Cold enough for you recently?
I’m from the Great White North and these cold, sunny days remind me of winters in North Bay and Val D’Or, except I don’t remember the wind being quite so bad up north. Then again, we had trees to serve as wind breaks. . .
One reason I love it in Chatham-Kent is the climate. As I’m getting older, I appreciate milder winters. The last two, in the heart of global warming, have been chilly . . . and snowy.
If I wanted these conditions, I could have stayed in the Kawartha Lakes.
Chatham Mazda from Chatham Voice on Vimeo.
Something I notice in C-K, however, is the humidity. It takes a lot of getting used to in the summer, but it creeps into play in the winter as well.
A day of -4C here can feel colder than a sunny -10C afternoon, as there is so much humidity in the air on the warmer day, the chill seems to pass right through your clothing.
And, man, does it ever work over my hip. Some folks with arthritis say they can tell when it’s going to rain because at least one arthritic joint acts up beforehand. I haven’t figured out such precognizance just yet, but I have finally clued into why my hip bugs me more on some winter days than others (not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to health).
As I type this, it’s frigging cold outside. And that wind is whipping around. Even I don’t really want to barbecue in this weather, although I do just to shake my tong-clutching fist to the heavens.
Then there’s all the shoveling in recent days. Again, that’s something we thought we’ve moved away from years ago.
I must break out the leaf blower the next time we get a powdering to see how that works. I know it will fail in heavy snow, but the small stuff when it’s cold is in for a test. The neighbours might think I’ve lost it, confusing my seasons, but I’m giving them fair warning in this column. Now, if you see me blowing the snow with the leaf blower while wearing a pair of shorts, call the guys with the butterfly nets.
What we here in Chatham-Kent need is a little February warm up. We’ve had the unseasonably cold temperatures – to the point where average temperatures feel downright balmy to us – so we’re due for some nice 10C days. Heck, I’d take 5C and some wind to attack all that snow. We don’t want a massive melt, just a nice clearing effect.
And then no more cold days, just seasonal, please.
Is that too much to ask? I think you already know the answer…
