For a rare change, today Jack and I have not gone for a walk. The weather has been awful. All morning we had high winds and rain which then turned to freezing rain and now the temperature has dropped to minus 2 c and it’s snowing. It’s also still really windy, making it feel like minus 9 c. Poor Jack had to brave the weather to use the yard, but I haven’t left the house all day. I have a few health problems that are affected by weather and on a day like this the old body starts to feel like an old body. So today instead of our daily photo I’ll give you a classic shot. This is Jack at 3 months old.

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Jack’s been playing in a lot of mud lately and he needed a bath. Giving him one at home can be a bit of an ordeal, though, so instead I took him to the lake for a swim. It washes off most of the dirt and it’s definitely more fun than a bath. We met this friendly couple while we were there and Jack kept us all entertained with his goofy splashing around. He loves to be the center of attention. We had a good time and it was nice to see the water. It’s the only colour I could think to find in this dull, dreary, cold and barren landscape.

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It’s been either snowing or raining all day and it feels as if the weather’s been like this for weeks. Today at the park I took note that the small creek that feeds the duck pond is running quite high, so perhaps it’s not just my imagination that the weather has been wet. My German grandmother had a word for cold, wet, nasty weather like this. It was oozelish. I know that isn’t the right way to spell it, but I never learned to speak German and that’s the closest I can come phonetically. If anyone can help me with this word I’d be grateful because today it’s the best word I can think of to describe the day. Oozelish.

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Right now it’s a balmy 4° here, so things have gotten a bit warmer. The sky remains overcast, though, and rain is expected for the next 3 days. While it was still dry, Jack and I decided to go to the forest. We were hoping to find some sign of new life, but nothing is in bud yet. Nothing. So instead of a pretty picture of flowers or leaf buds, today you get to see Jack. He was the only ray of sunshine I could find.

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Jack and I visited the park this morning and this Canada goose followed us around for a bit. I think he was looking for a handout, but visitors are not allowed to feed the birds. They have a keeper who comes every morning to feed them a proper avian diet. We kept a respectful distance anyway because these birds are big and often aggressive, especially during nesting season which should start soon.

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I’m still in Toronto without Jack and although I miss him, I’m secretly smiling that I don’t have to take him out for a walk. The weather around here just keeps going from bad to worse. Yesterday we had snow and today we’re having a blizzard. The forecast for next week is no better with continued temperatures below zero and more snow to come. Again, ugh!

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I think someone forgot to give Mother Nature the memo that it’s springtime. Yesterday we had a blizzard and today it continues to snow off and on. The temperature is hovering around -5 and everywhere I go people are grumbling. Jack and I decided to go to the park this morning and even the ducks and geese seemed out of sorts. Over at the frog pond the water is still frozen and there isn’t a single thing even close to blooming. What few bulbs that had poked their heads up have come no further. I don’t blame them. If not for Jack, I wouldn’t be outside today either.

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It’s snowing here today with high winds (gusts up to 90 km/hr) and I just can’t bear to take one more wintry photo this spring. Instead, I give you this beautiful old willow tree that caught my eye the day Jack and I went to the lake. It looked so sculptural silhouetted against the blue, blue sky. I’m actually very fond of the look of bare trees in the winter. You can see how unique each one is and that they all have their own personality. Normally, I don’t find them depressing at all. Today, though, I would give a lot to see a tree fully dressed. Heck, today just a few leaf buds would thrill me.

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Over the weekend Charly wrote an interesting post about different types of fungal infections in trees. Today, Jack and I came upon this downed tree and if I remember his post correctly this is a sapwood infection with unaffected heartwood. The damage is quite extreme and I think the infection is parasitic rather than fungal. So much of the wood has been eaten away that I suspect some sort of critter made a banquet of this tree.

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