I Was Wrong!

 I'm not sure the meteorologists were exaggerating after all.  We haven't had any serious snow squalls, which reduce visibility to nil, but we have had a lot of snow!  Maybe 12" by now; at least our snowstick is almost covered!  It sure does leave a very pretty world, as well as the hum of snowblowers in my ears.

The view out the back just looks white.

The planters on the deck are deep under a blanket of snow.

There's almost nothing to see in a photo of the snowstick, just a mound of white and a shadow.

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The branches of the Redbud out the back window caught a surprising amount of snow.  Lots of brown seedpods.

Ah, but we're prepared.  With me in a wheelchair we use a snowblowing service, and here he is.  They also provide snow shovelling of the front walk, all for a price of course.  It's sunny out now, and the snowy world is very beautiful.

Snow Has Finally Arrived

The forecast was overwhelming, the most snow in years, as much as all last winter combined!  But meteorologists do tend to exaggerate.  We got about 2" so far but of course I may be wrong and it may accumulate over the next few days to reach the forecast potential of 75 cm!  In the meantime, here are a few paired pictures to show you how our world has changed.

The view out the back window.

Our trusty snowstick; he's probably shivering by now.

The Hellebore, looking right down in front of me.  All snow-free photos taken Wednesday.

Christmas Cards

 Do you still send Chris6tmas cards?  We may be old fashioned, but we still send out Christmas cards every year.  It provides a way to stay in touch with friends and relatives you hardly ever see - or in our case that we never see!  It always seems like a personal way to put some meaning into the holiday season.

This is the card I'm using this year.  It's by an indigenous artist, Alanah Morningstar Jewell, in her 'Winter Rest' series.  I purchased these from Ontario Nature, an organization that has provided a Christmas card for sale as long as I can remember.  I joined while I was still in high school, and now I'm a Life Member.

And a Happy Thanksgiving to me American readers!

The Rainy Days of November

November always seems to bring rain and cold.  I don't mind rain, though it keeps me inside, and I don't mind cold - but not cold and wet together!  I always looked forward to winter, once things are frozen, but of course now that I'm in a wheelchair I have to change my assessment of the weather - if the forecast turns out to be accurate!

And on top of the wet for the last five days, the forecast does show some of that white stuff for later in the week.  It's late for us, but I see by your blogs that places like Maryland, 500 km. to the south, already have snow.

Winter Birds?

Our bird feeders have now been loaded up with seed and the other day I spotted my first two winter birds at those feeders.  These are terrible pictures, but I'm hoping they presage a winter with lots of birds!

The first is a Chickadee with its characteristic black cap.  There were several, for just a few minutes.

Then a Red-breasted Nuthatch swooped in, hanging upside down as always.  But it perched upright briefly, and you can easily pick out the reddish breast.

I Can't Believe It!

I can't believe it but the weather is so mild here in late November that I rode downtown or home from downtown twice this week!  Usually we've had at least a couple of major snowfalls by this time, but not this year.  I'm hoping for a mild winter, even if the skiers want snow!

This was the harbour on Monday, my friends bench at the left under one of the few trees.  Can you spot the swans?  I don't think I've ever seen swans in this harbour before.

They weren't disturbed as I rode down the harbour-edge sidewalk.  I wonder if they'll hang around.

I got a good deal closer on this bright sunny day.  They raised their heads and as you can see by their orange beaks, these are Mute Swans.  They do tend to hang around rather than migrate.  At any rate, it was a remarkable 8°C that day.

Compare this to this week two years ago!

Our snow stick got totally covered this week that year.  I'm thanking my lucky stars for the mild winter so far this year and hoping it will continue!  And I still can't believe it!

Sunrise

Even these cold grey November days sometimes start out with a glorious sunrise!

Photos by Mrs. F.G.