Finally, Warm Weather!

It seemed like it took forever, but finally, the warm weather has come to Alberta. Hurray!! After a month of dull skies, cool temperatures, and wind, things have changed at last. We now have bright blue skies, warm temperatures, ... and wind. For all intents and purposes, it seems that the cold weather is finally behind us. People around us have been busy getting their yard work done and their gardens in. I think one of our neighbours has officially declared the end of winter and the cold weather by placing this out for garbage collection:

Last week, our neighbourhood was beautifully fragrant with all the May trees in full bloom. We then had a nasty big wind storm that blew off all their blossoms, and did a number on our tulips. This week, the lilacs are starting to bloom and in a couple of days, we will have their perfume to enjoy; shortly our buckeye tree will be in full bloom.

Our tulips the day before and the day after the big wind storm.

When is this blasted wind going to stop? We have been out on our bikes more now, but are getting kinda tired of fighting head winds and hanging on for dear life in the cross winds. But at least we are finally getting outside.

You know it's windy when the flags are straight out and parts are missing!
And we ride in these conditions????

Last week, one of our rides saw us drive to Villenueve, a small town just north west of Edmonton, where we met some ladies from the Edmonton Bicycle Touring Club (EBTC). We rode from there to Spruce Grove, about 25km away, into a head wind with the first 12km mostly uphill. That was a pretty tough slog. But the good news is, that same stretch on the reverse leg was plenty of fun. Sandy and I cranked it up and were going pretty good when I saw a mule deer standing right by the road. I pointed it out, along with its sibling who was standing a little further back, and slowed us down to make sure we could react in case one or both of them decided to come onto the road. Fortunately, they decided not to take on any cyclists that day, and turned back to head into the bush. With the threat of an unscheduled deer crossing resolved, we were free to put our bikes into their fastest gears, crank on the pedals, and take advantage of a fairly long downslope with an accompanying tail wind. What a blast! When everyone else got back to where our vehicles were parked, they were bragging about how fast they were going. "How about you guys?" they asked. Well, their jaws dropped when we reported that Sandy topped out at over 61kph and I maxed out at 62.9. Whew, that was fast and fun!! We don't do that very often and probably won't have the right conditions to go that fast again any time soon so we will have to savour that flirtation with speed for quite a while, I am sure.

Kate stops to take in the scenery and watch the birds

Dandelions, the first yellow crop of the season

Spring is definitely underway.  As to be expected in Alberta, there are lots of calves to be seen on most of our rides and even a few lambs. Our neighborhood pond is home to a lesser scaup with her seven little ducklings who are just learning to dive, some mallards, and three pairs of geese, two of which are proudly showing off their young ones. As to be expected, they are quite territorial and aggressive, so everyone is giving them their space. Last week, we were treated to something unique when we saw a pair of mallards waddle down the walkway to check out one of the families of goslings. Apparently they are wise to goose attitude as well, as they kept their distance as they walked passed the little ones.  (I apologize that the photo is a little blurred as it was close to dusk when it was taken and it is also cropped, which has affected the image quality.)

Earlier this week, we were out with the dogs watching one of the pairs exercising their goslings in the pond. Apparently, we were standing right where they wanted the kids to have their afternoon nap. They swam towards where we were, so we moved away. Apparently not far or fast enough, though, as one of the parents continued walking and hissing after us until it was satisfied with our departure. The kids bunched up and were fast asleep by the time we got to the other side of the pond.

The dogs have been going to the off leash park at the Edmonton Humane Society to enjoy exploring the grounds and hanging out with other dogs. Rockie isn't always sociable with the other canines, but she has an adoring little groupie who can't get enough of her. As much as she might snap at some of the other dogs if they get too close to her, little Ming can do no wrong,

The people at the dog park are a hoot. Not only do they bring healthy treats to share with all the dogs, they bring treats for the humans as well.  Fortunately, they don't get carried away with the "healthy" stuff for the people. So far, we have enjoyed popsicles, donut holes, cupcakes, and last week there was birthday cake when "Sherman" turned two.

 After all the excitement of guarding the yard, patrolling the neighbourhood, and playing at the dog park, Rockie has tried to convince us that the most comfortable recovery position is folded in half one one's back. Really??!!

Sandy continues to work on the most difficult puzzle we have every had in the house. I am sure that the two pieces I have put in place so far have really been helpful. She is making progress, but it is slow and tedious. I remain confident, however, that it will be done in time for Canada Day.

Sandy to Kate:  "Don't you ever pick a puzzle out for me again!"
My sister helped with the selection, so she can share the blame. 😄

Although it seems the springtime weather has taken its time getting here, its been pretty nice, and hopefully a sign of nice summer weather ahead.

Oh, and one last thing. You may recall we had a bumper crop of lemons at our place in California. Some of them were huge, easily over five inches long. I saw this sign at Safeway this week.  I wonder what price our monster lemons would fetch? We could be zillionaires!!