Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

Are We Still in Alberta?

Snowed In - November has been a month for weather on Vancouver Island and quite a 'howdy do' for us newbies. We've been burning up firewood faster than we can replace it! (Compare this photo to the one a couple of posts down, taken only a couple of weeks ago).

To add yet another layer of complexity in our adjustments to a rural lifestyle, Mother Nature decided that a dump of snow would round out an active month of weather. Geez ... we've seen it all this month. Twenty five millimeters of rain on the 5th, followed by record high temperatures on the 6th and 7th (16°C or 61°F). Mid-month, a rain/wind storm came ripping through that downed trees, closed highways and created flooding in some areas. Recently, we've had several days of snow and cold, reminding everyone who rules the show.

We're told that this weather is unusual and hoping that folks are right. From our perspective, we've had more snow here in "the-most-moderate-climate-in-all-of-Canada", than we did in Edmonton, Alberta last year (we had a brown Christmas). Apparently, the normal flow of warmer coastal air has been replaced by a blast of cold air from the Yukon (which has been experiencing some of the coldest temperatures on the planet, the past couple of weeks).

All we know is that we're now under a pile of snow, which makes it hard to replace the wood we're using and makes it difficult to do all those outdoor projects we have on the agenda. Topping things off, the pump from the house has failed twice (fortunately, both times it was easily fixed) and we've experienced three LONG power outages (> 2 hours) and a bunch of OFF/ON power hiccups. Life in the country, eh? What a change!!

We're told that this kind of weather is more generally reserved for December and January. Our response: "You mean there's MORE coming?"

"We moved from Alberta to get AWAY from the snow!"

Friends and relatives living in the United States and around the World aren't too sympathetic. The general response, "You DO live in Canada. What do you expect?"

Well, we didn't expect polar bears for (U.S.) Thanksgiving!

As proof that this type of snow is unusual, the nearby town of Ladysmith has (for the first time that the 20-year event has been run) canceled the "Light Up" event, associated with the town's renown "Festival of Lights".

Scott's folks, living in California, will be visiting for Christmas. They're worried about all the snow. Our advice, "Bring warm clothes!" (and maybe some extra wood)!