The winter thaw has departed so it’s back to winter for the duration, the length of which remains to be determined. We have had about 12cm of snow in the last 36 hours or so and tonight’s low temperature will be around -12. Good curling for curling up on the couch with some movies. Our choices are In Her Shoes, Chasing Amy, The Human Stain, The Ides of March, and Swing Vote. Not sure which one or two will catch our interest.
I took this photo in December 2007, my first winter in Canada after relocating from Texas. We lived in Goderich at the time, which Ontarians will recognize as being in the snow belt. And boy, did it snow that December. There was a week during which Faye and I shovelled the driveway and sidewalk daily, ant not only to have something to do. Sometimes we shovelled twice daily. THAT was quite an introduction to winter, which I so contended I wanted to live in, to experience.
Today the high temperature was -11 or 12 F. With wind chill it felt like -19 or about -2. It was at times a bleak and very forceful reminder that we have a warm cars, warm offices, warm houses. We and our pets are blessed. Wildlife has none of this, the songbirds scramble for food, water, shelter. I topped up the bird feeder after getting home, liberally scattering seed on teh ground for the juncos and other ground feeders. Saturday and Sunday will will be warmer, then the brutal cold returns for a few days. It is winter, winter is brutal, it is a time of testing, of endurance.
It seem that there is the potential for us to experience a ‘major icing event’ to use Environment Canadas’ phrase this weekend. I am a weather junkie – I surf Environment Canada, the US National Weather Service, Weather Network, Weather Underground, Intellicast.
Not out of fear or because I Freak Out about the weather. There is too much Freaking Out about the weather by weather forecasting services, I very rarely watch teh forecaster’s videos. Instead I enjoy learning about the weather, like to read the various forecasts, then try to get my own sense of what may happen.
It seems there is a high probability of some icing this weekend, so we will hunker down and settle in. I’ve requested some good movies from the library – The King’s Speech, The Madness of King George, Lawrence of Arabia, two Lord of the Rings movies, The Ides of March.
Winter sunrises are so beautiful. The starkness of the snow, the muted colours of the landscape, seem to force me to more deeply see and appreciate the colours of the sunrise and the sky. I love sunrises during this time of year.
Taken with the PlayBook.
It’s the first wintry day of the season. About 1cm of snow fell overnight, lending an appropriate cast to the scene, which was, is, assisted by the moderate northwest breeze.
It seems that the first true taste of winter will arrive today. A cold front came through yesterday and will be reinforced today, dropping the temperature throughout the day to a low of -5 tonight. Though we will not see the high side of freezing until sometime Monday or Tuesday, the snow squalls will stay to the east of us. Kendal will not care about any of this as long as the furnace works.
Our house plants are inside for the winter. We have brought them in at night then taken them back out the next morning for a while. Now they are in for the duration, another sign of winters’ approach. I am not sad that winter is coming, it is the great circle of life and living turning to the next season in the cycle.
I thought it might be good to remember on this warm summer evening that winter always comes, and that I’m kind of looking forward to it.
previouslytexan 