Home for a Day

Winter here continues to be amazing.  I haven’t felt the need to drive south to Texas once this year. 

We have hardly any snow – but for some reason, the city is plowing the sidewalks.  I can’t figure out why because with only a couple of inches of the white stuff all winter long, all they do is leave their track marks and take off the top layer of snow to expose the icy sidewalks.  I’m thinking that they have the snow budget and if they don’t use it, they won’t get as much next year.

Another thing is that the ice on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers can’t be very thick this winter.  It just hasn’t been cold enough.  Yet people are walking all over it.  Even in the coldest winters, most people stop walking on it by the end of February.  We have the ice rink that goes from the Forks and along the Red River – they didn’t even plow the Assiniboine this year.  The ice rink should be safe because they bring water up from the river to add more ice on top – but I wouldn’t want to wander around on the rest of it.

I saw people and their dogs out in the middle of it when we walked this morning though.  And there are tracks all over with people crossing – but you won’t get me out there.

Feb 18 Walking on the Red River

OK – maybe I’m chicken, but I know someone who went through the ice this year.  He is lucky to be alive and we don’t know yet how many fingers and toes he will have or how long the recovery will take.

The annual Festival du Voyageur is on now.  Normally there are huge ice sculptures throughout the city around festival time, but this year there are only a few and they are a fraction of the normal size.  Its kind of funny to see these miniature sculptures of about 4 foot square where there are normally ones about 20 feet square or larger.

Chester had another seizure yesterday while I was out.  I was only gone about 2 1/2 hours and he was fine by the time I got home.  He must have recovered fairly quickly because he was still quite wet.  I’m disappointed that he had one so soon – only 3 weeks since the last one this time.

Africam is slowly getting the cameras back in action after the rains and floods in January due to a cyclone.  There is a lot of damage to the equipment and it has been very difficult to reach the locations to get things fixed.  They are hoping to have everything back up and running soon though.  Sightings have been limited because remote zooming is not possible yet at Nkorho – only the lodge can zoom there and only sometimes during the day.  Tembe cam has been up and down and is now relying on an old camera to hold us over until they can fix the new one.  Elephant Plains is the last one we are waiting to see.  The water there was high enough (5 meters) to completely destroy the camera.

Have I mentioned yet that I will be in Africa this year? 

I am hoping that all the roads and camps in Kruger will be fully repaired and back in operation by then and also that the roads in Sabi Sands will be good.

I think I’ll make myself a glass of sangria tonight.  Being in Spain has reminded me how good it is.