Another beautiful day

At a comfortable -5C, the sun is shining and the sky is that wonderful deep blue. Its a lovely day to be outside. The winds are just gentle breezes instead of the strong winds of yesterday. Its a day to tempt you outside for a jog or long, brisk walk.





The driveway was cleared by my neighbour, Richard, on Sunday after the rain and heavy, wet snow. More is forcast for later in the week, so now is the time to enjoy this sunny day.

Humidex readings in May!

Canadian weather analysts use a "Humidex Index" that combines temperature readings with humidity readings to give a verbal assessment of how hot it feels. When the humidex reading exceeds 36, a heat warning is given by medical authorities. Yesterday the index reached 37, and today it is forecast to reach 38.

Yesterday high school athletics scheduled for outside were postponed because of the index. That seemed to be a wise move.

Yesterday, I golfed from 9 00 am to 1 00 pm while the indices were within reason. And, because of a two-for-one deal in the famed golfer's red book, we all took carts. That was a good decision, particularly for the last few holes.

Today's plan was to get up early and have my run before breakfast. (I try to run a minimum of three times a week these days.) The plan did not happen, but I did get out for a 35 minute run when the temperature was around 26C and the humidex probably around 30. Tomorrow I will try to run earlier.

As I finished my run, I saw a worker from the City of Ottawa spraying more lines on the road between us and our neighbour. The photo above shows these marks close to and around the area that was excavated last year. I asked why this was being marked again. Was more excavation to take place? The answer was, "No". The road repair was made last fall with "cold mix". This was now to be removed and a permanent surface put there. I do not envy people working with hot tar in this humidity. Perhaps when the work does begin it will be cooler.

Weather and climate

This morning I awoke to find an intermittent cover of wet snow on the ground and a temperature of 1C (34F). Yesterday, I got a little sunburned on the golf course with temperatures reaching 20C. Today's snow was the first recorded in Ottawa for over two months. The last snow was sometime in February. March, for the first time on record, saw no snow at all.



When the snow absence record was recorded in March, a local climatologist laid down $100 in a bet that there would be snow recorded in April. I guess he has won that bet with this snowfall dated April 28th. What he was betting on was the difference between weather ( what happens on a day to day basis) and climate ( what happens on the the long-term average.)

On a long-term average, there have been few if any April's in Ottawa that have not seen snow. A climatologist would know that the chances of a particular April departing form that pattern would be very small. So the chances of winning such a bet would be large.

It reminds me of the bets I would have with students in my Grade 11 Physical Geography class each year. I would bet that in Red Lake there would be a "January Thaw." My students would find this notion ridiculous. January, in Red Lake was famous for its -40 temperatures. And the climate average temperatures were always well below zero C. Almost every year, I would win my bet since at least for a few minutes or an hour or so, there would be at least one day in Red Lake where the day's high temperature went above zero. A thaw indeed. And such "Thaws" had been recorded in almost every January since record keeping began.

No floozies in Ottawa this March

Before we moved to Ottawa in 2001, we lived in Red Lake in NW Ontario while Adrian lived in a six-unit appartment building in nearby Balmertown that was owned and operated by Harmony Centre for Community Living. Every work day, Adrian was picked up, with others, at the residence and taken by the Harmony Centre van to Red Lake, 10 km away, where the workshop was found.

One winter's day, Sophia and a co-worker picked up Adrian and his friends as usual. As they drove off, they tuned in the radio to listen to the weather forecast. Unfortunately, they were a little late and missed it. Sophia really wanted to know what the forecast was and asked her companion if she knew what the weather would be like. Then Adrian spoke loudly from the back of the van: "Floozies!" Sophia looked at her friend in consternation. Why was Adrian calling them "floozies." Surely he did not know what the term meant?

Again he said loudly, "Floozies." Then repeated, "Snow floozies."

His meaning was then clear. He had listened to an earlier weather forecast, and it called for snow flurries.

Ever since then, we smile when we hear "snow flurries" in the weather forecast. And this month in Ottawa was remarkable in the lack of snow and of "snow floozies."

Signs of Spring.

Yesterday, I checked the perennials I moved to my vegetable garden yesterday. I noticed that some were already budding. And at an afternoon temperature of 17C I could easily move plants.

This is one of the shrubs I moved. It is a High Bush Cranberry that is already budding. If you enlarge this photo by clicking on it, you might also see some budding lily or iris corms I also moved back since these were also greening up.



Another sign of spring is seen in the catkins on the willows. I cut several and have them inside the house in a vase with water.







In an untouched (so far) section of the front garden a few tulips are stuggling through the stonecrop. Spring is here.

An El Nino year

Today's Ottawa Citizen's City Section trumpets the balmy weather we have had this March Break and most of the winter. Its all to do with El Nino. The photo on the front page says it all. Ice cream!

Double digit temperatures are, apparently, not uncommon in the March Break. But the normal (average) high for March 15th is 3C not 13C, and for the last three months temperatures in Ottawa have been about three degrees warmer than normal for the season.

More of the same is possible for the coming months ... "There's a good chance that the temperatures will be above normal for most of Canada," said Richard Moffet, a meteorologist at Environment Canada. "We are still in an El Nino year..." said Moffet. (El Nino is a warm ocean current that afftects temperatures world-wide.)

The question is, when can I transplant the perennials to the front garden from their overwintering location in the vegetable garden?

Ottawa's Winterlude Festival, 2010

One of the attractions in Ottawa in mid-winter is the Winterlude Festival. A feature is the carving of ice sculotures by craftsmen and women from around the world. The tools used include electic rasps and files as shown here.






Massive blocks of pure ice are shipped in and cut into fantastic shapes.







The sculptures are breath-taking.








Another example.








Tasty treats are also here to tempt you from that diet.








Some are so loaded with sugars and starches as to be a temptation that's hard to resist.







Another feature of the Festival is skating and walking on the Rideau Canal. The start is near to the Parliament Buildings, seen in the background here.

The day was sunny and bright. The temperature a bonny -5C and with very little wind chill.

A wonderful day to enjoy this World Heritage site.

A brisk winter's walk

Yesterday and today are days where an Actic air mass has settled over Ottawa. Radio and TV are full of warnings about the dangers of going out if not properly dressed.

Anne and I spent 30 years in Red Lake in NW Ontario where such weather is the norm, not the exception. As part of our continued efforts to become fit once more, we decided to walk to the local mall as usual despite a windchill of -32C.



We put on our lightweight Ottawa winter boots rather than the mukluks we might have worn in Red Lake or the heavy duty Sorrels. Scarves went under our Red Lake issue Parkas, and touques beneath the Parka hoods. Regular Thinsulite gloves sufficed instead of the native-made mitts we would have worn in Red Lake.

A brisk 20 minute walk bought us to the mall. The walk was enjoyable, particularly when the sun broke through the grey overcast. And the cold was that dry cold we so enjoyed in Red Lake rather than Ottawa's damp cold. The latter is more chilling.

The one thing we do miss about the Red Lake winters is the clear sunlit days. Sunlight seems to be in short supply in the Ottawa valley.

(The mitts and mukluks are for sale as vintage items in my Etsy shop.)