COLD PHOTOS!

     Yesterday I was talking out loud to myself about some photos for today. Some of you heard me and said you were looking forward to some photos. So what can I do even if it's still very cold. Why of course , take some photos.

     So here are some out of focus, poorly composed photos of cold.

                  A minus 28 C sunset

                 A very white and cold city park

                  Very bright new snow

                  Pile of snow from snow removal

                  Lots of vapor coming from chimneys. Houses are heated with gas and when the furnace runs water vapor used in the burning is vented. As a result our houses are very dry in winter unless we have a humidifier.

                 Using the vapor pattern I know the direction of the wind , approximate wind speed and air pressure. 

                 Cold western sky

                  Bright early morning sunlight on houses across the street

                  Sun rise 

       At 11:25 it was minus 25 C and felt like minus 39 C. The wind was 28 kmh gusting to 39

      At 2:00 Pm it was minus 24 with a wind of 25 kmh and gusting to 42.

     So it was cold out there. My camera froze up and it wouldn't focus any more.

IT'S COLD!

          We are in another nasty cold spell. It's not record breaking cold just good old fashioned cold. Now at 8:30 PM it's minus 28 C (minus 18 F). We are looking at a low of minus 33 C. 

         We have two more days of very cold and then some warmer weather for a few days. Then it gets cold again. 

        There's been some snow with the cold so I've been outside shoveling. It's not too bad to be outside if you have the proper clothing on. 

        It's been mostly clear so I'm going to get out tomorrow for a few photos. 

THE COLD FRONT HAS ARRIVED

          Yesterday I gave you our dismal weather forecast for the next seven days. So today was our  first day of a long cold spell. We had about 5 cm of snow overnight with lots of wind.

          So when I went out to shovel today,  there was no snow in some places and 20 cm in other places. The wind had drifted the snow into snow banks. 

          So at minus 17 C I shoveled my sidewalks and driveway. And then I shoveled sidewalks for two neighbors. Then I cleaned out the paths to various things around my yard.

         Okay, you have to dress for the cold. First I found my "long johns". These are long legged underwear that go down to your ankles and then your socks fit over the bottom cuffs . Then I found my vest and fleece . Then my jacket went over these. So I dressed properly for the cold and I wasn't cold. 

         Pictures? No way. I don't like using a camera when it's this cold. My fingers soon get very cold and the battery seems to die very quickly when it's cold. 

        Tomorrow is going to be colder!

I DON'T LIKE THE WEATHER FORECAST

       For the next seven days we have a nasty weather forecast. 

       On five of the next seven days we have snow in the forecast. Now I don't really mind snow.

      Now the highs for the next seven days aren't nice . Here they are. Keep in mind that these are highs. Did I say that before.

         Dec . 17   minus 15 (6 F)

         Dec. 18    minus  20 (minus 4 F)

         Dec. 19    minus 24 (minus 6 F)

         Dec. 20     minus 28 (minus 20 F) 

         Dec. 21     minus 29 (minus 21 F)

         Dec.22      minus 22 (minus 8)

         Dec. 23     Minus 14 (4 F)

      Now the usual questions that are asked about these temperatures. 

      They are not close to record lows. It is normal  get this cold but not often. 

      We get used to these temperatures and go about our business. 

      North American has had some brutal weather in December. 

I'M STILL IN A DEEP FREEZE

  It's still very cold here ...minus 32 this morning. I took the photo about 8:30 this morning when you see a combination of ice fog and other crap in the air. 

       All comments on the last post were interesting. I usually reply to the comments that come on the first day the piece was posted. Many comments came later and I will reply to some here. 

      Baili who lives in Pakistan is worried about these low temperatures. Well, I wouldn't want her high temperatures of 50 C in the summer. Even 25 C is hot to me.

     Debby checked to see if I wasn't frozen stiff. It's not such a funny comment. People do freeze to death. 

     Tabor  wonders if I worry about my furnace not working. Yes I do worry about a heating malfunction. It happened a few years ago when the thermostat died. It happened last week to Far Side.

   Yorkshire Pudding thinks Canadians are tough. Most of it is a state of mind and then we have to be smart when comes to clothing and all activities .

     John from John's Island found a weather warning for my town. It's something that I'd never seen before and warned of the danger we face. 

    What I come away with when we discuss temperatures is that it's all relative. We can get used to temperatures if we have a good attitude. We have many new immigrants here from Africa and Asia. They seem to have no problem with our weather. They drive their cars in winter driving conditions as well as anybody else. The Supervisor I had when I had a paper route was from the Phillipines. He had to make sure that all the cry baby carriers got out and if they didn't he delivered the route. Not ever any complaints from him about the cold. I suppose I could get used to Baili's extreme temperatures but I would have learn  few things.

WINTER COLD SPELL

    We are in the tenth day of a winter cold spell. Our days have had highs of minus 25-25 C (minus 12-15 F) and nights of minus 30 - 35 C ( minus 25 -30 F). So I've been kind of a sissy and stayed inside most of the time.

    I got thinking about when we were little kids. We played outside most of the time in the winter. I was born in the late 30's and my young childhood was in the early forties. We didn't have much for toys. I remember a set of wooden blocks. So most of the time we played outside. The snow was our toys. There were large snow drifts . We could make tunnels, snow houses, slide down the slopes, jump off high banks or just throw snow at each other. I'm sure Mom was happy to have two little guys play outside instead of being under her feet in a very small house.

    We played for hours before we went in the house. Now I remember the clothes we wore. Fleece lined underwear. This was a suit like coveralls and it was very warm. There was a convenient opening at the back for elimination! We wore two sets of pants. We had felt boots with what was called an overshoe. ...very warm. Felt boots were boots that were made completely of felt. Mom bought the underwear and felt boots. The other clothing came in what we called parcels. People sent us clothing.
  
    Here we were probably 2 and 3.

    My point is that we played outside for hours most days.

    Now I was in the Arctic for my mid twenties. We didn't have cars so walked wherever we wanted to go. I  was outdoors when I was free. Again, I had proper clothing. I had a parka made by a local Eskimo woman. It was warm with three layers. There was an outside shell for wind. A middle layer for insulation and an inside layer for lining. And don't forget the trusty fleece lined underwear. I had kamiks with duffel liners. I don't remember being cold. We snow shoed many miles and hours.

    A nice sweater my Mom made.

    This is the parka I wore in the Arctic.

  
     Skiing out my back door.

   Up until 15 years ago I did lots of cross country skiing. Clothing had become somewhat high tech. We skied hard enough to keep warm. Ruby always had a thermometer on her back back. I remember one morning it was minus 27 F. 

    Well , this week I couldn't find my fleece lined underwear. Couldn't find my felt boots. My kamiks had been sold in the summer. I think I'm going to have to suck it up, get out there and enjoy myself and forget that I'm an old man!