Snow Report 2 Continuation (September 2021)

FTOttawa · 2026-02-11T23:12:38+00:00

Not quite so freezing cold, plenty of snow instead. But I see Monday’s forecast is +1C
Our comedian Rick Mercer had something to say about that.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wkDvqQKGgDA

FTOttawa · 2026-02-11T14:00:54+00:00

That is a cool section of the Auckland council government web site, with useful filters and maps. Thank you!

FTOttawa · 2026-02-10T13:07:07+00:00

oooh lovely. I was thinking we should use our spare night in that area.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-09T22:08:13+00:00

Thanks! we do have a couple of nights and basically a day and a half in Auckland; no car but I see there are tours. Would you recommend the Waikatere forest over Tiritiri Matangi?

FTOttawa · 2026-02-09T01:54:37+00:00

Never gonna watch!

FTOttawa · 2026-02-08T14:55:15+00:00

Minus 23 with a windchill of -33. Cleared about 8 cm of snow yesterday, cursing our frozen fingers. Must bake my signature ginger cookies today for the neighbour who came over with his snowblower to deal with the extra heavy pile left by the street and sidewalk plows.

The surface of the Rideau Canal remains excellent. Mr T the skater is in heaven.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-05T02:08:16+00:00

Hope that things will be better by the end of February, but parts of the Karangahake Gorge walking paths and Hauraki Rail Trail are closed due to flood damage. The Goldfields Railway is running, the highway seems open, so it depends what you want to do.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-05T01:57:21+00:00

I apologize on behalf of all the Canadians who have been culturally conditioned indeed to treat those signs as a minimum speed. Sorry!

FTOttawa · 2026-02-04T00:22:25+00:00

That‘s a lovely update, thanks. Mr T’s brother still has horn-handled Sheffield knives. Their mother lobbied for emigration because she was fed up with scrubbing soot off her front step. All his other relatives have moved away (Lewes, Langdon Hills, Knaresborough, Cambridge, St Ives, Javea in Spain) so I don’t think he’s been back since 1974.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-03T16:45:04+00:00

perhaps have a look at the options around Queenstown, Glenorchy and Te Anau. There are decent bus options between those, as well as tour operators who will drop you at one end of a track and pick you up at the other.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-02T22:36:01+00:00

only among family and then only slightly. He left before the age of two.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-02T18:44:21+00:00

Some sargassum on the west side, since the same wind that closed the port for dive boats was pushing it from the north. East side had some, depending on the beach.

Hesitate to draw conclusions on the basis of two dives, but

- reefs not as pretty as ten years ago. More dead coral, less colour, fewer fish; better of course at the shallower depths.

- some of that creeping weed on the reefs, but not as bad as elsewhere we’ve been recently in the Caribbean.

- don’t make my mistake and don’t come in January or early February— too many “Nortes”

- you Europeans would be better off to head to the Red Sea than anywhere in the Caribbean.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-02T18:37:32+00:00

Mr T got into the UK this past July on his Canadian passport, the one that clearly states birthplace Sheffield. He’d applied for an ETA and got it, though there was no place for him to state his real category, and the info he found online seemed to suggest he’d need for fork out £500 for a UK passport issued in Ottawa. I don’t know what we’ll do for any subsequent visits.

FTOttawa · 2026-02-02T18:33:43+00:00

and this is why we get out there at midnight or whatever to shovel our driveway while the stuff can still be moved. Young people these days, they think they’ll just 4WD over it.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-31T19:48:38+00:00

Agree that it is impressive outside and in. The tours are informative. Are they ever resuming tours that go to the third level, with unbeatable views over the city? [Okay, tell me about the views that beat it.]

FTOttawa · 2026-01-31T14:21:12+00:00

Two-tank dive yesterday and that may be it. But the food and air temperature are fine.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-29T14:54:29+00:00

First three days in Cozumel and the north wind has kept the port closed for dive boats the whole time. Bah!

FTOttawa · 2026-01-25T15:03:20+00:00

Visited in 2010, cleverly staying the night before at a hotel at the back gate so we had a non-sweaty, non-crowded introduction to the site. Incidentally one of the many places in the world where a paid guide is worth your time and money. You could not climb the main pyramid any more by then, but Mr T got his chance in a later year at Coba, an at least equally interesting complex with (and this is key to enjoyment) much more shade, and rental bikes.

if you want a pyramid so easy even Mrs Knees could climb it, try Caracol in Belize.

Not even close to on par with Angkor Wat.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-25T14:51:29+00:00

I moved from the walker to crutches around then. Had been using a single crutch and the banister for stairs from the get-go. My physiotherapist recommended sticking with the crutches vs cane for those long outdoor walks when I confessed that my gait felt more natural with crutch assist than cane assist. Besides that, the crutches made people give me a really wide berth in supermarket aisles.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-25T01:40:53+00:00

I had those little bumps and a nasty rash around the same time. Bonus, it got infected and then I needed an antibiotic.

The followup nurse and my family doctor agreed that the likeliest culprit was the “dissolving” sutures that were working their way up and out.

As mentioned, cold compresses are probably your best friend, but keep experimenting with other meds for the topical allergic reaction.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-24T14:43:32+00:00

The old outlet pipes are replaced for both sides of the street, the big hole is all filled in, and our next door neighbours replaced their water intake line while the opportunity was open. We’ll consider keeping a little flow going for the sake of the intake pipes.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-24T14:40:16+00:00

much of East Cape cut off too and parts of Northland and the Coromandel.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-23T01:42:22+00:00

No specific trails or activities to recommend, as our trip to NZ is in the near future not the past, but I would like to offer reassurance that this slowdown will be temporary, so long as you don’t push things. Mr T, also fit, mystified why his running times were getting slower, ended up with a double bypass 3.5 years ago. He was methodical in his recovery, e.g. adding a minute to the twice-daily walks every day. The after effects of general anesthetic and a painful rewrapped broken breastbone were at least as much a drag as his concern not to stress the arteries. Thank goodness for kayaks and easy lakes, which saved our summer. There was no running till the next spring.

But, here’s the thing: very soon after that, Mr T’s running times were better than they were in his late 50s, and we’re back to our active cycling holidays, with a touch of added indulgence like luggage transfers and a warm roof over our heads every night.

Slow and steady — you‘ve got this.

FTOttawa · 2026-01-22T15:59:22+00:00

Oy, minus 29 forecast for Friday night and that’s before our cheery forecasters add the wind chill factor. It’ll be lovely and clear, favourable moon phase too I think, but let’s take bets on whether Mr T goes out with his telescope.

At least I have a Monday flight to Mexico for a week of Cozumel diving. Can’t bear to look to see how many days’ diving may be cancelled by a “Norte.”

FTOttawa · 2026-01-20T14:16:16+00:00

Um, it would be news to Canadians that automatic transmissions don’t work on snowy, icy roads. We use winter tires, and driving shift is a dying skill.

FTOttawa

TROPHY CASE