Countdown to spring
FTLComm - Tisdale - Tuesday, March 8, 2011
After a week of cold weather, (cold being defined as below -30ºC each night) the temperature is moving upward, still well below the season average for this time of the year of -5ºC, but just below -20ºC in the morning and into the teens in the afternoon. With the days lengthening and the heat from the sun unhampered by the clear sky we can feel the waining of winter. Oh, everyone in North America knows full well that March is fully capable of administering some pretty nasty storms but day by day the dull cold of winter is on borrowed time.
I have noticed that American news media as well as Canadian sources are all doing stories on the passing of winter and how this one was particularly brutal in the Eastern portion of the United States and of course Ontario and Quebec feel they have had a tough winter as well. It actually doesn't matter what is real or just imagined, if you are feeling the pangs of cabin fever now then it is definitely time for spring.
It is quite remarkable to see the heavy snow cover that we in the Tisdale area have and it is pretty much the same throughout the whole Eastern portion of Saskatchewan. South toward Yorkton there may be even heavy field coverage then what we have in this area.
In today's pictures you will some scenes of some Tisdale yards, including our own and you can see the snow piled up on the roof tops and in the front yards. Today, the town began the process of hauling away the head high ridges along some streets and street corners. This process will keep going from day to day now as they and contractors work to clear drainage paths and take the build up out of the back alleys.
But with the clear skies the sun is working all day long to blacken the streets and create icicles on houses and signs.
Though we often think of that week or two close to Christmas as especially stressful the real tense part of every year is this waiting time to see the end of winter. This matches the political tension that builds at the municipal, provincial and national level as budgets are produced and debated, anxiety seems to increase accordingly and this year there is a good chance of federal election. Though many people do not worry about these things a sizeable part of society does and their feelings are passed on as late winter and early spring is a time for stress.
The cure for stress is really easy and affordable. It is still pretty chilly out there but with the sun shining dress for the chill and get yourself out there in the sunlight. It will do good things for your spirits.