SNOW !

     Today we are having our first big dump of snow. One of these strange "bomb" weather patterns have reached the prairies of western Canada and the northwestern states. 

    So today, right after breakfast I was out shoveling about 5 in of snow. An hour later I was out cleaning up about 1 1/2  in of snow. Then I got lucky. the neighbors adult grandson was at Grandpa's cleaning the snow from the driveway and sidewalk. Later on I noticed my security light come on. When I looked out "said grandson" was cleaning my driveway. I checked and he'd done the neighbors. I checked further and he had also done the long side walk at the side of my house.

    I certainly appreciated the grandson's efforts. 

    So with the new snow, everything looks clean , white and fresh. 

WHITE STUFF

       Well, no surprise. We're getting a major dump of snow. We had 2 - 3 inches by about 4.30 PM. It's been coming down steadily since then. I will shovel again this evening. 

      The first phots were taken in the day time . The others were taken this evening. 

I'M FORTUNATE

       I have to consider myself very fortunate as people do things for me and I have not asked for help.

      We've had some snow and cold the last few days. We've had 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) . Well you know , it has to be shoveled. I also have more than my share of sidewalks ...about 150 ft. So when we get the 2 to 4 in of snow it's a lot of work.

      Now I'm very capable of shoveling snow . I will also shovel snow for other people.

     I have four people I know who have cleared my sidewalk and one other person that I have not identified. So that's a lot of help. I was outside when one guy came along and he told me to go in my house and he would also do my drive way. 

     So I am fortunate and thankful that people come by and shovel snow for me.

     So here we are in our younger years shoveling snow. Well, I see it's only 9 years ago!

WINTER'S HERE!

       Winter hit us today with a wallop. We are in the midst of a blizzard with white out conditions. We've had abut 10 cm of snow and lots of wind.

      So guess what the old boy had to try to do day all day. That's right! I shoveled snow. It was miserable because we've had warm weather until last night. So the snow came down on ground that was above freezing and melted just enough to make things miserable. So the snow stuck to my shovel. Think about it this way. 10 lbs. of snow stuck to my shovel while I shoveled one lb. of snow. I had to shovel things twice today. 

     So I'm a chicken. I took all these photos through my window. 

MICRO SHOVELLER

      We have had lots of snow falls but none of them have been heavy deep snows. We've had some heavy wet snow which is difficult to shovel as it is very heavy. Then it doesn't fall off your shovel like it should. I don't mind shoveling light dry snow. It's light and you can easily move it away from walks or drive ways.

      Now I can handle snow shoveling. I might be  bit slow but I get there. Yesterday we were lucky and looked out the window to find Brandie, from across the street,  shoveling our side walk.

     Now from time to time the micro manager says she would like to get some fresh air and she goes out to shovel snow. She does an excellent job and the walks are clean after she's finished.

      Now the micro snow shoveller doesn't like photos taken of her. This photo is not flattering. However. she does very well at 4' 10" and more than 80 to shovel all the snow sometimes.

      She has had the winter cap for about 25 years. She got it in her cross country ski days. 

ONE SHOULDN'T SNICKER

    When I was still teaching one year on the last day before Christmas holidays a kid came to the concert with a newly broken arm. I said to the kid that I had never had a broken bone.




     Well guess what? The next day I fell and broke my wrist. Worse than that I was doing the Christmas bird count so I was fair game for all kinds of ribbing like " I didn't know birding was a dangerous sport. "

     Well on my last post I made a few remarks about people who have spring weather that is ten times better than mine and they still wanted better weather. I should have known to keep my mouth shut. 

    Over night we had 15 to 20 cm of snow. Lovely soft white stuff just made for shoveling. The snowplow had just finished yesterday. 

    Why don't I keep my mouth shut? 

SNOW STORM

     This weekend we had some major snow fall...about 24 cm ( 8 in) . For us that's a lot of snow. There was no wind and it was about minus 5 C.

    I had the great honor and pleasure of shoveling my driveway and walk three times. It was dry light powdery snow so was very easy to shovel. 

    I couldn't wait to go out cross country skiing. Skiing was a challenge. I had to make a trail My skies were under the snow. My intention was to make a few rounds and set the track. Somehow with the deep snow I became fatigued very quickly. It was very dull. (You know I'm leading up to an excuse , don't you.) On top of that my glasses got fogged up and I didn't notice it. When you make your own trail everything is uneven so balance is key.

    Well that's right . I fell. But I did get up by myself. I continued but had decided I'd skied enough. I stopped. I lost my balance and fell. Yes, I got up again and then immediately fell. The third time I had to take my skies off.

    The beauty of the falls was that we had the deep soft snow.

    These photos were taken about 11:30 AM and you can see by the shadows how low the sun is in the sky.

    I like the way snow piles up on stuff.

SNOW

      We just had a couple of days of snow where we got about 12 cm of snow. That's a lot of snow for us at one time . I know other places get much heavier snow falls.

      It kept me busy shoveling snow a couple of times. However the snow was light , dry and powdery which makes it easy to shovel.

      The snow gives us a very clean fresh look so why not a few photos.

       This photo is for Far Side. She wants people to set up snow sticks so here's my feeble effort at a snow stick. Can you see it? I have 14 in. (35 cm) of snow.

WEATHER IS RELATIVE

     Many North American posts lately are about weather. There's been tons of snow on the west coast and cold in other places.

     That got me thinking about my weather. Yesterday in the afternoon it was minus 16 C (plus 4 F). Wind was 19 kph with gusts to 29 kph. It was dull and cloudy with light flurries. Over the last 4 days we've had about 12 cm (4 in ) of snow. I've been busy shovelling. 

    Now on the west coast there's been lots of snow ...up to a meter (3 ft). They rarely get snow and then not much. This much snow is difficult for them as they are not prepared for it. They don't have snow removal equipment. Their cars aren't equipped for winter and they have many very steep slopes on their roads. This weather is a challenge for west coasters.

    I've been noticing other blog posts which  report weather that doesn't seem threatening. Somebody reported that they had several nights close to freezing. I suppose vegetation in that area would be harmed by frost.

    Other areas toy with a bit of snow. Other areas rarely get snow and when they do they have all kinds of fun making snow men.

    I think  many people would think of my weather as extreme and it is. We have cold warnings for tonight. A cold warning is given when wind chill is below minus 41 (minus 41 F) Yes, that's right they're both the same at that temp. We don't like weather to be this cold. We're prepared for it but that doesn't make it any easier to cope with. We have warm houses. We have appropriate clothing. Our cars are winterized. However, it's still uncomfortable. With the snow we've been having, I've had to shovel four times. It's okay if you keep moving. I don't get cold hands or face.

   So my point is that the weather is relative thing. We get used to what weather we get in our area. Anything warmer than what I have would seem very pleasant. 

   However, I'm like everybody else. I'm looking forward to spring. It's just that I can't be in a hurry for spring yet as it's a long way off. Our snow usually disappears around April 1 depending on how much we have. April is cool with frost almost every night. So you see spring and summer come very slowly here.

POETIC JUSTICE

    I was bragging the last two posts about having clear skies so that I could see the supermoon.

    Well this evening I have this!

    A front went through this afternoon and evening and dropped 3-4 cm(1 1/2 -2 in) of heavy wet snow!

    I can also give a heads up to Far Side of Fifty that snow is coming her way and that she got her snow stick set up just in time.

I Can Make You Happy

                          ...SNOW!!!

     Yes, all I need to say is snow an a whole lot of people are happy for many different reasons. Some, like me, genuinely like snow. Those who don't get snow like it because of it's beauty. Others will say "Ha ,ha, He's got snow again."  

     It snowed overnight and we had light snow all day for a total of 4 in. (10 cm). It's been minus 9 C(7 F) all day.So I was out right after breakfast to clean up my driveway and walks. It's the first time I've had to shovel snow this winter.

     See my Nov. 6 post where I reported that we had a high of 17 C. I also predicted that my next day's picture might be very different. Well, it wasn't the next day but 4  days later.
   
     If I'd had time today I would have got the cross country skis out and set my ski tracks!

On my street

This nine year old has style in his shoveling even if my picture is fuzzy

Time for cleaning windshields

Power from the legs

Another Snow Post

     I keep trying to ignore the snow we have been having recently but I can't. Each dump of snow adds another layer to what we already have. We have over 97 cm(39 in) of snow. This is what has been measured at the weather station. 

So the snow stick is on a table 

    I accidentally got myself  connected to Far Side's snow stick. I was only going to use the snow stick idea once but here I am again and the best way to show my snow is with the snow stick!

A nice cornice on the end of the house.

    December 29 we had about 10 cm (4 in)of snow. Again there was lots of vigorous shoveling.

And you remember this old guy. Now he's almost neck deep in snow.

    Now I think I've done more posts on snow than any other topic. My interest isn't snow. It just happens that we have been getting a lot of snow.

Pale afternoon light and shadow.

Prepared for Winter

    This weekend we are getting another winter blast. Yesterday we started with heavy wet snow and this morning started with the light dry snow. We've had about 25 cm( 12 in.) of snow. Needless to say I've been out shoveling snow. It's been good since it's not cold ...minus 10 C (12 F). 

We had limited visibility

     So I'm prepared as I have three snow shovels. If I don't like the color of one I can try another color.

Looking at the fence you can see how hard the snow is falling.

     It also got me thinking about my northern experience again. One of the first things I did when I arrived in the north was to get a local woman to make a traditional parka for me. It was one of the best things I did. I visited her and told her what I wanted. She looked me over and pictured me in a coat. She didn't measure me. The coat has a lining, duffel inside and outer cover. The hood is fringed with wolverine as it doesn't build up with frost. The hem is fringed with muskrat. The sleeves had muskrat trim but it wore out.

The coat is long and reaches close to the knees

   This coat was comfortable in all conditions. When outside I was warm. Inside you could sit for hours and not get hot. When in the Arctic I wore this coat about six months of the year.

I rarely wore anything under this coat unless I was out on a trip or out all day.

   I have replaced the lining and outer shell three times. That's not bad for a 50 year old coat.

Some coats were made of seal skin. I just have a sealskin for a decoration.

    When I came south I wore the coat because I was used to it. Gradually I quit wearing it and I haven't worn it for quite a few years.

   The coat brings back many memories for me of boat trips, snowmobile trips, hunting trips, snow shoeing and walking with the girls.

    Now the idea for today's post came from Darlin at My life for a Year. She had been out dancing last night at Moc Rock which is an aboriginal dance party. So I thought of my mukluks. When I went to look for them , I remembered I had donated them to the museum. Oh well , sometimes I make rash decisions. I won't give my coat away.