It was the afternoon of 14 December, -7C

Our 30 cm snowfall

Here is our 30 cm snowfall as seen this morning, several days after it fell. Soon the city workers will be out there plouging and trucking away the snow; it's been worse than this, one year we had so much snow that it was difficult for the city to find a place to dump the snow. It's also getting colder over the next few days, perhaps -20 C cold. Still, there is only seven weeks of winter left, the end is in sight, and it hasn't been all that bad a winter so far.

The garden in fall

The garden in fall is different than the garden in summer, in July, when the garden is at its best, flowers, hot days, bright sunlight, shade under the apple tree, a slight breeze, birds at the bird bath, lush grass. There is a special quality to a garden in fall, not a "fall garden", no one plants a garden for the fall. There is now a calm, the flowers have mostly died and only a few dead flowers and leaves remain; no new flowers until next spring or summer. It is a cliche, but there is a meditative calm to the garden now even though there is still fall work to be done, rake leaves, move a few perennials, tidy up the flower beds, prepare the garden for winter and for next spring, say goodbye. You sit there in the garden, it is the remnants of what was there a month ago, no longer lush, no longer young, it the seasonal old age of the garden and next will be the quiescence and conclusion of things which is winter.

These photos taken on 30 September 2022.

It's -25 C, feels like -32 . . .

Snow clearing (the dump trucks, snowblowers, sidewalk cleaners have already passed) in progress on what looks like a nice winter day, but it's -25 C and feels much colder. We are breaking records for cold weather, not something any of us want. 

View from our front door.