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Thread: Awesome winter

  1. #1
    Senior Dog Mr Kleb's Avatar
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    Awesome winter

    This winter has been awesome. I don't mean in a 'wow that's wicked good awesome' way. It's more that I am in awe of what life, nature, what have you can sometimes throw our way. I try to not complain or agonize or whine, because not only does that change nothing, I don't feel any better. I prefer to try to accept and appreciate what is. Sometimes I succeed. It's good to be reminded sometimes that we aren't necessarily as omnipotent as we might like to believe.

    Many of us are facing some incredible weather. I can't imagine how those of you in the northeast US and the Canadian Maritimes, getting pummeled by snowstorm after snowstorm, are coping.

    Faye and I live in Canada's 'banana belt' where winters can be relatively mild. November was cold and snowy. December more than made up by being very mild, with no snow I can remember. January was cold.

    February began with a BANG! Thirty-plus centimeters (that's a foot-plus) of snow overnight on the 2nd. Six inches at once is a lot for us so that snow stopped us for most of the morning. Since then we have had two cm here, four there.

    What's more, it's been wicked cold this week. This morning's low was -20C or -3F. Today's high was a little above our normal low temperature. Beginning tomorrow we'll be among the first to experience the latest bitter cold. Tomorrow night the temperature will drop to about -7F, about -22C. Sunday's high will be about 2 or -18. I'm unsure if it's ever been this cold here during my time in Canada.

    All of the dogs minimize their time outside. Even Achilles, the outdoorsman of the three, is less interested in spending time out.

    I bought more suet cakes and another suet feeder for the songbirds. Tomorrow I'll hang the feeder and get another bag of sunflower seed from our in-town hardware store. I'm generously spreading sunflower on the ground for the ground-feeding birds, even if it means feeding the squirrels and crows (though I run the crows off when I see them, they are pests in our area).

    We will do a lot of cooking and baking this weekend to help keep the kitchen warm. The menu includes roasted chickens, roasted vegetables, meatloaf, fresh bread, probably canning chicken stock.

    Here are a few photos of us coping with winter.

    Stella dozing next to me on the couch.


    Faye and I for our February photo shoot.


    A marvellous sunrise on my way to work one morning. As cold as it was I was compelled to stop and photograph it.


    How are you coping with this awesome winter?
    Last edited by Mr Kleb; 02-13-2015 at 09:29 PM. Reason: change thread title
    Andrew, Faye, Fitzi, and Lucy

    Not gone, only gone on ahead - Bruno, Rex, BoJo, Kendal, Kingsley, Moonpie, Avis, Corndog, Stella, and now Achilles

    I invite you to visit my blog, Hidden Content .

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  3. #2
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Love it, especially the red heart.

    I keep telling people we need this really cold winter to kill off West Nile, Lymes, all manner of illness usually confined to warmer climes that have been creeping northward with global warming. So far no one has welcomed my "good side" of cold theories.

    It was -26C when Oban and I went out yesterday morning. When we first moved here we had several -40C (=-40F) mornings and a couple at -45C. I'm amazed how many folks have forgotten about that. Plus record snowfall that year and no thaw till spring. It was GREAT, I xc skiied over 400 km that winter and got my gold Particpaction pin.

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  5. #3
    Senior Dog Bamps's Avatar
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    We also had an awesome winter. Back on the last day of 2014, we got a rare snowfall here in AZ. Oh, and I whined and snivelled, I don't like that stuff. Needless to say it only lasted a day and was gone and melted to my pleasure. So here in Feb., we are enjoying our beautiful low 80's F as daily highs and hi 50's F o'night lows. Flowers are blooming, sun is shining, birds are chirping, life is good.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails -image-jpg  

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  7. #4
    Real Retriever KenZ71's Avatar
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    I'll second the wish that the cold puts the nasty bugs in check. Making lemonade out of lemons
    -- Ken, owned by:

    Max - Black Lab mix gotcha 4/23/2012 Born 12/2011
    Scarlett - Yellow Lab gotcha 4/19/2013 Born 2008? 2007?
    Lizzy - Terrier mix gotcha 6/29/2014 Born 2006?
    Zeus - Papillon mix gotcha 1/30/2015 Born 3/26/2014

    Avatar: Ziggy, my kitty who crossed the bridge a few years ago.
    He slept in the sink for years, silly boy.
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  9. #5
    Senior Dog Mr Kleb's Avatar
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    Holy moly Snowshoe, that is cold. I had not thought of those aspects of this incredible cold - hopefully checking Lyme and West Nile - let's hope that's the case.

    Bamps that's a good photo. What is the plant it's flowering from?

    We had about 9 cm of snow last night. It's sunny now and the wind is whipping up to about 50 kilometers per hour, that's about 30 mph. Three loads of laundry are on the clothesline and should mostly dry before we bring them in. We drove about two klicks out of town to see what it was like. The road was track bare but icy, and visibility in blowing snow ranged from 1/2 klick to maybe 75 meters.

    We took pity on a stray neighbourhood cat we've occasionally seen on our porch. We bought cat food and Faye fashioned a den out of a cardboard box. We aren't fans of outdoor cats but trying to help it through this weather is the right thing to do.
    Andrew, Faye, Fitzi, and Lucy

    Not gone, only gone on ahead - Bruno, Rex, BoJo, Kendal, Kingsley, Moonpie, Avis, Corndog, Stella, and now Achilles

    I invite you to visit my blog, Hidden Content .

  10. #6
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    We are getting record cold here. Today's high was 8F. Tomorrow it won't even get there. We did have a record 24 hours snowfall but other than that, very little in the snow department. Had to snow blow a trail for Mardi and Archie to be able to potty. It melted down to ice so I had to go out and take some of the snow from the drifts and cover the ice. Mardi needs help with her footing. Both are not hesitant to go out but sure don't stay out long.

    Went to the grocery store today because tomorrow is colder and lake effect snow coming in. I'm ready for days to get warmer, at least warm enough to get Archie out for a great walk instead of the shorter ones we've been taking.

    So wish we could put out seed for the birds but we have lots of skunks around here and having had to scrub down Bandit and Melody twice in two weeks was enough for me.

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  12. #7
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    There is nothing good about cold weather. I wish the hell I could more to Hawaii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  14. #8
    Senior Dog Scoutpout's Avatar
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    i sure hope the killing the nasty ticks and west nile and other nasties is going to work! thats what i keep telling myself. that, and this is just more like the "real" winters we had when i was growing up, we'd have a week of hardly getting to 0F, and LOTS more snow than we've seen. (not nearly like you poor folks down east are dealing with though! thats just wild!)

    truck read -2 F on the way home tonight, tomorrows hi i think they said is supposed to be -3F. plus whatever they figure for wind chill. in between the lake-effect snow streamers today it was gorgeous, but cold. dry enough that Scout wasn't doing the 3-legged walk. but tonight he did a bit. I hope we can head up to the bush tomorrow for a nice sheltered walk, we both need it!

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    For all of you who are loving this winter...feel free to keep it where you are.

    It's now 1:55 in the morning and I haven't been to bed yet (usually go around/before 9). I don't know what the gusts are but the consistent wind is 28 mph. Real feel temp minus in the teens. I can't stand the sound of high wind...really gets me wired up.

    We've had way too much serious cold...and will be having for a while...and wind this year. Mercifully, we haven't gotten that much precipitation...I sure don't envy Massachusetts.

    I was over winter long before they disturbed that poor groundhog. Maybe if they'd just let him stay asleep our winters would end sooner.

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    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I'll be going to church today dressed in my warmest clothing, to heck with what expectations might be. It's a long drive, -28C =- 41C with wind chill and only a high of -22C with wind chill of -34C. It's my great nephew's baptism. I think if it was my child we might be skipping this altogether. That might not be too cold for a properly bundled up child (he's 22 months) but what if something happened? The car stalled or overheated or something and you were stuck out in the cold with a baby? But they don't have to drive as far as me. My sister is the type who dresses and puts on makeup to walk the dog, for heaven's sake, so I'm guessing my arctic attire may not be well received but to heck, I'm going for warm and with back up in case of trouble on the road. Probably won't be too many cars on the road.

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