“All the leaves are brown And the sky is gray
I’ve been for a walk On a winter’s day
I’d be safe and warm If I was in L.A.
California dreaming On such a winter’s day.”

Contrary to the song, the skies today are not grey. In fact, it is spectacularly sunny. The World Atlas says that Ottawa Canada is the 7th coldest capital in the world. However, until a few days ago, the temperatures had been in the extremely mild -5° to 3°C (23° to 37°F) range.

Then came a big surprise. A local florist delivered a bouquet of gorgeous flowers… and I mean drop dead gorgeous. And here is the connection. They came from a California cousin.

My wife was helping her cousin obtain the birth certificate of her Canadian-born father, which seemed to have disappeared. After a significant search through Archives Canada, my wife did obtain a 270-page document of the father’s Air Force (RCAF) records, including his birth details.

Back to winter! One step outdoors and the wind hits you and seeps through your clothing. With the wind chill it feels like -18’C (-0.4’F). Luckily, I am wearing my famous goose down parka good for -40’C (-40’F).

It is time for my daily ca. 3 km (1.9 mile), 45 minute hike on Beaver Trail. Above is the view from the loop trail right inside our city; yet it feels like you are in the wilderness. I do not even hear any car traffic while on the hike.

The reason is because Ottawa has a land area of 2,790 sq. km. It is bigger than London, UK with 1,572 sq. km.; New York 783.8 sq. km; or Los Angeles 1,302 km with 4 million people. But Ottawa only has 1.3 million people — 1/3 of the population of L.A.!!

The nice thing about the bouquet is that several lilies had not bloomed when delivered so each day brings new flowery delights … and more photos. BTW, all these images were taken with my iPhone 12c Pro.