January 26, 2005
The Zen of snow shovelling
It's snowed quite a bit the past couple of weeks in Ottawa. Nothing like the 120 cm of snow in PEI or other places in Atlantic Canada, but almost every day I've had to clear off an inch or three. It hasn't been the nasty, wet, heavy stuff -- the snow has been dry, light, and a little bit granular.
It's actually rather pleasant to shovel this type of snow in the evening. The street lights reflect beautifully off the snow, making it sparkle, and the freshly fallen, loosely-packed snow is an excellent absorber of sound, so there is an air of tranquility about the whole thing, especially if you're the only one out there shovelling.
Alas, even peaceful experiences can get repetitive after awhile. I hadn't realized how often we had been getting snow until last night, when I found myself wishing that the weather would take a break for a few days. But I can't really complain -- it's generally warmer when it's snowing, and it could be wet snow falling, or the dreaded freezing rain. So I finished off the driveway and enjoyed the quiet of the night.
Posted by Isaac at January 26, 2005 10:27 PM