High winds and calm spirits
One of the principal differences between my present “life in a big city” and the earlier Island era is the reaction to winter. Not my reaction; those who live close to me still remark on my checking the weather forecast before going for groceries, in case we should be “storm stayed”. Rather, the institutionalized handling of the white months make all the difference.
Whereas the Island (wisely) treats the months where the thermometer indicates that the bridge will freeze before the road, around here it’s supposed to be business as usual. I question a mentality that complains every time a public sector employee is told to be safe, but it doesn’t happen very often in spite of the denigrating remarks. Today was an exception.
Yes, this is a snow day in the city. A real, tighten your scarf and grab a pole kind of day. We’re not out of the wind yet, and it’s been heady enough to close the local university (with a population of 37,000) and take the majority of the 500 city buses off the roads. That hasn’t happened any more than once or twice in the last 25 years…
I’ve not gone outside, because the dog advised against such activity. The trips outside for personal needs have been counted in seconds, and all traces are covered by a layer of clean snow within minutes. Cosmetics through climate. The view from the patio is, well, white; there’s a natural accumulation that is over my head from one corner to the other. Best ever. I no longer want to know the weight, so don’t try to terrify me. The lovely news lady on CBC let us in on the secret that another storm is due within 48 hours; hardly worth finding a shovel, now is it?
I checked into the cost of fleeing to a better climate, but we’d not get to the airport (also closed) so that bright idea was filed away for another time. Instead, I’m going through photos from last summer; beach shots bring back warm memories. The “snow-dometer” passed the 404 centimeter mark sometime this morning, so a new record is within reach (sort of; if I take a stepladder outside).
