This is winter, right? Some like it hot, some like it cold.

Had to tune into CBC today to find out if it was actually winter.  Yep, the good citizens of Terrace and Kitimat, B.C. are digging out from over 6 feet (2 Metres Canadian) of snow.  This has resulted in spontaneous trivia debates as to whether or not this is a record snowfall.  Of course trivia debates in Kitimat and Terrace often take place in hotel bars where Molson and Labatts are more than just the names of their first born male.  Rest assured not being able leave the bar, or pub as it is known in Victoria, B.C. and London, England, because the snow is so deep that even your Ford F250 with the Skyjacker lift kit cannot make it out of the parking lot will mean that next weeks paycheque from the mill will be split 50/50 between the bar, your last month's child support payment and your Truck Lease payment.  Hmmm...somebody's gonna be short this month....   Okay, that does seem a bit insensitive.  My apologies to the bar owners in our northern communities.

Let's go north for look at the weather in a city we once called home, Whitehorse, Yukon.  Two days ago it was -35F.  It is warming up to -26F tomorrow and will be a balmy 21F by Thursday.  Of course the "heat wave" will be over by Saturday with the temperature normalizing to 12F.  Brrrr....

This brings me to the current weather in the Valley of the Sun.  Hard to describe really.  Let me try.  Wow!  Yep.  That pretty much describes the current weather and the forecast for the next 7 days.  As Rod Stewart said it "Every Picture Tells a Story", which by the way is a rocking song.  I include a snapshot of the weather forecast taken from one of our local television stations.   '8' seems to be the number of the day.




Moving on, this week has been fantastic.  Okay, I'm boring.  That's all I seem to say.  I'm really going to have to find some other way of describing our time here in the Valley of the Sun.  Since my last post we had our latest Bocce Ball League match (we lost, again....); Dana and I rode 3 times this week for a total of 155kms; I golfed twice; we went out for dinner with friends Keith and Nancy to a new to us Mexican restaurant called Tia Rosa; we birded at several locations; hosted Mike, Darlene, Heather and Glenn for a bbq, then bocce ball under the lights; picked up brother Kelly at Sky Harbour Airport - he just returned from Canada; had bacon for breakfast - wait, ya, that was a highlight too.....

On another note, Dana and I are mulling over our future plans.  We actually had a look at a Park Model that is for sale just up the street from our rental.  The owners, Canadians, are selling and returning home to Canada, not to return.  This happens a lot here.  It is not because Canadians, and for that matter Americans, no longer like it here, it is because a lot of people eventually have health issues that result in astronomical health insurance costs.  The Park Model that we looked at was very nice and the price was very reasonable.  The big issue for us is that for the foreseeable future we will only be coming here for 3 months.  The annual lot rent is considerably more than what we pay for rent.  Therefore except for being in our own place with our own things, the additional expense does not make it very attractive to own a Park Model in this resort.  I think that for now renting is a good option.  Really, these a terrific problems to have.

In closing, let's talk birds.  Our year to date count now stands at 120.  We added three new birds this week; Rock Wren, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Canyon Towhee.  I have included a couple photos of the Rock Wren and one of the Canyon Towhee.  The photos of the Gnatcatcher did not make it to print (fussy editor....)  One final birdy note, Cornell Lab of Ornithology faved another one of my bird photos from Flickr.  This is the 2nd photo in 2 weeks and the 6th since I started posting in 2013.

The week ahead looks to be fantastic.  There I go again.  Oh well.  Enjoy what you are doing, where you are.  Remember, "you are what you think" (a quote from Ray Kurzweil).

Photos from the week:

Canyon Towhee at Lost Dutchman State Park - Although the photo does not do it justice, this is a good looking bird.  Unfortunately I caught this one not looking his best.

Rock Wren singing at Goldfield Recreation Area on the Salt River 

Rock Wren (serious pose) 

Redhead Duck, and friend.  This is my latest photo to be faved by Cornell Lab or Ornithology.