . . . the sun was shining!

fresh fluffy snow!

in my neighbourhood . . . 

about eight mnutes walk away from my home . . . down by the river . . . 

the sun rises up above east city . . . 

sherry and port tasting evening . . . .

wendy and i got to share sunday night with friends at nancy carter's gorgeous home. she accurately describes her sweet funky lodgings as "a visual feast". oh man! that is for sure. i would happily camp out there for days just to savour everything . . .

for now though, we were there to sample sherry and port. all kinds.

nancy walked us through each of the bottles with the kind of understanding care you give to people like me who drink whatever tastes good . . . or even whatever doesn't taste that good but provides the requisite enthusiasm for the circumstances. i left her home a more knowledgeable and appreciative person. (and half in the bag.)

a ton of fun was had by us and we ate yummy tidbits of meat, fish, nuts, cheeses, breads and fruit.

another view . . .

the same bar . . . in this pic the heat's on . . . .

looking out . . .

the view through the front window of a lovely little bar filled with great local music and excellent beer. it's a cold cold day, so the windows are alternately frosted over or running with moisture . . . . it all depends on whether the heat is on or not!

mid february selfie

minus thirty four but i am as warm as i could be.

the frost you see here gathered on my eyebrows and hat comes from me breathing through my face mask. the resultant vapour-laden air then rises and freezes on my head!

the view from above

crossing the bridge . . . .

frost babies

early morning by the river . . .

river frost . . . .

a sweet morning walk in .... the people running the dams let out easily two or more feet of water depth last night with the result being that the ice skin on the surface has been busted every which way and there are places where there's open water! that open water met the cold morning air and drifted over everything by the river!!!