Home in Winter

[bjarvis]

It was raining when I crawled out of bed this morning. With the exception of a teasing two minute flurry last week, I haven't seen snow on the ground since last December, and even then it only lasted two days before melting away.

This is what I miss:


Longtime friend Edward snapped this shot of Lake Timiskaming (New Liskeard, ON) earlier this month.

It isn't winter if the water is liquid.

Comments

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

I miss water, period. The last measurable rainfall was October 9.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

You win. :-)

[madknits.livejournal.com]

I love New England. We have snow. We have water. We have mountains, forests, rocky beaches, sandy beaches, even a desert up in Maine. But the snow this year has been sparse. Which might not be a bad thing, since our much vaunted ability to drive in the snow has been seriously compromised by all the students in the area who have never seen snow before.

I still want to escape to Canada, though.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

As much as I miss the snow, I don't particularly miss shovelling it.

On the other hand, I worry that the lack of snow over significant areas of the US and southern Canada may have a profound impact on the water table and fresh water supply for many areas.

I still want to escape to Canada, though.

Where's Harriet Tubman when you need here?

[madknits.livejournal.com]

The years when we have the worst drought problems are the ones when we don't have enough snow. Whether we call it climate change or global warming, the weather is changing, and my guess is that what are coastal areas are going to be under water (goodbye, Boston, New Orleans, New York, Vancouver, San Francisco (who gives a rat's ass about Los Angeles?)), and prime farming areas are going to become deserts. A friend did her Peace Corps work in Kiribus, formerly the Gilbert Islands, and the highest land there is about 4 feet above sea level. They are very concerned about global warming.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

I wonder... has anyone done any studies about new farm lands which would become available? The prairies would be baked into cheap ceramics but I wonder about the viability of would-be farmland further north if the growing season was long enough.

The area in which I grew up had too short a growing season for, oh, just about everything but had the right soil for most cereal crops. If the season was just another 30-45 days longer, perhaps we'd have new breadbasket regions.

Purely idle speculation on my part.

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

You and me both.

[urbear]

I don't miss the snow at all. I remember winters when there was some question whether carbon dioxide would remain in a non-solid state, never mind water. I like the idea of being able to forget my hat and gloves at home and surviving the experience. I guess I'm just a BAD Canadian (or maybe just a Vancouverite!).

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Not a bad Canadian really, perhaps just one who has temporarily lost his way. :-)

As much as I miss having a real winter, I have to seriously wonder if I could hack it anymore. Living in the (comparatively) tropical climate of the US mid-Atlantic region has made me a little soft. On the other hand, I only survive summers here by hiding in my basement until late September; living any further south would be potentially lethal.

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

Texas summers kill me...after 20 years I never got used to them.

[urbear]

That's why God created central air conditioning.

It's not like summers are cold in most of Canada either. Montreal summers can be brutal.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

True, but summers in Ontario were unbearable for a relatively short period of the year, perhaps a month. In DC, it's ugly (IMHO) June through September.

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

Since when are you a Canadian at all? :)

[urbear]

Born and raised in Montréal, been living in Boston for 12 years. Wanna see my passport (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)?

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

I knew there was a reason I've always had the hots for you! :) Sure, I'd look at your passport. Anything else you wanna show me?

[urbear]

The hots for me? Always? Really?

Hmmm. This bears discussion.

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

uh huh...you might not remember me, but you were at IBR a few years ago and we met at Dim Sum.

Other details can go offline, my email address is in my livejournal info page. :)

[urbear]

No, it's not. :(

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

Strange, it displayed it on my user info page, but it was "mangled." Well anyway, mine's ramsjb at yahoo.

[gingy.livejournal.com]

Here's home in fall for me:



Back Bay in Yellowknife, last September 30th.

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

Is that downtown?

[gingy.livejournal.com]

Nope.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Mooo! :-)

[moofedct.livejournal.com]

You're the second Canadian who has moo'd at me in the last two days. I'm sensing a trend here...

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

that's really pretty.

[gingy.livejournal.com]

Yes, until you realize that it's September 30, and Spring doesn't come until May.