Yes, I understand mild is a relative term

We’ve been having a relatively mild Great White North winter this year.  Very few subzero temps, and very little snow.  Some of us are happy, as it makes commuting to school much easier, others have been a bit cranky because they bought fancy new snowshoes and have only been able to caress them longingly before hanging them in the front airlock.*

Sunday through Monday we got a rather decent snowfall and our accumulation is now pushing winky high to a long-backed, short-legged dog.  I can say this with certainty as I luckily have such a creature.  I brought my camera out this morning to document the measurement, however, between wearing extremely bulky gloves, the lag on my shutter and Rupert’s desire to do his business quickly and get back in the house this is the best I could manage:

Amazing how that dog can poop like the wind in the wind, but then it must really suck to have to do one’s business under such conditions.  So for those of you who aren’t good at spotting the supersonic invisible dog, I’ve Photoshopped the photo just a bit to help you, my dear readers, fully realize the scene:

Good boy Rupert!  Isn’t he the cutest dog in the whole world?

But I digress.  This promising winter weather development has put several members of the Jones household in a flutter.  Yesterday Leif and the Spud apparently went sledding for well over an hour, and when I got home I was greeted by this:

Incontrovertible evidence that winter outdoor sports were highly anticipated.  On my dining room table non the less.

Winter is a very beautiful season in the Great White North.  Which is good, because real winter can last upwards of 6 months.  Unfortunately, some of us need to be studying Spanish, taking a biology test and annotating our writing class reading today.  *Sigh*  No rest or winter frolicking for the wicked I’m afraid.

TTFN.

*Airlock in our family means one of two hallways to the outside which are sealed off from the rest of the house by doors.  Airlocks not only help keep the warm air in and cold air out when coming and going in the winter, but they make awesome extra freezer space.  On the down side, you really want to remember to bring your coat and boots inside the house, as putting on a frozen nylon sleeved coat which has been essentially hanging in a freezer is somewhat less than enjoyable.  Some call it bracing.  I call it by a slew of colorful explicatives we will leave to your imagination.