Wednesday, November 13, 2019

First Snow Day

When I write First Snow Day, I do not mean, or at least I don't necessarily mean, First Snow. These things are not the same. No sirree: we use the former, Snow Day, to refer to a day when the kids don't have to go to school because the buses are cancelled due to road conditions. Last week, we had our first snow, but it wasn't enough to stop the buses.

A poor blogger must, of course, honour this First Snow Day although there will surely be many more to come, and any number of those snowfalls will be more prodigious than this event.

From my front window, I could see that the driveway had been plowed once, but then the street plow blocked us in. Hopefully, our plow guy will return for a second pass  before I need to go out this afternoon (which was yesterday afternoon as you read this). That stake that you see is the plow's cue to not pass our house by. (Nope. We had to shovel that ourselves.)


Out back, the snow hangs on the fir trees, which are mostly in the school yard, which will remain mostly empty today. I say, mostly, because the schools almost always remain open when the buses don't run. Most kids stay home, even if they are within walking distance, but I'm sure that some will attend, especially younger children, for childcare reasons.


Sue thought that we should shovel the walk to the front door and also by the garage door where the plow can't reach. The snow was so light that she had it done before I could get around to helping. Here she is clearing the short walkway from the driveway to the door.


Then she cleared our part of the sidewalk. It really grinds her gears when the neighbours stop precisely on the imaginary dividing line between the two properties, especially when the frontage is so minute. We don't mind shovelling their half when we are the first out there, but . . .

I mainly took this photo, however, to show how the autumn leaf and lawn waste (the bag behind her) hasn't even been collected yet as the seasons overlap.


Finally, a shot up the street, just for the record.


In our experience in this locale, we will have continuous snow cover until probably mid-April. Five months is a long time.


13 comments:

Tabor said...

I do no think I could shovel snow for that many weeks! We get one or two the past winters and Ihope this winter is no different.

Vicki Lane said...

Yikes! Five months...you are a hardy lot.

Jenn Jilks said...

OK, that is really fun! It's important to be the official photographer...

I like the exercise of shoveling. JB is so happy with our snow blower, as it has a braking system, and he can run it. Otherwise, he couldn't with his back issues. I finish off the highway end of the driveway. I did the front sidewalk, and half the back deck. He did the rest of it when I was with my client.
It takes teamwork!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Five months is a long time! We had a real winterwonderland here yesterday and it is still very cold (20F) that it is not melting. But it will. We don't usually have snow lasting so long!

Marie Smith said...

It really is too long!

Mage said...

Folks used to wonder why the great migration to Florida. Personally, there are too many bugs in Florida, but out here is just perfect.

MARY G said...

Got the snow augur on the tractor yesterday. We needed it ... there is a newbie plowing the road and he did not leave enough room for the school bus. Though, of course, there was no school bus.
Eh. Five more months.

A Cuban In London said...

Wow, snow already in November! Here in London we don't even get it in December/January! :-)

Greetings from London.

William Kendall said...

The very best weather you can have.

Barbara Rogers said...

Oh my...I guess living in your neck of the woods means lots of white (and grey) and cold times. Hope all of you bundle up and stay safe...though I'm sure you're used to it by now!

Joanne Noragon said...

Five months is too long for snow cover. That's a rule I believe, though it could happen this year.

Kay said...

Sue looks elegant even when she's shoveling snow. That IS a lot of snow. I was surprised they didn't call it a snow day in Chicago when the temperatures dipped so low and the snow was piled pretty high.

Jenny Woolf said...

I think I'd get pretty sick of snow if I lived around your area. It's all those clothes you have to put on every time you want to go out of the house. Now I'm older I don't like the slippery ice although as a kid that was one of the best parts of snowy conditions. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!