A very tiny saucepan

This is a normal saucepan, sturdy and well-made. It just happens to be very, very small. The mark visible in the picture indicates a quarter cup. To illustrate its smallness, the picture was taken by other dishes belonging to George.

It was on sale at Winners for $2.99, and I wondered. What is it designed for? Who uses a saucepan that holds barely over a quarter of a cup? But small things are so cute. I couldn't resist buying it, just for fun.

Mount Shasta glaciers

Image from shasta guides

For the past several years, several glacier tongues on Mount Shasta have been reported to be growing. the only ones in the continental US to do so.

Last September, however, the mountain erupted in a massive mudslide, thought to be caused by the heat and drought that California was experiencing at the time.

The mudslide went on for many hours; apparently the mountain was releasing a considerable volume of debris that had been dammed up when a snow melt lake on or in the Konwakiton Glacier suddenly collapsed.

Below, Shasta's Whitney, Bolam Glaciers: geotrippers

A hole in the clouds

An odd-shaped break in the clouds lets us see the blue sky that is always behind them.

The great thing about these cloud gaps is that once they start, they usually grow.

The explosive power of growth

It's been quite some time since my we nailed this aluminum sheeting around the clothes line pole tree to stop animals from climbing up there.

As the tree grew, the aluminum began to tear. Eventually it ripped wide open. Now, years later, the metal remains tacked loosely onto the tree only at the back.

Years of steady growth have broken the bonds that once held tight around this trunk.

Slow and steady growth have set it free.

Interesting metaphor, isn't it?

Angel Glacier in Jasper Park

Image by Giorgio Zanetti

One of three glaciers on the sides of Mount Edith Cavell, Angel Glacier resembles a recumbent seraph. From this perspective, we see her white wings spread wide, while her reclining head lies out of sight in the lap of the mountain. Walking the Angel Glacier Loop Trail is an excellent way to see this mass of ice, along with its neighbours, Cavell and Ghost.

Cavell Glacier

Image from Banff and Beyond

Edith Cavell Glacier is one of three visible from the glacier loop trail at Edith Cavell Mountain in Jasper National Park.

A hoary marmot looks over the lake from his vantage point on the rocks. Is he is pondering the nature of the icy striations of the glacier? Perhaps he is looking at the icebergs that result when the glacier calves into the lake.

Ghost Glacier haunted by icefall

20th century image from Peel Library, U of A

One of three glaciers visible from the Glacier Trail at Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park, Ghost Glacier is well -- just a ghost of its former self. In the summer of 2012, this glacier dropped the largest volume of ice and snow ever to fall in the park. According to Mountain News, the glacier lost up to 70% of its mass. Fortunately, the cataclysm occurred when nobody was close enough to be injured.

The icy avalanche, recorded by tourists with video cameras, caused a tidal wave to rise up out of the lake and wash out the trail head, picnic area and parking lot. The event was reported with accompanying video from as far off as Australia.