Happy Thanksgiving!

You should all be thankful for the fact that (according to Environment Canada) it's 6°C down in Ontario. I find it fairly humourous that you guys have a "frost warning" in effect :)

I was doing some outdoor work on my Thesis for an hour today (I promise, I'll talk about it eventually) and at -17°C it was chilly work. As well, due to local topography I think that we've seen the last of the sun for a good six months. It's still relatively bright (see the picture below taken today at 1pm), but the actual orb won't crest those hills until the first week of March, 2010. The last of the direct sunlight is still falling on the American Mountain chain to the North-West of us and, as Craig commented today, it looks like the Paramount Pictures logo.

As we were driving around to get back to Station, we saw loads and loads of tracks from foxes, wolves and lemmings. The funniest was a lemming track that disappeared for a good 4 feet, then reappeared a little way away. As I drove past, I thought that the lemming had jumped this distance. I was fairly impressed! I got out to take a picture of it and I realized what had happened. Even the tiny weight of the lemming had been too much for the fluffy new layer of fallen snow and so he'd just fallen through, submarined along for a bit, then popped up again :) Apparently they kind of look like a dachshund when they run, as they're long and skinny with very short legs that appear to be moving WAY too fast for the actual speed of travel :)

 

I'm thinking of you all eating a nice turkey dinner with family and friends tonight. We get our big meal with all the fixin's tomorrow, INCLUDING one (1) glass of wine :P It's a big joke on station, but hey, it's better than nothing! Tuesday is then the Sunset celebration (with a BBQ) and then Friday is Oktoberfest.

I know I can't believe it, but I left exactly one month ago today. Time is flying by!!

Graham