Cold & Response to a Question

        The record for cold temperatures on this day in our part of the country was - 21.2. My thermometer is not "official," but I think the cold is.

         Yesterday I took a photo of one of the road that I was on while coming back from the organic farm where I volunteer on Tuesdays. This is how I remember roads being in winters during the rather distant past. For the last few years, 8 or 10, I don't remember any snowbanks this high along the roads.

         On February 9th I caught a special sunset solar pillar that I put up on Facebook but did not get around to putting up here. I think it needs to be here too as it was a special event. I have not seen these pillars very often in my life and don't remember any photos quite like this one that I have ever captured.

        Finally, in response to Pablo and anyone else who may have forgotten, we have a labyrinth path that I cut into the meadow east of our house. It was the one path that I did not walk the other day with my snowshoes. I don't have any winter photos from above but this is the current Google view from above taken during the summer last year. The distance covered by walking from the outside to the inside and back out again is about 1.25 kilometres.

More Snow

         This is the most wintery winter we have had in years. I need to get out and do the driveway again even though I have already shovelled it more times this winter than the past 8 or 9 I think.  

         Meanwhile, instead of risking my life on the roads to go to the gym this morning, I got out my snowshoes and walked all of  our trails. Well, all except the labyrinth. I started at the house and made my way along the trails until I came to a point where I could no long go without retracing my steps. I missed a couple of little connecting trails but did all the rest. It's the first time that I have walked all the trails with snowshoes in one go. It was 2.86 k.

Snow Play

        I have been trying all week to get this tiny video to load. It finally made it today. Just pleased with the winter that we are having even though it is a bit cooler than I like. (Read wind chills of -30 C on too many days.) However, I have been able to play with some of my snow toys like my snowshoes that have hung in the barn for several years without use and my gaiters to keep the snow out of my shoes. I still have not used my skis but then skiing at - 20 even is a bit daunting these days.

Missed Another Run

        Woke up to lots of snow and wind again this morning. I was optimistic and put on my running gear but when I went out to feed the animals I found lots of drifts even between the house and barn. I did some shovelling just to get into the barn and found snow inside the barn by the east door, the donkey's door that just was open a crack and the goose's door that was not open but wind had taken the hay away from the crack at the bottom and replaced it with snow. After feeding the animals and getting the dogs back inside, I started shovelling the driveway. I spent two hours and about fifty minutes with shovelling but did not get the top of the driveway, where we usually turn around, finished. The main part of the driveway was finished and I shovelled out the end of the driveway twice after two different snow ploughs came by within the time I was out.

Still Cool Around the Edges

        Sixteen degrees Celsius below freezing this morning but it warmed  up to -12 this afternoon. Hoping for even warmer on the weekend. The photo below does not show the fine flakes of snow or ice crystals that were coming down just at sunrise this morning but the cold temperatures are probably evident to the eye.

        Got through my 71st birthday a couple of days ago with little fuss and bother. I did the regular routines of volunteer work at the local organic farm and then some work out time in the gym. The only real difference was the load of Facebook and e-mail greetings. I think there were over 60 of them. I did not realize that I had so many contacts that would take the time to drop a line. The next day, Fleur-Ange treated me to lunch which was an unexpected treat. Now if the dogs would only start behaving . . .

        (Ardis, is this easier for you to read?)