Tag Archives: snow

First Snow, Last Month

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I got up this morning, and saw light snow cover on the rooftops and ground.  The sun shone and so the snow-that reminder of December and winter-disappeared as quickly as it appeared.  Today marks the first day of the month of December and the second day of the week.  Nothing of particular relevance in the grand scheme of things.  Maybe I tie too much value in a particular day or time of year.  Still as I looked at the snow, I felt I had come full circle from last year.  A year of running around, of trials, tribulations and experiences.  Feeling older… am I wiser for it?  I do feel I am colder and less accepting.

As I stared at the snow, I wondered if all my efforts in the various aspects of my life simply melt away under a harsh sun.  I wondered if I made in-roads at work, at parties and in my life.  An answer forms in my head, but not a clear resounding yes.  But neither a draining no.  Rather a confused jumble of yes and no, some gains but at what losses.

As I stared at the snow, I realized how little time I have left before Advent rushes by.  Soon Christmas and New Year’s Day will arrive.  There is so much to do and I want a new start in the new year.  Time flies and each day disappears like last night’s snow in a year’s sun.

A Short Paper on Snowfall and its Effects on a Northerly People

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We take a break from our regularly scheduled program on technology, gaming, freedom, life management and progress updates; for a totally pointless post.

Up in the frigid northern regions called Canada, there lives a nation of people who well… basically live there. The very thought that someone would want to north of the 49th parallel, is downright shocking to Canadian’s southerly neighbours. More shocking is the revelation that said Canadians in fact do not normally consider dog sleds a mode of transportation. Nor do they consider igloos as mortgageable housing. Something that is not shocking is the presence of a substance known as snow.

Snow, or the collective name of crystalized water droplets in flake form, is a common occurence in Canada. In fact snow is the second prefered form of precipitation in the wet winter season. Rain is naturally prefered but not when combined with freezing temperatures. Oddly regardless of the number of times a Canadian has experienced snowfall, they react as someone who has seen the phenomena for the first time.

A Canadian will at first mention of a coming snowfall, will deny the existence of snow or its falling. Once the first snowflakes appear near the ground, a Canadian will appear shocked. Then dismay will follow. This dismay may lead to a near complete loss of driving abilities. Additionally, a significant amount of flakes accumulate on the ground, can profoundly affect the mood of a Canadian. A normally cheery and sensitive Canadian can be an unhappy, grumbling, insensitive individual. While other events can affect Canadians such as: election day, a referendum on Quebec separation or the unlikeliness of a Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup; these events happen with significantly less frequency. Such behaviour in a northerly people is confusing, given the frequent nature of snowfall.

There are a select few who worship the coming of snow. But even these rare individuals admit it, they prefer if the snow remained solely on top of hills and mountains rather than on roads. Also children seem to appreciate snowfall more than adults. However this appreciation is shortlived if the quantity of snow is less than required to close local schools.

The benefits of snowfall in Canada are multitude. Snowfall for one gives Canadians free exercise. It also cultivates the skill of shovelling. While a more profitable skill in the 19th century thanks to the use of coal and steam engines, shovelling can provide meaningful employment in construction, irrigation maintainence and ditch digging. Paradoxically, snowfall also provides a form of national unity.

The researchers of this paper recommend that a more thorough study on the contradictory nature of snowfall and Canadian attitudes is in order. The researchers are currently applying for a grant from the Metrological division of the National Research Council to cover costs of supply, equipment and travel to conventions held in more southerly countries.

This message was sponsored by local snowplow drivers and disgrunteled snowshovel wielding Canadians. And is dedicated to a certain ice princess.

The Spring of Eternal Winter

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I lean my shovel, against the icy snow lining the bottom of my driveway. Exhaustion clouds my thoughts. At least I have defeated the mechanical monstrosity called the snowplough truck. This time maybe it will not come for a while.

I watch the dirty brown trickle of melt water, as it skirts the melting floes. The steady sound of the trickle falling down the rusty rainwater grate, calms my mind. The tired, muddy ice hides the silent arrival of long awaited friend. Only the trickle whispers in my ear, “Spring is coming.”

The world swirls around me. The mountain of ice shrinks before my eyes. The sound of bird fills the air. Spring. The icy citadels of Winter’s harsh rule shrink and dissipate into the warm air. Trees blossoms and grass grows and the sun melts the last of the snow. Spring. A time of a new beginning.

Only I stand shrouded in a icy sheath. My heart encased in my frozen body, shimmers slightly. The shimmer can not melt the icy sheath. Neither can the sun. Who will unable melt my being? When will my soul’s eternal winter end?

I turn away. The ice and snow returns. The slushy floes melt slowly. As I walk away, I hear the trickle of meltwater whisper in my ear, “Spring is coming.”

Originally posted: Saturday, March 3, 2007 @ 08:44

Author’s comments: Shoveling snow can really wind you. And then you get strange ideas… like this one I had. My deoxygenated brain seems to come with strange, colourful delusions. Now if only I could write properly when not under the influence of sleep deprivation, caffeine or excessive snow shoveling. This was the last post of the One-Time Trash Pad project.