Monday, 5 January 2026

TREE HOUSE NEWS 🏡

NEWS AGGREGATION & COMMENTARY

May Great Spirit bless 🙏

It looks like another day of on-and-off snow, but whatever accumulation we get today will be gone tomorrow. Tuesday will be 40°F and 🌧️ then above freezing and rain on-and-off all the rest of the week. The good thing about it is you don't need to shovel rain.

I am looking forward to the sun rising at 7:00 a.m. and earlier. I miss that the most in the morning 🌄 There isn't that much a'-shakin' here in the Newsroom this morning. My health status appears to be back to whatever is stable for me at the moment, and I pray it stays that way.

Retirement does have its advantages; you don't need to get up in the dark to hurry and get dressed and go out and freeze your butt off till you turn blue in the cold while shoveling the snow, just to get to the job on time without the boss barking at you 😡 It's nice to just sit behind my keyboard in a warm room. I don't need to go anywhere unless the fire alarm goes off, and even then, I would take the time to find at least a good warm coat to wear.*_

Here I sit, in my comfy office chair 🪑 slowly sinking into the seat cushion, in my warm Newsroom, enjoying the comfort and warmth as I watch the snow fall outside the window. I never did like cold weather, except for back in the seventies, the Skidoo era.

TODAY'S DISCUSSION:

RETIERING IN CANADA

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER:

The Warmer Microclimates in CANADA.

The microclimate on the east coast peninsula of southern Ontario, Canada, would make for a reasonable location to retire in during the winter months if you're thinking of leaving Florida. The only other place in Canada with a temperate climate is the Okanogan Valley on the west side of the mountains in B.C. Both provinces, B.C. and Ontario, have regions of hospitable winter living, from Parry Sound, ON, northward. London, Ontario, is the most popular. The Laurentians in Quebec are also well known for ski resorts and other winter activities.

- Google Search -

British Columbia: is famous for its numerous microclimates, driven by the Pacific Ocean, diverse topography (mountains, valleys, coasts), and urban development, leading to vast temperature, rainfall, and vegetation differences, from Vancouver Island's mild zones (palm trees) to the Okanagan's desert-like conditions, with forest understories also creating cool refugia, all vital for biodiversity and urban heat management.

- Google Search -

The Niagara Peninsula's microclimate: shaped by Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and the Niagara Escarpment, creates a unique temperate zone with warm summers, mild winters, and a long growing season, ideal for grapes and tender fruits, featuring distinct areas like the Escarpment's bench lands for cool-climate wines and fertile plains for diverse agriculture, all fostering rich biodiversity and premium crops.

You don't even need a permanent cottage today, for as long as you can find a provincial park, you can have your own cottage by setting up an inflatable tent.

Ultimate All-Season Tent

perfect Winter Camping Tent and Insulated Tent for Glamping, Outdoor Parties

- Adriftallseason-com -

If I were younger, and still into the camping thing, with these new inflatable tents, I WOULD. Even the furniture is inflatable, with a small wood-burning stove, folding chairs, and a table, and has separate rooms.

BREAKING NEWS:

Venezuelans face uncertainty as the Trump administration’s plans for their country emerge.

Here’s What to Know

An emboldened President Donald Trump declared Sunday night that the US is “in charge” of Venezuela after detaining President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid over the weekend, as he issued stark warnings to other countries that they could be next.

Maduro, who was dragged into custody with his wife, Cilia Flores, in a deadly early Saturday morning raid, is slated to appear in court for the first time at noon ET in New York City to face charges that he and his associates conspired with narcoterrorists to ship thousands of tons of cocaine to the US.

Trump’s latest comments come even as some in his administration, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suggested the US would be relying more on leverage over Venezuela and coercion, rather than directly running it as Trump first suggested during a Saturday morning news conference...

What happened during the military operation?:
What is up with Venezuela’s oil?:
Which countries buy Venezuela's oil? CHART Included:
Who is in charge in Venezuela?:
What about other countries in the region?:
How are Venezuelans dealing with the fall out of the military operation?:

Read More:

PUBLISHED Jan 5, 2026, 1:24 AM ET - 8 hr ago

- CNN -

Who is Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s leader after Maduro’s capture?

Following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro during a US military operation in Venezuela, the command of the South American country has fallen into the hands of Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. That is what Venezuela’s constitution outlines in its different scenarios anticipating a president’s absence. Under Articles 233 and 234, whether the absence is temporary or absolute, the vice president takes over the presidential duties.

Rodríguez – also minister for both finance and oil – stepped into the role on Saturday afternoon. Hours after the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, she chaired a National Defense Council session, surrounded by other ministers and senior officials, and demanded the couple’s “immediate release” while condemning the US military operation. Standing before the Venezuelan flag, Rodríguez said the early-morning operation represents a blatant violation of international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty. ...

An official with Maduro’s ‘full trust’:
On the path to an understanding with the US?:

Read More:

PUBLISHED Jan 3, 2026, 8:15 PM ET - Jan 3, 2026

- CNN -

Trump said Venezuela stole America’s oil. Here’s what really happened

At 7 a.m., the earth began to rumble. Suddenly, oil blew out of its well in a massive eruption that towered 200 feet in the air and sprayed the fearful villagers of La Rosa. The most productive oil well on the planet had just been discovered. With it, Venezuela’s transformation to a petroleum supergiant had begun — for better or worse.

Venezuela had been known to possess some crude — 15th-century Spanish explorers noticed indigenous people using oil for fires and asphalt to patch their canoes. But Venezuela’s wealth of oil had been in dispute until foreign petroleum companies grew serious about the region during World War I, when fuel was in high demand and Western nations began to fear supply shortages. Surveyors from Venezuelan Oil Concessions (VOC), the local Royal Dutch Shell affiliate, spent much of the 1910s exploring the region with only moderate success...