Beautiful September 7. Hot weather. Pefect for slip and sliding and wading pool.
You never know around these parts what sort of a Fall you're going to have. Some years it is warm and even hot through the end of October. One November we were outside in the yard with no coats and short sleeves. Last year the snow started in October and pretty much didn't end until April.
None of the kids are big on being outside in the winter months and it can become a logistical nightmare trying to keep the coats, mitts, hats and boots on and then have them be able to coordinate through snow and ice.
We are so much more free in the warm months even if it is just to find a sunny spot outside on the patio swing.
Then this happened September 9. Heavy heavy wet snow coming down in buckets. The entire city's trees were desecrated by the weight. You could stand outside, and if you were smart no where near a tree and you would hear a crack and huge limbs would fall to the ground. Streets were blocked, power lines down, it was crazy. For the first time in forever the power was out in our house for twelve hours. That never happens. It also just so happens that the littlest man was sick and requiring daytime oxygen and much suctioning. Both are run by electricity. I have a bus charger for the suction machine so every half hour or so I was bundling the boy up and taking him to the bus for a suction. The oxygen company brought me out six cylinders of oxygen to get through the night but had no battery operated suction machine. Thank goodness the power came back on just before it got dark.
This is the bottom of my yard. The picture actually doesn't do the damage justice. The tree in the middle is now almost nothing after the aborist came to clean us up. I think the tree will totally have to come down. The tree to the far right in the picture is actually the neighbours that for years has hung into our yard. It too was breaking off and they since have chopped the whole thing down. It is sad how devastating the damage was to the trees all over the city. The trees in my yard have to be forty to fifty years old. Mother Nature went a little psycho in her pruning in my opinion.
Outside our fence there is the light rail transit tracks as well as the CP Rail tracks and beyond that is a six lane road. There is a shopping complex and hotel across that road. I used to joke that the hotel was our night light as it shone through the trees. Now with my tree gone and the neighbour having gone lumber jack looney on all hers we have a full on view of the restaurants and other retail establishments sitting there. The good news I suppose is should I decide to go to that particular diner I just need to look out my back window and see if it's crowded.....
It should be noted that since the snow melted which was quickly we have for the most part been enjoying close to 20C temperatures every day. We went from shorts and sandals to boots, winter coats and mittens back to shorts or at least capris and sandals once again.
You know what? This warm weather won't last forever and we will do the same again. It will be hot one day and snowing the next. That's how we roll around these parts!
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