Where'd The Snow Go

AS THE TOP PICTURE from a previous year shows, snowy winter weather has appeared in the Fraser Valley Region of BC. I'm sure it wasn't a dream. I recall shoveling several times in winters past, especially in 2008/2009 when unrelenting flakes seemed to never stop falling.

Ironically, now that the 2010 Winter Olympics are soon upon us and weather pressures are high, there has been plenty of rain but almost no snow in Vancouver or surrounding areas so far this year.

Although I was probably looking in all the wrong places ...

I recently went "puddling" in and around the Ocean Park area of Surrey in search of the fluffy stuff.

There were no sightings. I was not able to find a trace of winter white anywhere.

But since there have been many sudden snowfall surprises in the past ...

fresh flurries could make the landscape quite slippery …

frosty and chilly VERY fast!

Do YOU Believe? A lot of people are hoping it will snow in time for the games.

A Dash To Stop Proroguing Parliament

TICK TOCK, tick tock ... the stoic and inscrutable Olympic Clock might have said, if it were not digital and could talk.

We dashed past the Flying Girl seen through the Vancouver Public Library window, thinking we were late for the Stop Proroguing Parliament Rally.

Although in a hurry, we couldn't resist stopping to admire the library's marvelous mass of architectural arcs and swirls.

Surprisingly, at the Vancouver Art Gallery where the rally was to be held, we instead found a lone woman at the foot of the historically ornate building who explained the group had left and was marching to Victory Square.

Time relaxed for a moment when a mother, with her adorable daughter and doll, caught my attention and she allowed me to take a picture. They were each accidentally dressed in a pretty pattern resembling the giant floral panel decorating the gallery walls.

Arriving at Victory Square, we discovered a notable crowd. There were buttons, waving flags, and a variety of signage to show objections over the closure of Parliament until March 3, 2010.

Standing in the mud-soaked grass, we were immersed in speeches and the hearty organized shouting of slogans by a conscientious crowd.

It was encouraging to see such a rousing civil display of democracy. The rally was just one of several groups voicing their views last Saturday.

People expressing themselves throughout the city covered topics such as: Save Christians In Egypt; to Haiti Needs Emergency Relief, Not Military Intervention; to Canadian Troops Out Of Afghanistan. There were also several folk out and about protesting the upcoming Olympics.

The peaceful array of democratic opinion was somehow as comforting and colorful as the unruffled rainbow circling one onlooker's hat.

For more information about the purpose of the rally we attended search for Proroguing of Parliament online.