Mild January

Since Margarit had her shoulder replacement surgery back on January 9th we have taken things pretty easy.  The weather has been really mild the past couple of weeks, and all the snow that we got back in December is really settling down.  In fact day time high temperatures have been above freezing for days on end, with some days seeing high temperatures approaching double digits.

Officially we were told that Edmonton received 72cm of snow in December.  This works out to a little over 28 inches.  I call bullshit on that one, as we only got about half that amount at our place.  I understand that there was some melting and settling and drifting, but still...!!!  I think the city uses that statistic as justification for their shitty snow removal services.  Despite the fact that significant melting has occurred, they are still farting around with snow removal.  I agree that it is important on the main roadways.  But the side streets that they are now attempting to clear are not necessary.  It is a waste of time and money and just makes parking on the streets virtually impossible.  All they really need to do is run a plow through and smooth out the ruts.  But there are too many whiners that all bitch and complain that more needs to be done.  No doubt these are the same whiners that will complain when the next tax bill arrives.

The recent mild temperatures have turned everything to a skating rink.  The snow is all glazed and crusted over and walking around can be treacherous.  The stores are all sold out of ice melt and snow shovels and scrapers.  Margarit has to be particularly careful as she can not afford a fall onto her recently repaired shoulder.

We had a belated family Christmas dinner with my brothers and their families on January 17th.  All of the cousins managed to attend and it was the first time that everyone got together in quite some time.  We had the dinner at my Mom's place, and this will almost certainly be the last time there as the house is up for sale and Mom now lives in long term care.

The next day I took Margarit out to Nordegg.  She is not even allowed to drive for six weeks so the girls and I have been looking after all the household chores.  I figure she will be less inclined to try to do something out at the cottage, and hopefully will just rest and do her strength exercises.  In contrast to the city, there is virtually no snow out at Nordegg.  Nordegg received much less to begin with, and has experienced the same mild temperatures in recent weeks.  While there is still at least a foot on the ground back in Edmonton, there is nothing in Nordegg save for a few patches in shady spots.  Hopefully we receive a bunch of snow over the next couple of months to mitigate the risk of spring forest fires.

These two shots were taken in our back yard in the city, just a couple days ago.  Helena's snow man, and his snow dog, are melting and falling over as a result of the mild temperatures.