No shorts or anything, but much better than minus 24, or even minus 14. Got off early yesterday and was able to go for a longish walk in the river valley. Today, normal release time but ventured into the river valley anyway. It was overcast, so pretty dim, and within twenty minutes, pretty damn dark. I won’t do that again, but no harm done, and the walk was completely enjoyable. Managed to fall in behind a group of three people, so used them as my unofficial security detail as I wandered in and around the dark paths of Rossdale and Mill Creek.
Serious muck on the streets, but the woods are still pristine. I think. It was hard to see.
Snow...your days are numbered. Only 150 days left!
Improvement! A big thirty-five minutes out in the elements, and my skin did not slough off, nor was there any blackening of my extremities. The temperature is a balmy minus 14 which is ten degrees warmer than it was yesterday. Still, it was a short walk. Longer tomorrow. Longer still on Friday, as the temperature rises.
It was very cheering to see the sun, even if it was only for a few minutes. I should really leave my office at noon.
At the time of my departure from work, it was -24C, so no walk and barely any exposure to the nostril-slamming temperatures, other than a graceless sprint over to the local transit establishment. No walk tomorrow either, it’s supposed to be even colder! No problem, I’ll just fire up the 70’s TV Christmas episodes I downloaded on to my iPod Touch this weekend, and spend a little quality time with Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart in the warmth and relative comfort of the bus. At least my mascara will stay on my eyelashes.
Just a quick note: the federal government said no to Edmonton’s funding request for the 2017 Expo bid. I am stupidly happy about this, and it’s not often Stephen Harper and company make me happy. Yes, it would have been fantastic to get some much needed infrastructure money, and a few new mascots (I suppose), but the Expo 2017 bid is the dirty little secret behind the Southeast Edmonton LRT expansion route through the river valley. Without the Expo, and the proposed Expo pavilion near the Muttart Conservatory, maybe the city will reconsider gouging into Louise McKinney Park, taking the the lovely Cloverdale Pedestrian Bridge with it, not to mention all the heartbreaking, irreparable damage that will be done to a significant chunk of the much lauded but hypocritically appreciated river valley. Fingers crossed. I am not anti-LRT, far from it. Just anti-dumb ass.
5:30 PM/-24C Wind-chill…well, say goodbye to your sticky-out parts
And I mean that in every sense of the word. It’s surprisingly cold, and it’s beautiful.
Rolled out of bed this morning and into a -16C snowscape. Well, not exactly, but I did go for a walk about an hour after I awoke, around 9:00 am. Last Sunday, it was pouring rain. I walked in that too, but as much as I enjoy a wet autumn landscape, I can think of nothing that fills me with more visual pleasure than a snowy woodland trail. I really had to layer up to withstand the chill, but after five or so minutes, I was warm and almost giddy from the exceptionally gorgeous scenery. Also, after a week of short, dark walks home from work, just being out in the sun, even in it’s diffused state, was like a dump of serotonin into my bloodstream.
Mill Creek is frozen over, but I could still hear bubbling water under the ice. Other than a few woodpeckers, this was the only sound. So peaceful, until I started walking over the snow-covered wooden bridge, and then it sounded like my boots were taking big gulps of the snow with every step. I squeaked and crunched my way through Mill Creek, and then over to the Muttart, where the ski hill was in a cloud of fog from the snow-makers. Walked as far as the Cloverdale Pedestrian Bridge because I wanted to check out the pancake situation on the river, but no pancakes, just an entirely new and much narrower snowy shoreline, with a single break of cold, dark water swirling with ice fog. Didn’t see any seagulls, but the woods were full of chickadees and magpies. Next time, I’ll bring some seed.
Normally, I would have continued on to the other side of the river, but my thighs started to feel like blocks of wood, which was probably not a good thing. Thermal leggings are OK, but -16C is pushing it, and my legs are the only part of my body that I never layer, other than a strip of cheek, the bridge of my nose, and a pair of watery eyes. It’s amazing I could move at all, but I managed to fit in a fairly vigorous 80 minute walk, wooden thighs and all.
Snow in Edmonton? Surely you jest...
Next week I’ll start taking the long way home. I feel like I’ve acclimatized now, sort of. I’ve put away my sandals, and made peace with the inevitability of hat hair. Tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be very cold, but after that, the temperature is rising to about -6C, which is perfect winter walking weather. Might even lose a few layers. Hopefully this burst of serotonin will last until then.
That’s pretty much it. Nothing more to say, really. A quick scuttle home, 25 minutes total. My bits and pieces are not yet acclimatized. Mitts, boots, scarf, snood, turtleneck, all wrapped in thick layer of vodka, and I was still cold.
A bit of snow today. Gateway flakes for what’s to come, apparently. FSM help us all.
I just came back from what I think might be my last snow-free walk of the year. Yeah, it was raining the entire
The river, taken yesterday. No camera today, I've learned my lesson.
time, but I didn’t mind at all. I was warm inside my fleece and rain jacket, and the air was just brilliant. Fresh and deeply fragrant with the smell of wet earth, something I miss terribly in the dead of winter. It’s this smell, or absence of it, which often necessitates a visit to the Muttart in January, or failing that, a face-first into one of my potted plants. Winter is scentless, although I occasionally smell wieners when there is an inversion. Today, however, this fourth and last day of my long weekend, was a treat, albeit a soggy treat, for the senses. Could’ve used a hat, though.
wandered in and around the dark paths of Rossdale and Mill Creek.
