Monday, February 28, 2011

DEWI SANT CYMRU (St. David of Wales)


March 1st. The Feast Day of St. David, Patron Saint of Wales.  Shw mae? Sadie 'dw i. This is Sadie reporting.

I'm doing this for Bear (you realize), because he would do it himself, were he here.

(But he's hibernating, so. . . .)

For him, this is family — on his human side. More particularly, his mother's side of the family.

The oral history of the family is that it originated in Wales. (The documented history starts on the south side of the Bristol Channel, just across from Wales, and spreads from there.)

Bear would regale you with Welsh lore, were he here. Stories of King Arthur, of the Celtic Saints, and so much more. I'll let him do it another year. 


To celebrate the occasion, some Daffodils, the national flower of Wales. 

These are not from our garden. It's under two feet of snow. But fresh from the store, are these.

So, if you're celebrating, Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus! (Happy St. David's Day!)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

MISSING THE MOMENT

For a Poodle who doesn't have a whole lot to do in the winter, you'd think I'd be really on top of things. Not so. I still miss important events.

Monday was the "Family Day" holiday in our part of the colony. So we all stayed in the house together, nice and warm. That was reasonable.

But what I did miss was "Temporary Insanity Day," last Saturday, February 19th. (I'll say I missed it because I was suffering temporary insanity; life without Bear around and active is pretty, well, um, "different.")

But here's an important date not to miss. This Sunday, February 27th, is "Friends of Polar Bears Day." Now, Bear is a Brown Bear, or at least he used to be. Now, he's gone all white, so he's pretending to be a Polar Bear. We just humour him about that, even though we know he's not a Polar Bear.

So, if you're inclined to humour him along too, you could send him a card, or a more personal greeting. Unless you're busy doing other things. And, while your at it, send a card to your own favourite Polar Bear, too.

Now, aren't you glad you knew all of this?

Saturday, February 19, 2011

HALLELUJAH EVENT (so to speak)!

It is an absolutely glorious day! We went out briefly and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, I want to share it with you.

(Even got a few pictures before the camera almost froze up.)

Absolutely blue sky in every direction; not a cloud anywhere.


Bright, bright sunshine. Clean, glistening snow!


About -20°C (or -4F) — that's "cool" winter weather here, as opposed to -40°, which is considered "cold."


Absolutely too good a day to be inside all day. (In fact, we may go for another walk after supper.) Winter up here isn't so bad, especially on a day like this. Better this than cloud, fog, and rain.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

PLUNDERED!! PILLAGED!!

 Bear's beloved Mountain Ash tree was stripped bare today by a marauding band of ravenous Bohemian Waxwings.


The foraging flock, numbering perhaps a hundred birds,
attacked the tree about 3:30 p.m. local time, 
wave, upon wave, upon wave. 
(Here is a close-up of one.)


By 3:45, only  a few scavengers could be seen,
cleaning up the few remaining berries on the ground.


The activity of the Bohemian Hoard had been reported 
in the local newspaper earlier. 
The onslaught was not unexpected.

J, our  Bear's  beloved spouse, quickly grabbed her camera, clicking photo after photo, mute witness to the onslaught. 

And where was Bear during the melee?
Hibernating in his Den. 
Proving once again that, "you snooze; you lose."
But he'll be delighted by the pictures when he wakes up. 
Very delighted.
After all, it was for events like today's that he planted 
the Mountain Ash in the first place. 
His simple goal — to attract Waxwings.

Report by Sadie B.; photography by J.B.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

WALKING THROUGH THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Sigh.

Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night, and then not be able to get back to sleep? I came out of hibernation because the weather felt like spring. Only it's not spring; it's still the dead of winter. We'll have -20C weather in a few days. But today, things are melting, while the snow is coming down.

Anyhow, Sadie convinced me that we should go for a walk through the neighbourhood, on our normal path. (She thinks that, because she's a Duchess, she should be able to command property in the colony; I keep telling her that's not the way it works here, but she pays no attention.) Anyhow, your can read her version of events on her blog, is your follow the link (in green).

Well, we made it home safely, having encountered nobody else on our walk. She's snoozing by the gas stove; I'm going to crawl into bed, and see if that gets me into a better frame of mind for hibernating.

Really, living among Humans is a challenge. Especially with a dog who thinks she's a Duchess.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

GLORIOUS DAY

Perfect day for a Bear to de-hibernate for a few minutes. About 3°C, sunshine, snow melting. Yup, good day to be out.

But, by the end of the week, it will be back to -20°C (that's about  -4°F). And I'll be hibernating again. Though the front desk is aware of my "Wake-up Call" for mid-March.

Some days things actually work the way they're supposed to work!