Abbotsford, British Columbia

Mar 8, 2011

Breeding season is now well underway, which is good, because I like being busy and the winter here can be a bit dull. Still, there's no denying that the charms of mink farming are starting to wear off for me. Certainly we're seeing more and more signs of Spring. Late February was unseasonably cold and frosty with one decent snowfall, but the past week has seen fine weather and daytime highs approaching ten degrees. There was still a decent f...

Abbotsford, British Columbia

Feb 17, 2011

Aside from a couple of frosty days and delusory snowfalls, the weather has been mild and rainy since I got back from Alberta. A couple of weeks ago we had our first bright, sunny day which stayed above freezing, and since then it's been windier than usual. That's a sign that fronts of air are on the move again (I saw a clear, spectacular line of clouds over Vancouver while picking up chicken last week) and that the first hints of warmer weathe...

Jasper, Alberta

Jan 16, 2011

Not long out of Edson the heat on the bus gave up, and most of the passengers bailed at Hinton. There were four of us left. We were already behind schedule due to a delay with security checks at Edmonton, and as we began to climb into the mountains the weather worsened. There was talk of blizzard-like conditions, and for large stretches only one lane on the highway was useable. The wind picked up, and in some places the ice on the road had fro...

Edmonton, Alberta

Jan 14, 2011

I'm in Jasper, and have updates on Calgary and Edmonton. First, my winter experience in Calgary, which I typed on the bus between Calgary and Edmonton: The prairies are an expanse of white that merges into pale grey skies in the distance, broken only be the odd farmhouse or copse of trees. The snow isn't heavy, as the climate here is pretty dry. Still, it stays around, with winter here enduring from October until April. Snowfalls in Septemb...

Calgary, Alberta

Jan 12, 2011

Hello from Calgary, Alberta. I'm now in the middle of my promised tour of the Rockies and Alberta in winter. I'm feeling pretty good now, but last night and today have had their share of trials. It turns out that I can't sleep as well on buses as I can on aircraft, and so my overnight Greyhound run from Abbotsford to Lake Louise wasn't the most restful experience. I dozed fitfully between Merritt and Kamloops, and again between Kamloops an...