SOME THINGS NEW; SOME THINGS UPDATED

1. I was leaving our church building after Morning Worship on Sunday when I was assaulted . . . by snow. Snow, I tell you! S-N-O-W, for Heaven's sakes!

Not only that, it has snowed each and every day this week, and it did last Friday and Saturday as well.

I must confess this is a bit past the time of year when people would feel this to be an enjoyable experience.
(Can you hear the collective "GGGGGGRRRRRRRR!"?)

"Oh, it will be gone soon," commented one local wag. Whereupon the individual was nearly hung from the closest lamp post. Or would have been, had not a certain Bear intervened on that individual's behalf.

2.  The two "Superdogs" are still on duty. Meaning Bear gets dog therapy: set amounts at particular times, and impromptu  treatments throughout the day and night. 

Bear wishes to report he is feeling much better. Shadow (above) and Salsa (below) are none the worse for wear. Apparently. 

The one downside is that they're normally so close that I have to each very carefully that I do not run over them with my desk chair, or trip over them when I get out of bed. 

3. I know that quite a few of your are bibliophiles (lovers of books), and writers of books, too. Well, Bear has joined your ranks as a writer. 

Two thing conspired to make this happen.

a. A certain doctor of my acquaintance has been bugging, encouraging, nagging, and persuading me that I should write a book. Perhaps a book for children. Perhaps something about Bears. I know she means well, and she has my best interests at heart. But to shift from journalism to authorship? Hmmmm. Anyhow, she thinks I would benefit from a book. Frankly, royalties aren't that great, but, well, um, I have given up, acquiesced, thrown in the towel of resistance. I've written three whole pages. 

b. Then, lo and behold, a certain Bear appeared in my household. I have no idea where it came from, or how it got here. If I were more suspicious, I might say this seems all too Paddington-esque. (You do know Paddington Bear, don't you?)

Ecce Ursus: Behold, the Bear.

At which point your intrepid reporter grabbed his deer-stalker hat and camera (much better than a magnifying glass), and started his investigation. 

• Brown Bear (undersized, perhaps malnourished)
• Not talking (this is going to be difficult)
• Grey slouch hat and blue bags, all marked "Canada Post." The normal gear of a letter carrier. That's clear enough.

Despite his silence, I was, however, able to learn that his name is Ballentyne. Not sure if that is his (yes, he's a he) first name or last name. A matter of mental telepathy. Or at least I would have you believe that. 

As my grandson would say, "To be continued."

4. It has been a bit snowy over the last week. It's well past the middle of April, and most of us have had quite enough of this. But, well, it's snowing as I write. And this is a winter country. And climate change is happening, at least in part because of all the gunk being tossed into the air. 

Garbage in, garbage out (as the computer programmers would say).

5. This is the "Easter Weekend" or Triduum.  Today was Manudy  Thursday; tomorrow, Good Friday (how one considers a nasty public execution a good thing is, well, hmmmmm); Sunday, the Christian Festival of Easter, or Resurrection. Lots and lots of activity in churches, including ones like ours. After a lifetime of planning such things, I'm glad I'm not responsible for all that activity this year. 

6. Some time ago I might have mentioned I was getting more serious about writing poety. Well, I have two contributions in various stages of preparation. I hope at least one will be up on my poetry blog by the end of this month. 

7. You may have noticed that Bear has been making changes to his blog. A few more will be coming. Nothing drastic. 

8. Did I mention we have had a lot of snow in the last week?

Blessings and Bear hugs, friends!

Tonight's Weather Report

Overcast with light snow, temperature of 1C (34F) with the wind chill down to -6C (21F) Outlook for tomorrow, rain in the morning, afternoon and evening, with a possibility of isolated showers and/or snow on Saturday and Sunday. (There are words for such situations, but this is a family-rated blog, so I won't include them.)