Going For A Pleasant Winter Walk

We are having another peculiar winter time period now, aren't we? The climate is so bizarre everywhere.  That's an earlier time-frame pic of me in my winter outfit for which I geared up assuming lots of snow this winter.

 

Sure it is not completely warm outside, but really we have not had the horrific experience in very low temperatures so far that we've had in the past.  Why, my wife and I were able on January 7th to go out for a nice walk in the afternoon without freezing to death. I do admit however that we were not as long outside as we normally were when walking in the area in the warmer months, but we still did have a good one.

 

In fact, my son, wife and I were out even earlier today doing some shopping. The temperature today did not prevent that from happening. My son and I around noon went out for a stroll and then my wife and I did so later on too to go to the nearby Library. 

We really have had so little in snowfalls that I am enjoying this winter so far. In other years, we've had extremely low temperatures and big snowfalls and storms by now. I can recall how many times we've had to clean driveway when living in our previous home, so that we could move our car from the garage to enter into the street and then return.  Since we were sharing a driveway with neighbours, we split on the cost of a snowplowing company, but sometimes if there wasn't a substantial amount, it didn't make sense for them to come.  There were also other times when they had numerous  clients and were backed up, so it was important to get the snow shovelled/plowed as best as we could to go to appointments. This did take a toll on my body a bit, especially my back because of standing outside in the cold for long periods of time.   

With our move to Tecumseh, it feels strange sometimes not getting out my snow blower that I had used in the past.  However, I am liking this new concept of maintenance-free living. My daughter insisted this was the way to go, even though for a short period of time, I was insistent on just downsizing to a smaller house. It is a nice luxury being in a townhouse condo where all the outside duties are included with the monthly fees. Goodbye snowplow, goodbye lawnmower!  

I have always been very fascinated with weather. Maybe a little too involved, but it is a great interest of mine that not a lot of people know about. I like tracking weather patterns. We have a joke at home that if I didn't go to law school to become a lawyer, I probably would have been a meteorologist.  

Some are predicting a relatively warm winter this year, with some fluctuating temperatures and then a burst of cold winter weather.  It changes all the time, so I am interested in what will actually occur and if I should be wearing t-shirts or heavy sweaters.  This was an interesting prediction article:    

"Don’t write off winter yet.  

For months, a strong El Niño has had weather experts predicting a mild winter but The Weather Network strayed from the pack Tuesday by saying in its seasonal forecast to expect a mild start but a frigid end for winter. Windsor-Essex and southern Ontario should expect to see classic winter weather especially by February, network meteorologist Doug Gillham said Tuesday.  

“We expect a milder winter than the past two years. That’s the good news that a lot of people are excited about,” Gillham said.  

“We’re different than some of the other forecasts out there. While we think it’s going to be milder, we don’t think you can write this winter off completely as a mild winter from start to finish.” (Sharon Hill, Windsor Star December 1, 2015  http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/dont-write-off-winter-yet-says-the-weather-network   )  

Anyway, I think that is all I'm going to write about respect to weather and our Condo snow cleaning because I have not yet seen so far a big snowfall. I hope that if we do get a large amount, our condo corporation will have the appropriate team ready to handle the tasks effectively. I will probably go outside to take pictures of all the hard workers and machinery that they will use!  

I am now going to sit back and read for a while, as my wife makes me a warm cup of milk; my favourite beverage of choice to drink and very healthy to keep my bones nice and strong.  

This is the kind of winter I could really come to enjoy.