Gentle, pretty, tippy-tappy, fluttery snow this morning.
There’s a black squirrel playing in it.
Perfect.
Canada is doing everything in its power to bewitch me.
Observations
Toronto Zoo.
It’s a misty three degrees Celsius.
It’s beautiful. Ethereal.
A still-frozen pond sets a tail-end-of-winter scene.
Lions laze together, her head over his back. He yawns. She goes to sleep.
Olive baboons huddle in a corner, but observe curiously. Although they don’t miss much, they are not their usually playful selves.
A tiger paces the boundary of her enclosure, her hugs paws padding heavily.
Raccoons doze lazily in their log while the cougar hides in the shelter of rocks.
The lynx is nowhere to be seen.
A pair of bald eagles are nesting: she lines the nest with leaf litter; he watches carefully, making sure no threat interrupts her work.
The she-moose is friendly and inquisitive, but wanders away to investigate the contents of the feed trough.
Grizzly bears, just out of hibernation, relax on large rocks.
An arctic wolf wanders from the pack, sniffing the air and eyeing the newcomers cautiously.
Mist turns to soft rain as the polar bear tries to get in the door that keeps her from her sleeping cub.
Dense mist falls like a late-afternoon blanket as the animal world drifts into its nightly slumber.
Late Winter in Canada #2
I am so glad I got to experience Canadian snow.
Cold hands, cold feet, cold face.
Very warm and happy heart.
Late winter in Canada #1
Silver mist enfolds naked trees, snow still blanketing the ground at their feet.
Dense, cold air heavy air.
Keep right.
Learning to drive on the right hand side of the road has been easier than anticipated.
However, remembering to keep right on sidewalks and escalators and in supermarket aisles is much more challenging.
Megabus dos and don’ts.
The Megabus service is an efficient and very cheap way to get from the Rosa Parks Transit Centre in Detroit to Union Station, Chicago if you book well ahead. It cost $12US each for us to take the bus because I booked a couple of months ahead.
The bus has the suspension of a brick building, but you can overlook that if you are inclined to focus on the positives.
Clean bus, very polite and helpful staff, and some lovely scenery along the way.
Don’t rely on using that little bathroom at the back of the bus, though, unless you are short and thin with thighs strong enough to keep you on the potty while the bus is bouncing and shuddering.
This little piggy #1
Breakfast: Canadian bacon, French toast, Canadian maple syrup.
So amazingly good.
Regular bacon will never be the same again. Spoilt for life.
First time for everything #3
Oh Susie. I have longed to hug you. This feels so good.
Something really special just happened here.
We just cemented a friendship that I know will be life-long and very special.
Deep, rich happiness.
First time for everything #2
I just tried to get in the driver’s seat. This car is my first experience of being in a left-hand-drive car. We’re travelling on the right-hand side of the road.
This is going to take some getting used to.
It’s a good thing we are going to be passengers for a couple of days before we drive anywhere.
First time for everything #1
Just met my cousin David face-to-face for the first time. A lovely hug. A smile that shows we are fully welcomed and fully confirms that we are friends as well as family. Aces.
An Aussie Maple Leaf, adrift on the wind... 