Cold Advisory

It was cold this weekend. Cold enough to cancel some outdoor events. But it wasn't cold enough to stop me from going for my 5 km walk. If your heart is weak, it is important to get out and give it some gentle exercise.

It's funny but I'd have thought beating 50 times every minute all day and all night would be enough exercise. The doctors assure me that it isn't.

There's a little reason posts are sporatic: Fiona

For more than a year this collection of blogs enjoyed regular, almost daily, posts. This activitiy has come to a grinding halt and for that I apologize. With both of us in our early 60s, my wife and I have taken on the quite enjoyable task of babysitting a beautiful little girl, Fiona, our granddaughter.

The kid's awake!

The little tyke can be quite demanding --- in a sweet sorta way. I can't move without having Fiona following along. Working at the computer is completely out, unless I want to visit YouTube and share some videos with the kid. She loves movie trailers like the ones for Tangled or Despicable Me and music videos are always worth a look.

As you can see from today's picture, Fiona arrived asleep. I have just a few moments for an explanatory post; Judy tells me the little girl is starting to stir. I best get ready to share a banana and maybe a crushed and chopped pear with the kid.

Have a great day,
Cheers,
Rockinon!

Snowshoes and snowboards

Springbank Park in London, Ontario, is one of the most popular spots for locals to go to exercise. Usually it is joggers that one sees. But, in winter, one also sees cross-country skiers and sometimes folk traipsing through the deep snow wearing snowshoes for some off-trail exercise.

One sight that one doesn't see too often is a snowboarder on a picnic table. The young man had built a ramp out of snow and was sliding down a nearby slope, zipping up the ramp and leaping onto the snow-covered table, before jumping from the table back to the snow.

Merry Christmas from London, Ontario, Canada

Fiona got lots of gifts and their value ranged widely. But one gift that got lots of attention cost but $2 at the Dollar Store: a simple xylophone. A toy with a history going back a hundred years was easily able to compete with her other favorite toy: Mom's iPhone.

Merry Christmas from London, Ontario, Canada

Merry Christmas

and a 

Happy New Year

to all!

. . . and now to go and watch Fiona unwrap her gifts. Maybe I'll post some pictures. I do hope you are all having as wonderful a Christmas as I am. 

Cheers!

More on the upside to snow

A family enjoying the deep snow on the long, steep hill near Lookout Crt.

Families can often be found taking advantage of the steep neighbourhood hill running for hundreds of yards behind dozens of suburban homes in the Byron subdivision in the southwest of London, Ontario.

It's a bit of a climb back to the summit.

The hill is so long and steep because it is what remains of a very deep gravel pit that was closed and rehabilitated.more than a decade ago.

The runs are fast but the climb back to the top slow can be slow, especially when the snow is deep and fresh.

Although few wear helmets, they would be a good idea, especially here. When the snow gets shoved aside by all the sledding, sometimes a rock will jut out of from the slope.

If you're dressed for it, one can simply rest in the snow.

One thing we learned from the unfortunate death of actor Natasha Richardson was even small falls pose big dangers. Richardson died after taking a tumble on a beginner hill at Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Every year thousands go to the hospital with injuries sustained playing on slopes. Helmets are a good idea, even if they're not popular.

It can be difficult seeing where you're going with the snow flying.

The upside, the upside downside, to snow

This boy knew just where to aim his sled. He took to the air on each descent.

I live in the suburb of Byron in southwest London, Ontario. At one time there was a gravel pit across the court from my home. Today the gravel pit is filled and there is now a park there. In the spring it's a great place to fly a kite and in the summer it has a well maintained diamond for baseball. But it is in the winter when the former pit really shines. It has a long, steep slope that is easy to reach and great for sledding, tobogganing, or even snow boarding, if you don't mind a short, fast run followed by a long, slow climb.

Glasses aren't much good when you have your eyes closed.

Today I noticed more than the usual number of cars in our court. This could mean only one thing: The slope is snow-covered and perfect for sledding. The word was out.

I grabbed my camera and headed into the snow. I followed the last group to arrive down the path behind a row of suburban homes until we reached the crest of the toboggan run.

. . . or when they are covered with snow.

The countryside surrounding London is quite flat. Oh, there is the occasional small hill but I do mean small hill.

The are only two ski hills in the area and one is quite close to where I live. Boler Mountain has a vertical height of a hundred feet. That's correct: A hundred feet. It is better known as the Byron Bump.

Now you understand why the small hill across from me is so popular. Heck, when I was a boy we took our toboggans to an overpass on 401 in order to find a slope.

Making it all the way to the bottom is a challenge.

Close to the ground is good. Less distance to fall.

More pictures to follow tomorrow!