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That time is coming again, folks. Winter is Coming, and with it the familiar mix of beauty, inconvenience, and the kind of treachery only an Alberta chinook can undo.
Pretty soon the sidewalk in front of your house — that narrow strip we all share — will turn into a skating rink unless we do something about it. The goal is simple: get it down to dry pavement so the mail carrier, the kids heading to school, the dog-walkers, and that older couple two doors down don’t end up on their backsides with a broken wrist.
I used to think the shopping-cart test revealed everything you needed to know about a person. Turns out shoveling your walk is the grown-up version, with higher stakes. Returning a cart is easy. Clearing a sidewalk when it’s minus twenty and your snow blower is coughing its last breath? That’s real work. And some of us simply can’t do it — age, injury, travel, money, life. Totally understood.
But for those of us who can, even a half hour with a shovel keeps the whole block safer and friendlier. It means the paramedics don’t have to haul someone away from in front of your house. It means Mrs. Henderson doesn’t have to tiptoe in the street because the sidewalk’s an ice sheet. It means we all get to live in a neighbourhood that quietly says: we look out for each other here.
So when the snow flies, let’s grab the shovel, clear our stretch, and—if you’ve got it in you—give the neighbour’s corner a quick pass if they’re away or hurting. Those small, extra gestures are what make winter survivable and community real.
Winter is Coming. Let’s not let it win—and let’s make our block somewhere worth walking.
I know what you’re thinking. “Fascinating subject Arb, do tell us more!”
Okay, perhaps not as gripping the other newsy bits we we have around here but none the less a subject that shouldn’t be casually swept aside. Living in Alberta means that for three to five months of the year, snow will be on the ground. The lovely first fall of snow marks the official end of mosquito season and the transition to having ‘exposed flesh stick uncomfortably to metal season’. Some might balk at all the freezing rain, sleet and snow – but really – it isn’t that bad.
One of the civic expectations of snowy Edmontonian existence is keeping the public sidewalk in front of your place of residence clear of snow and ice. Our civic authorities mandate that from the time of the last snow event forty-eight hours are given in which to clear your walks in order to make them safe for people to walk on.
Sound reasonable?
Seems workable to me and thus after each snow I make my rounds with my trusty shovel and ice-scraper. My goal is to get down to the concrete to ensure a safe and solid footing for all those who would come to see me, or merely have to sojourn past my property. For my work to be done, my walks need to pass the inappropriate winter footwear test. If I can confidently make my way in my sandals –
Then, and only then, my job is done. :)
It takes some time and work, let me assure you. Many factors are working against you in the valiant quest for clean sidewalks it is here my arch nemesis must be named.
Freezing Rain.
A glossy, slippery, unchippable horror that can only be bested by the most potent weapon in my winter arsenal.
Glorious sidewalk-salt. That being said, one must consider the bitter-salty implications of using this dread weapon on icy sidewalks. Salt is not conducive to the growing and maintenance of grass or anything else organic for that matter.
Observe.
The battle for clean sidewalks is necessarily a delicate balance. A fateful alchemy of dedication, perseverance, and Na Cl. It is a fine line that must be walked during snow-season in Alberta.
I think so much at once kinda sucks. 20cm and still accumulating…
The view from my front window.
That friends, is my garage featuring an intrepid thermometer that is presently losing the legibility battle.
Ah, the first winter storm of the season. This is the view from the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Building at the University of Alberta.
I’m not a a huge fan of snow, but I’m trying, I really am. For instance, you don’t get dinosaurs in the summer or fall…
It is a start I suppose.
Good fortune smiles on the prairies as of late. Warm weather, yes folks, a mighty +5 degrees centigrade with similar temperatures for a whole week! It has led to a snow condition when driving which we like to refer to as ‘soupy oatmeal’. So as opposed to sliding around on ice, now we slid around on a mushy glorpy mess of snow, salt and dirt. Oh how lovely it all is!
Sadly, I actually mean it. Oatmeal snow is one of the first signs of spring here in the great white north. It is nothing but a fools hope though as it is January, and I can guarantee that we will return to Olde Man Winter’s icy embrace before the upcoming week is done (-30 is so refreshing after unseasonably warm weather).
I mention the warm weather because it also brings about another winter activity that brings me much joy. Namely, the removal of the packed down snow and ice that has been accumulating over the winter. It has been warm enough that the snow in the front service lane is coming up in satisfyingly big chunks. Over the last couple of days I have managed to clean out the all of the service lane in front of our house. There is something inherently pleasing about clearing away all that mess and see the bare concrete underneath.
It is a truth of urban dwelling, bare concrete = spring. Clearing the packed snow has made me much more happy that it should, but what the heck, it is good exercise and maybe even a little community minded as no one will get stuck in front of my house (at least until it starts snowing again).
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
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