Monday, February 15, 2016

Winter This Week

It's been a wild roller coaster of winter weather this week.  We've gone from normal winter to above freezing with rain and mild melting weather, then back to winter with more snow, and down to severe cold.  Now it's rising back up to near the freezing mark tomorrow.  Actually drove through a bit of freezing rain today, after -31°C yesterday!

Went for a drive on Saturday, which was a beautiful, if brutally cold winter's day, but in places the wind was drifting the snow across open fields, and building drifts on the roads quite quickly.

The air was filled with a haze of white, and deeper drifts caught my tires quickly.  You need some experience winter driving to explore back roads up here!  And at corners like this you have to be careful if you can't see other traffic for the snowbanks!

After a -29C night, even creeks that are always open had a sheet of ice across them.

And I'm always puzzled by the houses where the driveway is not plowed out, or the house is in fact abandoned, as this one apparently is.  In some cases it's just people ways for the winter, and if they've turned off the water, that's ok.  But when a house is abandoned, I'm sure there is likely a sad family story behind it.  I've driven by this house for several years and never seen any sign of occupancy.

And this truck is apparently abandoned too!  At least it's been sitting in this field as long as I can remember.

On the other hand, this old school has been put to a new use as a weekend retreat.  I captured a lot of barns, fences, horses and a few cattle, as well as lots of shots of Georgian Bay on two trips to Meaford, which I'll start sharing tomorrow.

This is one shot of the harbour at Meaford, where the ice-floe choked Bighead River meets the bay.  Tomorrow a photo of this during the mild spell a few days earlier.

After I showed you a picture of -29°C. one day, and thought we had reached the bottom of winter cold, I awoke to -31°C the next day!  Not a day to be outside much.

Linking to:

20 comments:

  1. Oh, BRRRR! Just looking at these pictures make me feel chilly. Stay warm! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is an odd winter indeed. Yesterday morning it was -15 F at our son's house and tomorrow the forecast is for almost 50 F there. We've been ice skating on his pond at -25 F in past years, but this year, in spite of yesterday's low temperature, the ice isn't thick enough to skate.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Extremes in weather make it hard to become accustomed to one or the other. But a good man gets out and finds awesome photos no matter how severe the weather is.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is certainly cold. I remember back in the 80's, in a small town I used to live in, was -40 degrees. The minute you step outside, felt like my nose was frozen solid. Beautiful shots!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a lot of snow. Love the harbor photo!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely photos. I've had some amazing wetland walks in the cold. It's wonderful to get out!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh boy, that looks so cold! Hope your weather warms up soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. HI Furry.....
    Brrrrrr....but beautiful....it was 25c here today...
    Did I look worse or better? In the 80's....hahaha!
    Enjoy your week...
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I always thought fixing up an old school would be fun, but maybe that's because I used to be a teacher. Wayne never thought it was such a good idea. Good thing we agreed on our float cabin. We barely had any snow for the third winter in a row, but I don't miss driving with ice. - Margy

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fabulous photos but I'm sure glad it is not me that lives there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful snow scenes!
    Those temperatures are incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow....this really is winter! Great Photos!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yes, in a 24 hour period we have gone from 20 degrees F to 55 F today!!! CRAZY.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It sure has been a crazy winter this year.
    I think too think it sad to see empty houses and barns.
    Great pictures as always.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It certainly looks bitterly cold in these photos.

    ReplyDelete
  16. as i scrolled....i said "oh that's my favorite"!!! 7 favorites, number 8, not so much!!!

    winter looks really beautiful in your neck of the woods!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great photos of the cold snowy weather you had. It sure is up and down this year. We had the -30 one morning and today it's +8 and the snow is melting fast again.

    ReplyDelete
  18. It looks so beautiful with that crisp white blanket though. This is the winter I love - not the dirty, slushy kind. Of course I am inside, not treking through it, but today was actually quite mild and it was not all that unpleasant shoveling the driveway. Well, at least the first time. After 3 times, hubby and I officially give up until this snow stops.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh Dear those are some mighty cold looking days you have going on up there. Brrrrrrrrr!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I can’t imagine temperatures like that in the U.K. As soon as it dips to zero degrees my wife is moaning it’s too cold. I am definitely happy we haven't had to experience temperatures like that, but who knows with global warming. One day I may have to contend with it. Thanks for sharing this.

    Wilfred Andrews @ LB Plumbing and Heating

    ReplyDelete