Weather Challenges During Winter

Over winter there were a number of challenges I had to respond to.
A wet, heavy snow accumulation broke the string and the 2nd Cedar cloth fell down.
The lace insert  in the top of the Maple cloth was decaying and tore on a snag.
During a wind storm my husband and I watched the Douglas-fir cloth flapping wildly. My husband is a sailor and said, 'Now there's a sail maker's friend.' During a lull in the wind I raced out and cut the cloth off the tree.
Now 3 cloths were inside for their own survival. 

During another wind storm a tree was blown down.  One of its roots flew up in the air and pinned the Arbutus cloth against the tree. 

Luckily, my sailor is also a lumberjack and he was able to rescue the cloth once the storm had passed.

Thankfully, no damage was done.
But the winter was hard on the cloths.

Snow and Cloth

During a break in a snow storm I ventured outside to check on how my art projects were fairing.
The cloths wrapped around the 4 trees were quite wet. If they are still damp during the next warm spell some interesting marks may emerge.

I am amazed at how well the men's suit jacket is surviving. It has been outside for 13 months now. It is made from newspaper bonded to a light cotton.

The cedar wrapped in cloth is in the forest where it is dark. There is lots of evidence of animals running over it and rearranging the loose ends.

Banff Mountain Building

I caught this mountain man on his way back from his coffee break. Just look at all of the safety equipment he has to wear. He looks like a mountain climber.

I zoomed right in with my little point 'n' shoot camera (so not a good quality image) to get a closer look at conditions on top of the mountain they are building. The billowing orange tarpaulins indicate how strong the wind is, which would drop the actual temperature the body felt. The low wind chill factor means exposed flesh freezes in seconds. Whatever the conditions, whenever I looked up to the top of this mountain, I saw these men working. Sometimes I couldn't see them very well because it was snowing so hard but they were still working.

Chinook - the Snow Melter

20 minutes ago a wind hit the house. I heard a dripping sound and looked out the window. All of the snow on the trees was gone. A grand-daddy of a Chinook popped over the Rockies and blew into town. The temperature has just risen 12 degrees in 30 minutes. What an exciting place to live.
Here is a photo snapped in the fall showing the typical arched cloud formation of a warm wind we experience here in Calgary, which brings the rapid rises in temperatures.

Snow Snow Snow

Calgary had its first big dump of snow yesterday.

I took a break from writing my essay to go outside

and enjoy the tranquil beauty in our back yard.
Now back to my essay.