Winter ???

I just finished reading the blogs from my journaling challenge group about winter and see that like so many other things feelings about winter are all relative. Those who live in the Southern States or farther south wish for snow and think that winter is no different than a cooler summer, while those who live a little farther north hate the ice and the rain, and wish for winter that was really winter not just a rainy fall. But here in the frozen north I wish for warmth. I guess like all other things in life it all depends on what you live and how you see it.

Winter conjures up a lot of different things for me. As a child I lived in Southern Ontario and winter was cold and we always had lots of snow. I have great memories of the snow in Ontario; we spent winter snowmobiling, sledding, digging tunnels from the front door. It didn’t seem to matter how cold it was I loved to spend time out in the snow. Then we moved to Alberta and winter there was so different. In Southern Alberta they have Chinook winds and these winds could take a freezing cold day and turn it into slush and warm in a matter of hours. The winds were strong and warm and could totally change the weather, and the snow you had on Christmas eve could be slush and muck by Christmas morning. We spent many Christmas’s this way. My feelings toward winter changed moving to Alberta it was no longer the fun it once was because the temperatures were always changing. Then as an adult I moved to Nova Scotia back to the cold and snow I had as a child. As a child I loved the snow and playing outside but as an adult it wasn’t the same fun. I don’t know if I lost my love for snow while living in the constant changes of Alberta or if it was just being older and not wanting to spend time out in the cold but it wasn’t the same. Now I have moved back to the constant changes of Alberta and now to the frozen North of Alberta…I don’t know if it is just because I am older and hate the cold or if it is just colder but winter is not the same now as it was over 30 years ago.

Winter here is cold and long. The temperatures start dropping in October and we usually have snow by Halloween. Then it just keeps going, adding more and more snow and freezing everything over. Some times it can be beautiful when the trees are covered in frost.

This isn't the best photo to explain what I mean but a good idea. Looking out over the lake (named Cold Lake...ironic, I think not) everything is frozen and still. Although it is beautiful to see the stillness of life, to see how something so full of life in the summer can be so quiet and deserted in the winter. It is hard to not shake and shiver while standing looking out at the beauty.

Temperatures here are usually so cold that you don't want to leave your house, the usual temperature runs around -30C and can get much colder. It is just a way of life and proof of this is that they don't shut the schools down until the temperature drops below -40 or we have a windchill making the temperature below -50. I think the biggest proof that you get accustomed to what you live is when the kids say that -40 isn't that cold :)