Day 2 - 361 -- winter displays no subtlety

It has been a busy day filled with physical and mental labours. It began with the need to clear away the overnight snow fall. Now, I did move 6 inches yesterday and there was more than that again today -- likely about 8 inches, but I didn't have my ruler handy <smile>.  The ploughs had left schmutz at the end of the drive and across the boulevard. The sidewalk plough dug up clods of grass and dirt that made moving the wet snow in that area almost impossible. It took two hands to lift and disentangle the grassy lumps in order to resume shovelling.

After my adventures in snow land, I worked on course prep for next week. The syllabi and readings for the first week need to be up on the course web site by the weekend. I also typed up two reviews for journals. There is much more to do to get myself ready to tackle the courses with new texts and readings -- change is a good thing, but it can be somewhat disruptive. Something like this silly weather.

After supper, the garbage had to go to the curb and the car needed to be cleared off so that it is ready to go for repairs tomorrow. So, I cleared off the foot or more of snow covering the vehicle, then used the shovel to re-clear the ground where it had all fallen. I also had to remove an extra inch of snow that had fallen after my earlier snow moving session. Luckily, the snow was light and fluffy as the temperatures had dropped by early evening. It was brisk -- that seems to be the usual word for bracing cold. It was actually pleasant and the air had that colder temperature smell to it. So -- the weather forecast does say more is on the way and there will be rain or something like it mixed into the next storm. That should arrive tomorrow evening. It seems that there is great trepidation in the populace; it is just too soon after the harshness of the ice and snow of last winter.

I will admit that I thought long and hard about being somewhere else earlier today while shovelling. It seems early to be cranky, but each of the next five days carries with it a snow-like icon on the weather forecast. I was thinking that maybe if winter had eased us into this, it might be easier to handle. I'm not sure even that would satisfy me. So -- a few lines from the song of the day came clearly and purposively to mind as I worked away at the snow. I do love the harmonies of this group and this song showcases these quite well. One of them was even a kid from north end Halifax so he knew winters <smile>. Enjoy!

California Dreamin' -- The Mamas and The Papas