Time for a weather report. A number of far away people have a picture of Edmonton cold, white and beautiful and I’d just like to put the record straight. It’s mild and very brown, and beautiful too in a certain way.

This winter has been the mildest since 1930 something, with hardly any snow and hardly any seriously cold temperatures. But that is all about to change, for one day! The drop in temperature is due to the Arctic Vortex which is pushing cold air at Alberta. Tonight’s TV weather forecast shows an impressive mass of cold air spinning down from the top right of the screen bulging down to bottom left. We could have a high of -19 c on Thursday and then on Friday -2 c and Saturday -1 c. You can watch an animation of the Artic Vortex here.

Just because I wanted to end the day with something other than a spinning mass of air I offer this from the Denkoroku.

ITS solitary light, wondrously vast,
is never darkened
For the wish-fulfilling MANI-JEWEL
shines forth illumining everywhere.

This poem appears at the end of the chapter on Nagyaarajyuna, the fourteenth ancestor after Shakyamuni Buddha.