Jill Browne, from home and away

Friday, February 18, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Not as exhausted this week, because we took things more slowly. I don’t mean ridiculously so, just a more pleasant pace.

I’ll put in some pics I’ve taken since the beginning of the year.

Christmas tree after Christmas is over. Photo by Jill Browne. Calgary, January 2, 2011.

Driving south on Deerfoot from the airport. Photo by Jill Browne. Calgary, January 3, 2011.

View of downtown seen from Deerfoot heading south. Photo by Jill Browne. Calgary, January 3, 2011.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

OK, Christmas was almost two months ago. And yet, there is a stack of abandoned Christmas trees on the side of the road in a pull-through. Why? Because in years gone by, in the early weeks of January, the city has asked people to pile the trees there between stated dates. The city then took the trees away and ground them up for mulch. Excellent.

This year, the city did something different. They told us to put the Christmas trees out where the garbage goes, on certain stated days. They picked them up. They never whispered a thing about putting them in a big pile at the side of the road. They didn’t put up the little fences they had to mark where to put the trees last year. They didn’t put up a sign saying, “Christmas trees go here.” No, they told us what to do with the trees: leave them where the garbage goes.

Come on, people. You got the same notices I did. What are those trees doing at the side of the road?

I am open to hearing sensible explanations, but “Because they always did it” isn’t one.