SNOW DAY

My early morning routine always begins with a big mug of coffee and a scroll through Facebook on my phone.  It’s not as comprehensive as an actual newspaper, and a person has to be careful about what they are going to believe, but it’s the best that I have.

But on Wednesday morning, before I even got as far as Facebook, I discovered a message from Australia.  It was a screenshot, actually, an announcement of cancelled classes and campus shutdown for the college in Coquitlam, BC where grandson Shae is going to school.  His Canadian born father (no doubt relaxing by their backyard pool and maybe enjoying a mango off their own tree) was the one who sent it, along with his comment “Shae just got his first Snow Day!” 

It gave me a chuckle too: snow days are pretty rare occurrences for Australians.  I had seen the news coverage of the winter mess Vancouver was getting and wondered how the boy from Down Under was enjoying BC’s version of winter.  He’s a pretty happy-go-lucky guy and adapted well to the ten days he and his Aussie girlfriend spent here over Christmas holidays.  I think she struggled a bit more with the intense cold.  There is no way to prepare first timers for what to expect at 40 below zero. 

I’m sure the question “Why would anyone choose to live here?” went through their heads.  Truth to be told, it goes through ours too from time to time.  When the air hurts your face and drawing breath in freezes your nostrils shut, it really does make you wonder what you’re doing here.

But, then again, it’s not so bad.  If our ancestors managed to survive in sod shacks, burn buffalo chips for fuel, haul wood by horse teams from the Moose Mountains, and do it all without wifi! surely to goodness, we can weather a few months of, shall we say, a hostile environment.

And, those of us who live here know that winter isn’t boring.  It has many faces. 

Today is a beautiful day: even though it’s minus 15, the sunshine is strong enough to melt smaller patches of loose snow on our south-facing deck; our dog is out there soaking in its warmth.  The sky is a dazzling blue. 

Also, yesterday’s new snow is sifting along the ground from west to east, polishing roads out in the open but in the shelter of our yard the wind and the snow are collaborating to form banks and drifts only to reshape them again and again as the breeze changes directions.  Today’s windspeed is minor so the banks are staying soft and fluffy, but should Mother Nature take a notion to turn it up, we will be treated to spectacular snow sculptures.  She does fantastic work blowing snow through trees at 90kph.

Over Christmas Jack Frost put on a fairyland display of fog and rime frost, decorating every surface with dazzling, white crystals.  As I drove home with one of our Australian guests on her first day in Saskatchewan I asked what she thought of what she was seeing.  Of course, I was expecting her answer to be an echo of my opinion of its beauty, but with her fresh eyes and unique perspective, her reply was even more profound.  After a moment of quiet thought she said “I feel like I’m in a black and white movie.” 

She is from a place where the sky and the sea are always blue, the grass is always green, and there is never a time when something isn’t in vibrant bloom.  She must have felt she had been abducted to an alien world.

It’s February now, the worst of winter’s darkness is behind us.  With each morning it’s a little bit brighter.  This is Canada so the snow days might be done for this school year, or we might be just getting started.  I’ll let you know at the end of March.  Better make that April.  Can’t really rule out May either …

Thank goodness we have wifi.