Tag Archives: Winter
First Snow
“Take your boots back to Canada,” my wife told me in November. “You are never going to use them here.” The winter boots are an ongoing joke. I bought them in the fall of 2017, making sure I was prepared for the winter all my German friends assured me was coming. Except it didn’t. Throughout […]
Welcome To Winter
It is official. Winter starts today, just as this post is being published. I timed it that way. The forecast high of two doesn’t seem overly wintery. However, there is snow on the way, perhaps ten centimetres on Christmas Eve. That does seem like Winter. Not that the Winter Solstice means much in terms of […]
Memories of Winter
I’m back in Germany, where if there was a winter of 2019-20 it is long gone. It was minus nine Celsius when we boarded the plane in Ottawa, plus 13 when we arrived in Basel Switzerland (the closest airport) too many hours later. Winter was late arriving in Canada – I was wondering at […]
Anticipation
Fresh snow, sunshine and snowshoes – all you need for a fun winter’s day. In my younger days I had my own snowshoes, the more traditional wooden kind with rawhide webbing and lamp-wick bindings. We wore soft mukluks, not hard winter boots that would hurt the webbing. Those old snowshoes were wider than these […]
First Snow
Woke up to this scene Wednesday morning. A smattering of snow had fallen overnight. I knew it was a possibility at this time of year, but must admit I hadn’t been checking the forecast, so it took me a little by surprise. I expected it all to melt during the day, but some of it […]
It Was Cold Out There
It suddenly occurred to me as I sat there: I haven’t been this cold in years! Southern Germany has mild winters. The beginning of November is still practically summer. In Sulzburg today it is 16 Celsius. In Ottawa it is 1. Which is why today’s post is later than usual – I needed time to […]
Signs of Winter
Do you know what you are seeing in the picture? Most likely not, unless you are Canadian. It is a national tradition, a fall rite of passage. A sure sign of changing seasons. In my neighbourhood and across the country, as October blends into November, the boards are dropped off in the parks and […]
Signs of Spring
My friends in Canada keep posting pictures of snow on their Facebook pages. And with Spring about to begin, I heard the temperature there was -10 Celsius. So I have been reluctant to tell them there is no winter in Sulzburg. They had record snowfall, we had no snowfall. I have these very nice new […]
Winter Wonderland
I am a Canadian. Talking about the weather is our national pastime. Especially in winter. In my small corner of Germany though there doesn’t seem to be the same incentive. There is no winter here, though I have trouble convincing Germans of that. Like Canadians, they love to talk about winter weather. Last winter I […]
I Don’t Believe In Winter
Last winter everyone assured me that snow and cold was on the way. Yet my winter boots were never taken out of the box they came in. I realize that southern Germany is not as cold as the north, but I was told it was just a matter of time until the big storm came. […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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