White on White...

First snowfall of 2011Yesterday it snowed.

I don't mean... "We had a few flurries." or "There was a nice dusting on the ground when we woke up." .... No, I mean... "It was the first snowfall of the season and a full 21cm (8") of snow was dumped on my driveway, doorsteps and backyard."

Easing into winter I can handle, but being canon-balled into it is another thing altogether. As I drove home from work in the blizzard, I stopped at Sobey's to pick up some hot chocolate and at the register I saw the Better Homes and Gardens' Christmas Ideas issue (See Kate Riley's simply elegant home here). I picked it up 'cause I thought it'd go good with hot chocolate....

One of the fairly common design themes was white-on-white or colourful accents in a white decor (both very striking). The classic and striking beauty of the all-white-theme has also been very much part of the success of Saint John's White Room... a favorite spot for events and photo shoots for photographers like Beaver Smith of bigdayfoto. So when I went out to do a bit of shovelling and let the birds out for a fly, I thought I'd do a bit of photography myself... white birds against the white snow, white birds against a crisp blue background... there were a few beautiful shots to be had. Above is one of them, you can see a few more on my facebook page.

What makes this snow-dump even more odd is this... we've had such a long indian summer that about 3 weeks ago, the birds must've been convinced that Spring had returned. There was a lot of courting behaviour going on around the loft - mutual preening, billing, driving, etc. - and the proof is in the proverbial pudding. As of today, there are 8 eggs out in the breeding loft. Four of my breeding pairs (including 2 new pairs, purchased from Laslo Toth of the Central Nova Racing Pigeon Club in Truro) went down on eggs and one pair already has a full week of incubating under their belt.

It should be interesting to see how things pan out. This will be the first time that I've had hatchlings this late in the year. Most guys who race birds separate the hens from the cockbirds late in the summer, the idea being that the birds don't deplete their energy making and rearing babies... putting them in even better position to raise young in the Spring.  What I did do however is put a small space-heater in there just to take the edge off of the cold, especially during the night... although we'll see... they're announcing temps of 6-9 degrees celcius tomorrow and up to 11 on Saturday. 

Crazy weather!