Most mornings one of the first things that I do is to check my Weatherunderground page which lists a number of cities where I have lived, visited, or have connections. Not surprisingly several of those spots are Canadian.
While the picture to the left is from Roanoke, Va where we have lived for twenty years, it reminds me of the those first cold mornings of fall in Canada.
In the last couple of weeks I have noticed some temperatures in Edmonton, Alberta down around thirty degrees Fahrenheit. I actually believe I saw one morning when it broke into the twenties.
While that is a little hard to imagine while you are still waking up to temperatures in the mid-seventies along the coast, it a little easier from our mountain outpost in Roanoke where the temperatures are already falling into the fifties at night.
Maybe Canada has become an early winter warning system for me. I know winter can come quickly and leave slowly in Canada. I still have memories of the huge snowfall we got one week in September along the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Our power was out for a week. I also know that Canadian cold temperatures migrate southward eventually.
I can remember a number of years when the snow came in late October when we were living on the farm north of Fredericton, New Brunswick. October snow is not too bad unless it stays until May when its welcome is long past worn out.
Those October snows were lessons that you did not forget. In the fall on the farm as soon as we started getting the first cold weather, we made a huge effort to find things that might have been left outside during the brief summer and bring them inside before they were lost for the winter under what sometimes became five to six feet of snow.
There was nothing like fishing for a chain under several inches of snow. I should have broken down and bought a metal detector early in my farm career.
While the anticipation of the first snows often brought panic, the actual first significant snow would often bring relief. Winter had arrived and with it came a different schedule and new responsibilities.
The snow also put an end to certain activities. When you're working many hours on a farm, that first snow almost becomes a vacation. it is a break to your current routine while you still haven't established a new winter set of chores.
When living in Canada, I never minded the snow. We knew what to expect, treated the snow with respect, and were in general prepared for whatever hit us. Having snow in Virginia or Maryland was whole different kettle of fish.
In the first place the snow was a poor substitute for Canadian snow. it often turned immediately to ice which as we all know is very hard to navigate. Many American cities and towns don't have the right equipment or enough of it to clean away snow in a timely fashion. That also means that if the snow did not turn to ice immediately, it little became ice after people drove on it all day before the plows were able to get to it.
In the southern states, few people have snow tires and even fewer people have had an opportunity to practice driving on snow. There's no shortage of snow covered parking lots or roads on which to practice in Canada. It is easy enough to practice a few u-turns and even end up in a snow packed ditch with little damage.
One winter in Roanoke, Virginia an early snow packed to two inches of ice. The neighborhood had to get together and chop a single tire track down our hill which is one half mile long. After that we equipped one of our vehicles with chains for all four wheels.
As much as I watch Canadian weather today for signs of what might be in store for us a few weeks down the road, I cannot remember paying much attention to American weather when I lived in Canada. I can remember a few Nor-easters that gave us fits, but other than that, I believe most Canadian weather is home grown. Perhaps once in a while a heat wave might bulge up the coast, but usually it is too long a trip.
I have to admire those Canadians who endure the cold and short summers year after year. While a coat is never far away from use in most of Canada, last winter I used one only a couple of times. I am hoping this year is like last year when I wore shorts to work for most of December. Only January and February required me to switch to bluejeans and then in the middle of March the strawberries were ripe.
If I could transport myself up to Canada, I might enjoy one of those first nice snows. However, I am relieved to have moved away from any threat of southern snow. It is not a weather condition that I enjoyed, and I suspect it would give most Canadians a severe headache.
Life on the coast moves forward just fine without snow to defne the seasons.
