More snow

After a brief respite from precipitation, but not the cold, we woke on Thursday morning to the sound of neighbours shovelling sidewalks again. This time I joined in.

Tuesday's snow had not melted, and this new lot was adding an extra layer to areas that had not been cleared. At least the temperature was milder - almost balmy, in fact, at just below zero. The snow continued falling throughout the morning,

making our street prettier than usual at this time of year.

It was not a day to drive anywhere if you didn't have to, so the little car remained parked behind the house - under cover, so to speak.

Rain is predicted for tomorrow.

More snow

After a brief respite from precipitation, but not the cold, we woke on Thursday morning to the sound of neighbours shovelling sidewalks again. This time I joined in.

Tuesday's snow had not melted, and this new lot was adding an extra layer to areas that had not been cleared. At least the temperature was milder - almost balmy, in fact, at just below zero. The snow continued falling throughout the morning,

making our street prettier than usual at this time of year.

It was not a day to drive anywhere if you didn't have to, so the little car remained parked behind the house - under cover, so to speak.

Rain is predicted for tomorrow.

Early snow

We were warned that winter might come early this year with colder than usual temperatures. Sure enough the first snow of the season fell on the evening of November 18, and we woke to a light dusting of white on the morning of the 19th. This was the view from our upstairs bedroom window:

 

Morning traffic has more or less cleared the street already. In the bottom right our neighbour is shovelling the sidewalk. This generous soul has already shovelled her own sidewalk across the street and is now clearing ours as well. City by-laws require home-owners to have their strip of sidewalk cleared by 10:00 a.m.

I braved the great outdoors to photograph the house.

In the front yard, my little Enkianthus has turned overnight from the gold and russet of autumn to winter white.

It remained cold all weekend and is getting colder. The high today was -2ºC, although there has been no precipitation, just a bitter wind. Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny, with a high of -6ºC. By Wednesday rain will bring slightly milder weather with daytime highs back above zero, but still in the single digits.

Early snow

We were warned that winter might come early this year with colder than usual temperatures. Sure enough the first snow of the season fell on the evening of November 18, and we woke to a light dusting of white on the morning of the 19th. This was the view from our upstairs bedroom window:

 

Morning traffic has more or less cleared the street already. In the bottom right our neighbour is shovelling the sidewalk. This generous soul has already shovelled her own sidewalk across the street and is now clearing ours as well. City by-laws require home-owners to have their strip of sidewalk cleared by 10:00 a.m.

I braved the great outdoors to photograph the house.

In the front yard, my little Enkianthus has turned overnight from the gold and russet of autumn to winter white.

It remained cold all weekend and is getting colder. The high today was -2ºC, although there has been no precipitation, just a bitter wind. Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny, with a high of -6ºC. By Wednesday rain will bring slightly milder weather with daytime highs back above zero, but still in the single digits.

October 31st - Halloween

Our former house on the farm in Langley was on a dead-end road far from our nearest neighbours. The long avenue lined by Lombardy poplars that led from the gate to the front door was unpaved and lit only by the moon. We were never visited by any children at Halloween.

When we left the farm, we lived for three years in Australia where they don't acknowledge Halloween.

This year, our first back in Canada, was going to be the first traditional Halloween we'd experienced in sixteen years.



Sarah Jane and Kaan came over and we all carved pumpkins for the front porch (photos, with 3 exceptions, courtesy of Sarah Jane):

This is Michael's shark pumpkin:

This is Sarah Jane's pumpkin:

This is Kaan's ninja pumpkin:

This is my pumpkin:

We thought we were doing well, until we saw the display that one of our neighbours put on:

Here's one elaborate design in close-up:

This was my favourite:

We refused to dress up, but  Sarah Jane arrived with devil's horns and insisted that we wear them:

Of course we had bought candy to hand out to the trick-or-treaters ...

... but not enough as it turned out.

At least we weren't the only ones who miscalculated.

October 31st - Halloween

Our former house on the farm in Langley was on a dead-end road far from our nearest neighbours. The long avenue lined by Lombardy poplars that led from the gate to the front door was unpaved and lit only by the moon. We were never visited by any children at Halloween.
When we left the farm, we lived for three years in Australia where they don't acknowledge Halloween.
This year, our first back in Canada, was going to be the first traditional Halloween we'd experienced in sixteen years.

Sarah Jane and Kaan came over and we all carved pumpkins for the front porch (photos, with 3 exceptions, courtesy of Sarah Jane):

This is Michael's shark pumpkin:

This is Sarah Jane's pumpkin:

This is Kaan's ninja pumpkin:

This is my pumpkin:

We thought we were doing well, until we saw the display that one of our neighbours put on:

Here's one elaborate design in close-up:

This was my favourite:

We refused to dress up, but  Sarah Jane arrived with devil's horns and insisted that we wear them:

Of course we had bought candy to hand out to the trick-or-treaters ...

... but not enough as it turned out.
At least we weren't the only ones who miscalculated.