Yes, it's still raining lightly in our area but it will likely be mixed with snow by the middle of the week. And, the overnight low temperatures will be at the freezing point. So, unless you like to buy a new rain gauge every spring, it's time to take yours down for winter storage. Take it from someone who has occasionally left his up too long in the fall and seen the inevitable crack in the plastic caused by freezing.
Yes, there's even a snowfall warning for parts of central Manitoba tonight. The line of snow will, as it does every year, creep slowly southwards. Manitobans know that snow that falls after Halloween usually stays. Every parent who has slowly followed his child around the neighborhood, trick or treating, knows what slush does to summer footwear and cold feet.
Do you get the feeling that I'm dreading the onset of winter? Well, yes and no. I much prefer spring and fall in the prairies to any other season. Summer is great, too, if it doesn't get too hot or the mosquitoes aren't too bad. But, to brace my self for the coming cold, I have just looked at the past winter's photographs of a few of my Flickr contacts. I was heartened and inspired by many of the photos that I viewed. Birds at the winter feeder, hoar frost on the trees, snow drifts that looked like whipped cream, sun dogs, red berries on trees and shrubs, foot prints in the snow, scenes of Christmas cheer, and so on (I quickly skipped over the nasty shots of cars buried in snow, icy sidewalks and roads, and blizzards).
I guess every season (as every day) is what you make of it. It all boils down to having the right attitude. So, look out winter, here I come!
Okay until we have that first blizzard and survive there is always a huge reluctance to accept winter anywhere in our dear land! Once we become accustomed to boots, layers, gloves, hats and scrapping our cars the thought is a huge drag. Yes I too prefer summer- fall is okay, spring is better because it comes after winter. The up side- you can get some great winter shots!
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