The Gift that Keeps on Giving

The amaryllis I got for my birthday in 2019 is almost in bloom! I was worried it wouldn't bloom after the slugs ate off all its leaves this summer but it came through.  Its brightening up this long boring winter.

It looks like the lake is finally frozen up for good:

Butcherbird in the Yard

 We had a northern shrike at our feeder yesterday. Not a great picture as he didn't stick around long after we spotted him.

Soon after he sped off after an unwary pine siskin and out of our sight range so we don't know if his hunt was successful. 

Quiz of the Day:

Why is butcherbird the nickname for the northern shrike?

(Answer after the break)

End of an Era

 Baseball great Hank Aaron died today.  You may wonder why I, not a sports fan, would care.  Well, back in the 80's when Trivia Pursuit was a big thing, I would answer Hank Aaron to any baseball question I got because he was one of the few baseball players whose name I knew.  Also Reggie Jackson (but Aaron was a better bet) and Darryl Strawberry if the question was about a dead seagull.

You'd be amazed how often that answer worked out for me!

He broke Babe Ruth's homerun record and then held it for 33 years before it was broken by Barry Bonds (on steroids).   I remember reading about it in my parents' Time magazine as a teenager back in 1974. Also an American hero who prospered despite enduring racism in the sport.

One of his last acts was getting the Covid vaccination just 2 weeks ago to encourage other African Americans to do likewise.

Here's a link to his obit on the CBC website.

It's Here

 The Williams Lake Area had only 40 cases of Covid-19 total in 2020.  Since January one we've had 215 cases!

Here's a link to more info:  https://www.wltribune.com/news/interior-health-declares-cariboo-chilcotin-region-a-covid-19-cluster/

It looks like its due to gatherings over Christmas.

Meanwhile we've been continuing to socially distance, our socializing is limited to going for walks with friends and cross country skiing. And grocery shopping once a week.

In early January our little snow all melted away.  One day we walked back from the creek valley on the railroad tracks to avoid the mud and icy trails.

The dairyfields were treacherous!

Luckily we got a few more inches last week.

And some sunny weather for walking.

Leo's been skiing regularly at the cross country trails, but I injured a toe and am waiting for it to heal.

We were asked to give a Zoom sideshow on our trip to Australia for the Williams Lake Naturalists.  It was their first attempt so we were the guinea pigs.  It was a bit weird  to do it remotely and we hope it wasn't too boring.  Leo put a lot of effort into the slideshow, and it was kind of fun to relive our trip from 2018. Oh, the days of free travel!

Also the Community Band is doing a remote performance.  This won't be live; we will all record our individual parts and our director will piece them together and share it on line in mid February.