Who would steal a Pride flag? And, why? I suppose some people steal things just because they can, or because they need something they can’t afford, or because they want something removed from sight. The last of these is probably the reason my Pride flag was stolen on Sunday night. Edmonton is quite supportive of […]
On 118th Avenue in Edmonton is an abandoned movie theatre. It has been standing unused for at least eight years, when I moved to the area. It is on a large piece of real estate in an area that is central to the city, and I have always wondered why no-one has bought it to […]
The Edmonton Journal censored my comment yesterday. I don’t know which rule I broke, but what I said was apparently bad enough to cast my words into the depths of local journalistic purgatory. I was responding to an article about the convoy of trucks that paraded through Canada to Ottawa. The truck drivers began their […]
For weeks, I have been afraid to leave the house. I have been unable to walk on neighbourhood sidewalks because I am afraid of falling on the ice that has formed in too many places. I have also been unable to drive my car because of deep snow, or ruts in the snow, or packed […]
When I was visiting the Strathearn neighbourhood in Edmonton with my younger son last month, we stopped to enjoy a lovely little corner of the world. It is a parking area behind a strip mall, and a container garden, and a sculpture gallery all in one. I suspect the sculptures are the work of the […]
Tonight, I learned that smoke suppresses rainfall. How ironic is that? (Scientific American) All day I have been living under a smoke-filled sky. I first noticed it this morning when I saw that the rising sun was orange. I knew from past experience that this meant the smoke from western wildfires was now over my […]
Months ago, when I first read about the Imagine Van Gogh exhibition, I was keen to experience it. It was originally scheduled to be shown from March 27 to May 2, and I bought tickets for the family. Then, it was postponed for three weeks because of Covid-19 restrictions. Our tickets were transferred to the […]
Google Maps thinks this bridge is called the Walter Dale Bridge, but they are wrong. It is named after the nearby neighbourhood called Walterdale and it, in turn, is named after John Walter who was among the early settlers here. He operated a ferry across the North Saskatchewan River at this location. The original bridge, […]
In a recent blog post entitled “Look,” were photos of a wall mural that included some versions of dreamcatchers. Because of the size of the wall and the limitations of the camera used at the time, not all of the objects could be easily seen. As a consequence, today I returned to that wall with […]
Across the street from the Edmonton CFL football stadium, and beside the parking lot for the Stadium LRT Station, is a magnificent mural. It runs the full length of the Canadian Linen and Uniform Service building, which is about 66 metres (215 feet). I have not yet identified the artist and will be grateful if […]
This is one of many houses near Edmonton city centre that have become old and disused. Some are a hundred years old. They would cost a fortune to renovate and retrofit, so they sit empty. The boards across the doors and windows are an attempt to keep out the homeless, but in a Canadian winter […]
Today I was delighted to hear from the doll collector who now has my old doll, Nurse Nan. I had written about the doll in a previous blog post and explained how I came to donate her to a local doll collectors’ club. After she had been picked up from my home, Nurse Nan was […]
Suddenly today the temperature went up to 14C and nearly all the snow disappeared within a few hours. The sun was shining and the sky was blue as my eldest son and I went for a walk in Whitemud Park in Edmonton. The river still has a frozen surface, but everywhere else we saw bare […]
As my Covid-19 and winter hibernation has continued, a stalagmite outside the door to my suite has evolved. In the absence of anything else to look at, I have been noticing how it has changed. This ice tower grows beneath the vent from the furnace to my home. As the hot air leaves the house, […]
My eldest son introduced me to yet another wonderful park in Edmonton today. Rundle Park is huge and provides lots of amenities for families to enjoy. I was very impressed by the IceWay which is a wide pathway of ice that meanders around trees and alongside picnic sites. It was getting a lot of use […]
Snowbird of Paradise 