A Fish Out of Water: Canada

So here are the rest of the pictures from our trip to Canada this winter. The biggest event (besides Christmas, which I covered here) was the ice storm, which left everything encased in ice for well over a week. Not to mention thousands of people left without elecricity for several days over Christmas. We were lucky and kept our power, but two of our trees were damaged.

This is the elm in our front yard, and what looks like bushes beneath it is a pile of branches that snapped off. This tree will be fine, but it produced a surprising about of debris.

The corkscrew willow in our backyard sustained extensive damage, with none of its main branches coming through unscathed. (It's a big beautiful tree, probably the biggest in our neighborhood and is a beloved feature of our backyard. I am trying to find a picture that shows it in its undamaged glory but there is no single good shot so here is a collection of pictures with the tree somewhat visible in the background.)

On the first night of the ice storm the whole house was kept awake by the sound of the branches bending and cracking, eery sounds that are unlike anything else I've heard. Also highly annoying as it was only my second night home and both Shuma and I were actually sleepy, so my jet lag recovery was delayed. Stupid ice storm.

The effect was pretty but made getting around hard. The ground was of course icy, and the snow was also covered in a layer of ice that turned walks into major ordeals. Shuma didn't particularly mind, he loves winter and all of the cold, snow and ice that comes with it.

We didn't get very far, mostly just to the school across the street, but that was good enough for him as it offered some of his favourite things: puddles, buses and icicles.

I had wanted to bring him ice skating but the local outdoor rink was closed down for our entire visit due to fallen branches. So Sherry, my brother's girlfriend, convinced me to take him skiing. I am not a skier so I couldn't help much, but Sherry taught him the basics.

He actually managed to stay up by himself for a little while! He also loved the tractor ride back to the parking lot. We only went twice and didn't get a chance to follow up when we got back to Japan, but next winter we will try again for sure.

He had plenty to do at home too. Not that his grandparents spoil him or anything though.

And Fluffles The Magnificent warmed up to him (after about a week of hiding like the other two cats) and they resumed their friendship.

He ate noodles like some kind of little noodle eating machine. Here he is with Korean udon, and he also discovered a love for pho. Once he ate an entire regular-sized bowl all by himself, which made me immensely proud.

Here is a bonus naked bath shot!

A highlight of the trip was a visit to Toronto's new aquarium, which I wasn't very excited about because I live in the land of aquariums. Shuma and I both ended up loving it though, and though he didn't have much patience for just standing there watching the marine life there were enough hands-on activities to keep him occupied. It was more expensive than the typical Japanese aquarium, was crowded, didn't have fancy things like whale sharks or dolphin performances, but I think it's one of the best aquariums I've been to. Considering how educational it was I don't think it was overpriced, the crowds were average compared to Japan, and I'm not a big fan of dolphin shows anyway. I can't wait to go back.

Other things he liked included sitting dangerously close to the fireplace playing "Bob the Builder".

We had plenty of tools but no helmet or tool belt, so he took some of those foam net thingies that come wrapped around fruit and stretched them in to use. This was with no suggestion or prompting from us, he just totally thought of it himself. Pretty creative! He then went on to discover magnetics and keep us entertained for a good part of the evening. Here is a video of him being Bob the Builder (sorry it's pretty long) and here is some magnet fun.

See the photo album for more pictures from the trip. Now if you'll excuse me, the search for a good picture of the willow has brought on a nostalgia attack. I need to go be sad for a while.