Winter PIcs

If you haven't seen photos of the storm in Toronto, I'll post just one from X.

Environment Canada confirms that the 46 cm at YYZ is highest daily snowfall on record and Jan. 2026 snowfall total of 88.2 cm is snowiest January and snowiest month since records began in 1937!

For once, we got off relatively easy here, but there was enough to bring out the plows. This is what I saw from my den window in the morning.

I think I have posted this guy twice already, so I will try to refrain from going on and on all winter, but it is such a joyful sight in the morning, well worth the $500 (with tax) charge (for a short driveway). In fact, it is a necessary expense at this point in our lives — one of the costs of being a senior.

That's about it for the most recent storm, but I'll post a few other winter photos that I have previously overlooked, starting with these two shots from the nearby, frozen pond. We tend to often revert to minimalism in winter.

Fox tracks?

Determination

The old mansion and reflection on that very cold day by the bridge.

Speaking of the bridge, Sue keeps dragging me down there to look for a composition for the four seasonal photos that she'll need to post this year. I don't think she's found the right one yet, and I believe that her winter photo needs to be posted on Wednesday. 

The Warming of the Cockles

We were watching tv after supper when we heard a beeping. As the scene changed, we realized that the beeping was occurring in our house and not in the story.

It was the microwave. After more frantic beeping, the poor thing gave up the ghost.

That was on Wednesday, so on Thursday we nosed about online to see what we could see, but it was a bit confusing.

We recalled that Danica has an employee discount from her parttime job at Canadian Tire, which is a good Canadian store with which to deal. That store, by the way, sells much more than tires.

Danica decided that she would pick us up at 1 o'clock or so on Friday and take us where we needed to go. She drove over here but switched to our car where she felt that grampa, with the bad back, would be more comfortable.

First things first, though. We went to the Blue Spoon Atelier for scones and coffee.

Sue and I had scouted the microwaves at Canadian Tire in the morning, so Danica, with a little assist from me as the ladies are very concerned about my back issues, got the appliance loaded onto a cart, and we were soon paid and, on our way.

Danica soon had the microwave set up and working.

Here's the thing. Sue and I could have managed on our own although with some difficulty, but the kid stepped in and willingly took the lead role for the afternoon.

After that, she sat and talked with us for quite some time.

Danica is a really good kid that reminds me of Sue, who has always been the type to reach out and be generous and helpful and an all-round good person who both likes and is liked by people.

She warms my cockles, I tells ya.

The phrase "cockles of the heart" refers to the core of one's being, often used to express feelings of contentment or warmth. It is derived from the resemblance of the closed shell of a cockle to a heart, suggesting a metaphorical connection between the heart and the emotional state. The idiom has been used since at least the 17th century, with the expression "warm the cockles of the heart" meaning to evoke feelings of happiness or joy.

Why There is No Ice

Yesterday's post prompted a very good question. In effect: "Why isn't the river frozen at -30℃?

The Quick Answer: Because the water is flowing very fast.

The longer answer is that the river does freeze where the river flows slowly. In point of fact, about two miles upstream, they can drive their trucks onto the river and set up their huts for ice fishing. You can see ice huts in the distance in this ↓ picture that I took way back in 2013.

To further explain, I grabbed and annotated a map view from GMaps.

I took yesterday's photo (first one today too) from Bridge Flows Fast, pointing toward the top of the map, looking downstream (the direction that the water flows).

The second photo with the ice huts was taken from the bottom red rectangle at Hay's Shore. The width of the river results in a slow flow, so the water freezes. It is wide enough here that we call in Mississippi Lake.

As the river narrows, the rate of flow increases. The middle red rectangle is approximately where the conditions change from ice to water, somewhere in Riverside Park from where I post a lot of photos over the course of the year. This ↓ photo from December shows mostly ice, but there are a few spots of water. Shortly after this, if we were to get nearer the bridge (off the photo to the right), there would be no ice but open water. The line where it changes from ice to water is variable, depending on how cold it is. I imagine the ice extends quite a long way right about now.

The Coldest Day

We have good windows that we upgraded to a few years ago, but when it gets this cold, they still ice up a bit at the bottom.

Lacey used to love it when this happened. She'd lick the ice to her heart's content. It seems appropriate to mention that on a Caturday.

The temperatures dropped in to negative 30s overnight. It doesn't much matter whether I post in farenheit of celsius at that point because the two scales are quite similar and even identical at -40.

There will be no walkie today, but there was a brief excursion for photos as Sue wanted to test out a site for this year's seasonal photo challenge. She will need four photos over the course of the year but will have to settle on this year's scene with the first posting coming up next week. She has decided to post from the main bridge, like she did last year but looking downriver instead of upriver. 

I don't know whether she found a composition that she likes, but I took a few quick shots of my own. As we expected, mist was rising off the warmer water, and that frosted the trees as you can see best in the third photos.

It was just about cold enough to set me to coughing when I beathed-in by mouth, and although we dressed warmly enough, my fingers began to freeze quickly when trying to take those few quick photos. I was glad to promptly stick them back into my heated mitts.

Back to the car we scurried and then went through the drivethrough at Tims for large coffees with double cream. We shall remain inside for the rest of the day.

Sleeping Less and Feeling Better About It

I am linking to a short article on MSN: Sleep after 65: Here's what this expert recommends, which quotes a Dr Estivill The upshot is this: "for people over 65 . . .   aiming for the famous 8 hours is not only useless at this age . . . but can even harm the quality of sleep.”

It only takes a few minutes to read the article that I linked above, but, regardless, I will post these summary points for your convenience.

• Sleep about 6 hours a night, if the sleep is continuous and restorative.
• Take one or two short naps during the day to complete your rest.
• Maintain a regular routine: get up and go to bed at fixed times.
• Avoid screens and stimulants at the end of the day.
• Don't feel guilty if you sleep less than before: it's neither a problem nor a pathology.

It makes me feel a bit better although I don't do nearly as well as I would like with the recommended daily napping. Somewhere along the line, I seem to have lost my ability to enjoy my once-usual, ten-minute nap. However, I do doze for very short intervals sometimes, which can be annoying if I lose the thread of a tv mystery, for example.

I will also not refer the article to Sue who, for some reason, nature has forced into the opposite direction, her requirements in seniordom having increased, not decreased.

========================

Having read the article, I kept track of my sleep via the Sleepwatch app for seven days. While I almost always check the reading in the morning, I usually only just look, shake my head despondingly, and go on my unmerry way. This time, I have paid attention over a longer period.

I slept less than 5 hours on 3 of the 7 nights, the lowest being 4:20. Two of three 3 nights were consecutive, which is far from ideal. One other sleep was not much better: only 5 hours right on. I managed 6 hours 3 times, the longest being 6:40. While that isn't bad, the other 2 were just 6:00 and 6:05. I feel better about life when the first digit reads 6, but that is just a mental comfort, for I sometimes note that I seem more tired after my longer sleeps.

A little more math revealed that I slept an average of 5:40 over those 7 days, so I guess that puts me almost in line with the article although it does recommend 6 hours/night.

The Speech

Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos drew much attention and praise. I've embedded it below. It lasts for about 15 minutes, followed by another 15 minutes or so of questions and answers. Well, that is a lot, so I have noted some excerpts below, in addition to the full text. I think it is good for Americans to have a bit of a glimpse into what leaders in the rest of the world are thinking and saying.

Direct Quotes from the Speech

Let me be direct: we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition

We should not allow the rise of hard power to blind us to the fact that the power of legitimacy, integrity, and rules will remain strong — if we choose to wield it together.

And it means reducing the leverage that enables coercion. Building a strong domestic economy should always be every government’s priority. Diversification internationally is not just economic prudence; it is the material foundation for honest foreign policy. Countries earn the right to principled stands by reducing their vulnerability to retaliation.

Canada has what the world wants. We are an energy superpower. We hold vast reserves of critical minerals. We have the most educated population in the world. Our pension funds are amongst the world’s largest and most sophisticated investors. We have capital, talent, and a government with the immense fiscal capacity to act decisively.

Canada is a pluralistic society that works. Our public square is loud, diverse, and free. Canadians remain committed to sustainability.

We are a stable, reliable partner—in a world that is anything but—a partner that builds and values relationships for the long term.

The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.

But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just.

Link to the text of whole speech. (supposedly, but I am not sure if the link will hold)

If you need more Mark Carney, here he is with his cat.

A Very Weak Sun

After a terrific walk on Sunday that I posted about yesterday, Monday's perambulation was of the more miserable sort. Although the thermostat read warmer, the biting wind sure made it feel colder. Fair to say that the sun was weak.

Indeed, the day was dull.

Looking south from the trail bridge

Looking north from the trail bridge

As a bonus, I present another icicle photo from the much nicer previous day.