Monday, March 18, 2024
Driving home from work on 18th of March 2011
Monday, June 19, 2023
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Stopping at Montreal West train station
Sometimes I'll go for a walk and, mid-way, I'll be at the Montreal West train station (it's only for commuters now and run by the City of Montreal) and I'll stop and sit on a bench by the tracks for a few minutes. The sound of trains on the tracks, the smell of creosote, a train passing in the distance, these are things most Canadians used to be nostalgic about; it's not that the railways are in decline, they're busier than ever, they're making more money now than ever, it's just that urbanized Canadians don't have much to do with the railways now that travel by train has declined and fewer people work for our railways. Many members of my family worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, it was a kind of tradition.
Saturday, April 15, 2023
Return of the crows
Saturday, November 12, 2022
The hidden trail in November
There are never many people on the hidden trail, perhaps one or two dog walkers, sometimes no one is there but me. Usually I am alone. We're moving along to mid-November and December and the inevitable, unwanted, winter months that follow; one faces them with a certain dread. What will winter be like this year? The forecast for eastern Canada has changed from more snow and colder than ever to quite mild, but our "mild" is most people's cold, long, winter. And that is the problem with winter here in Montreal, it's just too long; a month of winter, as they have in Vancouver, would be enough for most of us, but our winter stretches on from January (the coldest month of the year) to February (a short month so that is our consolation) to March (sunlight lasts longer but it is still very cold) to April (when April showers can be a last snowfall) to May (getting better). Even Toronto has one month less of winter than we do and the rest of their winter is milder than ours. Victoria has no winter, just more rain. Even Burlington, Vermont, just south of us has a milder winter than we do. And our winter can begin in early December, not all of us want a white Christmas, I prefer a green Christmas and an unlikely green January . . . well, that never happens. The thing is to get outside and walk, and it doesn't matter where you walk as long as you get some exercise, even fresh air is optional, we need to walk because it releases positive hormones and gives us a sense of optimism. Personally, I like the hidden trail but, all in all, I like walking anywhere; I like seeing people and their homes, I like walking by stores and restaurants, I even like cars shooting passed me, I like life and people. The hidden trail isn't for everyday walking, for daily walking I prefer the streets and places that are not special to anyone but to me.
Monday, May 30, 2022
Possible new St. Pierre River sighting
Leaving Meadowbrook Golf Course--anyone who has been there knows where this area is located--I could hear running water, but where was it coming from? Then I noticed a drainage ditch on the other side of the train tracks. Above the tracks is the Montreal West town maintenance department and other buildings. It seems to me, and I could be wrong, that this water could possibly be from the buried St. Pierre River on that side of the tracks. It's too late for this to be melting snow or spring run-off so the river may be the source of this water. Of course, I could be totally wrong and this is just wishful thinking. . .
This is the trail out of the golf course |
On the right are train tracks and below are more train tracks |
That is quite a lot of water emptying out of a drainage pipe |
This is just about thirty feet east of the train bridge as you exit the golf course; the train tracks going east and west are directly below the source of water |
As I was watching this, a ground hot crossed the water; there is still a lot of urban wildlife |