After the big Snowfall

In the end, I'm not sure how much snow fell. We were expecting somewhere between 30-50 cm (roughly 12-20") and I just happened to be awake at 4:30 am when the snowblower arrived to clear the driveway. Even without its lights, it was surprisingly bright outside with the snow reflecting the streetlights. This photo is looking out over the garage roof which has a fair bit of snow on it.

Of course you still have to get to that cleared driveway. Here is the before and after view of the front walk. The temperature was right around freezing so it was a nice day for shovelling. I was just finishing when, as if to tease me, more snow started to fall.

Across the whole city, it was a "snow day" meaning many people were given the day off of school or work to give the plows a chance to get around.

When we were kids, we would stay in bed, just waiting to hear if the school buses were cancelled. And then, with a day off, you played outside, unless it was really cold and windy. This was a big snowfall but nothing unusual.

You know... this deck was clear a couple of days ago... We were really dumped on, most of this snow falling between 6 pm and midnight.

I was lucky to get the patio door open from the inside and, at first, I stood in the kitchen and shovelled! By the time I had cleared around the back door, the patio table disappeared completely.

You should always make sure you can get through all of your doors. Here is my escape route.

It's also the most convenient route for checking the furnace vents - good thing I did - since dying of carbon monoxide poisoning is really no fun. The dryer vent and another air intake were somewhere on the other side of the window well but I negotiated my way over and found them.

When you're done shovelling, your pant legs are wet and the floor is a mess but the exercise and fresh air feel good.

Images

Photos from the iPad of @kansuze in snowy Ottawa, Canada.

@kansuze