Greetings from Sunny Montreal!

Spring is in the air!  Even before the calendar made this season official, Rook and I were taking advantage of the gorgeous, yet unseasonably warm sunshine and spending our time at Parc Lafontaine, the largest park in the Plateau.  It is only a few blocks from the apartment and we can get there with a quick walk, depending on how many friends Rook meets or how much time he deems necessary to smell everything along the way.   Parc Lafontaine is one of my favorite spots to lounge in the grass under shady trees, peruse a good book, and enjoy beautiful weather.  I like it even more now that I have my sidekick to enjoy it with me.

On Sunday, we took an afternoon walk through the park and joined all the Montrealers who couldn't let the 22C (72F) weather go to waste.  I love the first truly warm day of the year.  It always seems like the population doubles and, after hiding inside all winter, suddenly everyone is out trying to get as much fresh air and warm sun as possible.  I also love to see the juxtaposition of barely clad sunbathers gathering along the banks of the snow filled ponds, which is stubbornly refusing to melt in the park.  


Rook and I had taken several strolls through the snow filled park during the winter, but I think he prefers it filled with people and their dogs instead.  As we were wandering, he kept looking up at me with a big puppy smile that I am sure could only mean, "Can you believe how much fun we are having?!?"  Being a civilized and sensible kind of guy, Rook's favorite park activity is sitting on the benches.  It was such a great time that we went back again on Monday morning for another walk, and plan on continuing to do so until one of the following occurs: a) the snow and/or rain returns, b)it gets too hot for a little bulldog puppy, or c) I finally get a work visa and a job.

Even though it has not been terribly warm here in Montreal, I have been extra careful to make sure we are taking it easy and keeping under the shade when possible so Rook doesn't over heat (as bulldogs are apt to do).  Even with our rests on the benches and plenty of water breaks, Rook can work up a good amount of panting and by the time we make it home he is always tuckered out.  It is true what they say, 'A tired bully, is a good bully.' :)

Snow, Snow Go Away...

Mini bulldozers and a plow at
the ready to clear our street.

Montreal winters are supposedly a thing of legend - very cold, very snowy, and very windy.  Before the snow started falling, I received many cautionary tales warning of how awful it could be... trekking through blizzards while contacts freeze to eyes!  I was frightened and excited.  Then winter came, and I was... dare I say it... disappointed.  Maybe thirty years in Chicago prepared me for any kind of winter.  Or maybe this was just one mild winter in Montreal.  Either way, I was feeling kind of cheated.  Is that weird?  I don't think many people wish for a blizzardy winter.

Montreal snow plow in action.

Luckily, mother nature made more of an effort last week and we received another 15cm of snow.  And to my excitement, I was finally able to witness the extraordinary process of how the Montreal gets rid of the snow.  Normally, snow removal is not an event that I would get too excited about.  I lived in Chicago long enough to appreciate the hard work of those who plow the streets so I can safely get around.  But I have never broken out the popcorn and cozied up to the window to watch it happen.  Then I moved to Montreal.

Here they actually remove the snow - it's not just plowed to the side, it is actually collected and carried away.  Before a street is plowed, orange signs are posted giving everyone a twelve hour period during which cars cannot park along the street.  Once the snow plow parade is ready to begin, a tow truck takes the lead blaring a very distinctive horn down the street.  The tow truck makes several passes and any remaining cars parked on the street get towed away.  With the stragglers cleared, mini bulldozers zip up and down the street plowing the snow from the sidewalks and on to the street (As a Chicagoan, I was amazed that the city actually clears the sidewalks and not just the streets.). 

This first video shows a little bit of the dozers

and plows clearing the sidewalks and streets.

There was a bonus side show when a

tread came off one of the mini bulldozers.

Next, a variety of plows start moving the snow away from the sidewalks toward the center of the road until the whole thing becomes one long snow pile running the length of the street.  Which brings us to my favorite part!  A monstrous snow blower comes along the street taking up all the snow and sending it into the back of a truck that is creeping alongside (you can see it in action in the video below).  A truck will fill up every couple of blocks and is quickly replaced by another ready to be filled with more snow.  I'm not sure where the full trucks actually go with all of the snow... somewhere around the edge of the city I guess.  I will let you know if I find a snow mountain still melting away in a vacant parking lot in July.

The grand finale.

It is a pretty amazing process to watch, and like the weirdos that we are, Adam and I were spectators at our window (Thank you Adam, for documenting the process for me!).  Rook joined us because he is our short, pudgy shadow that goes where ever we go... unfortunately we hogged all the good viewing space at the window, so I looked down to find him just staring at the wall instead.  Hmmm... maybe that pup isn't as bright as I like to believe, but you have got to give him bonus points for being adorable.

Let's Hear it for the Boys...

Last week was a period of transition around here.  Adam had a week off between leaving his previous job and beginning a new one, and so I was able to spend an entire week with all my boys... Adam, Charlie, and Rook.  I was excited to have some of that time to explore the city with my husband - something we haven't had a chance to do in a while.  Rook may not look back on that time as fondly because it also happened to be the week he had to say goodbye to his "boys".

We had debated about having Rook altered for awhile.  Our veterinarian said we could do it anytime after Rook turned five months, and Adam voted to have him fixed right away.  I wanted to wait until he was a bit older.  I had read that neutering too early could effect his growth rate.  But then I realized he is a very strong bulldog puppy, and if getting him fixed at 6 months might curb his growth a bit... well, that's not necessarily a horrible thing.  Plus, older bullys do not do as well under anesthetics and their recovery is longer.  Not to mention that Rook was getting a little too excited around one of the neighborhood dogs.  He just couldn't keep himself from humping poor Laika.  So we made the decision, and Rook got a little nip tuck.

To keep from spending the entire day worrying about our poor puppy, we headed out to Montreal's Jardin Botanique.  February may not seem like a logical time to be wandering around a garden, especially since it was also snowing that day.  But we were heading into the greenhouses for the Papillons en Liberte (Butterflies Go Free) temporary exhibit.  Like most things I convince Adam to do with me, he wasn't too excited about this adventure.  Someone had told him last year's exhibit included butterflies the size of his head, so he was sure that going to the exhibit was a bad idea.  I cannot confirm the actual size of last year's butterflies, but the butterflies we saw were not unusually large and none chased us around the greenhouse trying to eat us for lunch (the staff had planned ahead and left fruit out to keep the butterflies from munching on the visitors).  It was actually a beautiful and serene sight to see all of the butterflies fluttering around.  And as bonus, the botanical garden is across the street from the Olympic stadium, so I could not resist a photo op.  I win!

There were 'No Touching' signs 

for the butterflies, but the cacti

weren't so lucky.  Some were fuzzy, but that one was definitely prickly.

Zonked.

It turned out there was no need to worry about Rook making it through surgery.  When we arrived at the vet's office he was his goofy self and eager to get the usual hugs and scratches from us.  By the time we got him back home he was groggy from all the medication, and as hard as he tried to stay awake, he kept melting into a sleepy bulldog puddle.  Although he somehow managed to be wide awake as we prepared a salad so he could get a bite of that delicious lettuce.

"Who wants to play?"

Post-op, Rook has been a horrible patient.  Per the vet, he should be taking it easy - no running, no jumping, and no playing outside for ten days.  Ten whole days!  Rook didn't hear any of that, and he was back to his usual antics the very next day - running around the living room, jumping up on the sofa, and begging to play out in the snow.  He doesn't really seem to notice that anything is missing, but we'll see if he will be able to behave in a more gentlemanly fashion around Laika the next time we meet up.


On Monday, Adam started his new job at Warner Brothers Games.  I guess I'm not allowed to mention the game he is working on, so I will just say he is very excited to have the opportunity to be on this project and he is loving every minute of it.  And now that I have had time to clean up after a week of Adam lounging around the apartment, I am back to blogging. ;)