The answer for $1000 is Alpacas, Snowmen and Butters"....

So, (in true Jeopardy fashion and in memory of Canadian Alex Trebek), if the answer is Alpacas, Snowmen, and Butters, what is the question?  That would be "What are three fun things about Montreal in January? 

First, the alpacas! For you non-local readers here, the MTLBlog is some people's favorite publication to hate.  I am not sure why, but I have encountered some folks who are very outspoken about their dislike of this blog.  Personally, I do not have any particular aversion to it but it did take a bit to get accustomed to some of the sensational headlines.  One of my favorites was related to the weather. For example, "It's going to be really cold this year." Really? I honestly find that sort of humorous. 

All that to say, the MTLBlog totally redeemed itself to me forever when I read that, for a reasonable fee, I could take an alpaca for a walk in the woods.  I discovered this back in December and played the "birthday" card with Dave to get him to agree. Turns out, the earliest reservation we could get was January 7th. In reality, this ended up being just the right thing to do on the day after the horrific attack on the US Capitol building. It was wonderful timing to have a fun adventure to take my mind off the news. 

So, we packed up our thermos bottles with hot tea and drove about 45 minutes toward Mont-Saint-Hilaire.  The sun was shining, and the roads were clear. There was snow on the ground and the temperatures were quite reasonable. 

I first became enamored with alpacas last summer, when we visited an alpaca farm in the Eastern Townships. I thought these animals were just so darned cute. They have the sweetest expressions on their faces, big eyes, and they are so docile.  The idea of getting to walk one, and pet it, was too much to resist.

Once you arrive at the alpaca farm, you get a cup with alpaca food (grains and seeds) to help lure them along the path.  

We were first paired up with a brown fellow named Eldorado.  Unfortunately, he was not in the mood for a walk, so he got swapped out and Mistral and Henri (two white ones) ended up being our companions. 

These fellows eagerly ate our snacks out of our hands and let us pet them while we walked.  They are so soft and cute... and they even make the funniest little grunting noises. I wish I knew what they were saying! 

Here is my attempt at taking a selfie with Mistral. He apparently was not familiar with the concept of standing still but I was finally able to capture a shot with both of us in it. 

The next week, we had quite a significant snowfall.  Now, this is not necessarily a newsworthy event, since it snows a lot here. However, I think people took advantage of more time on their hands to be extra creative.  

David and I headed two blocks down the street to a neighborhood park for a bit of cross-country skiing (David) and snowshoeing (for me).  We saw quite a variety of snow sculptures.  

Here is a snow horse!  (and that is David in the background).  

We also saw this snow bear that reminded me of Winnie the Pooh. We saw a snow bunny and snowmen that were incredibly tall. 

On social media, I have seen pictures of snow families, upside- down snowmen, snow caves, snow dogs, snow unicorns, and even snow dragons.  The creativity of folks out there is truly remarkable. 

And here are a couple of snow friends having a lovely socially distanced cuppa. 

And last but not least, what is Butters, you may be asking?  

Ah... Butters is the neighborhood wild turkey who wanders around the 'hood, much to everyone's delight.  Here he is admiring some Christmas decorations.  

Apparently, Butters' honorific name is Notre Dinde de Grace (Our Turkey of Grace) in honor of our neighborhood, Notre Dame de Grace, but his official name is Butters.  There is much speculation about whether this is the same turkey as seen in previous years. Some experts have indicated that this one is a young bird but nobody has mentioned where his parents live.  

There is also a lot of concern for Butters' safety as he wanders the streets, as he seems to have very little regard for street lights, signs, or proper crossing areas. 

Butters even has a dedicated Facebook group called "Where is Butters", to report frequent sightings. I was out yesterday and drove past a recent sighting location, but alas, I have yet to actually set eyes on Butters myself.  I did see some friends who were out for a walk so we had a short visit from my car.  What else is there to do during Covid lockdowns than to cruise the streets looking for a turkey?  

Apparently, I could have just asked Bernie where to find Butters!  

A lot of the discussions about Butters involve trying to relocate him vs. letting him run wild, pleas not to feed him, and general concern over his safety.  Of course, there are plenty of turkey dinner jokes as well. As one person stated, "the Old Port got a whale this past summer and NDG gets a turkey'.  I think it all offers some good-natured fun and diversion from life as we know it these days.  

Butters has gotten so much attention that one neighbor created sweatshirts and t-shirts dedicated to him. I decided I needed a new hoodie so I bought one.  Some day I hope to look back fondly and be able to remember something whimsical related to Covid 19. 

Meanwhile - everyone please stay safe and stay sane.  Hopefully, we can all travel again, sooner rather than later.