Rain, Hail Or Shine

Canadians love talking about the weather. I guess it's understandable, given that they have so much of it.
Unlike Australia, the topic is not limited to mere elevator conversation or polite neighbourly chit-chat. In fact, failing to discuss the current snow/wind/sunshine/humidity/rain conditions with everyone that you encounter is practically a faux pas.

The local news programs respond to this need by providing incredibly detailed and lengthy weather forecasts interspersed with small snippets of actual news. You can see some of my favourite weather moments below, including a play-by-play analysis of expected snowfall over a 13 hour period, a line chart depicting the temperature at six points within a single day and a helpful checklist to assist you in making weather-appropriate clothing choices.

As I mentioned once in a previous post, Canadian weather forecasts report on both the actual air temperature as well as a 'feels like' temperature. The 'feels like' temperature takes the humidity index or wind chill factor into consideration. This is designed to give a better description of how hot or cold a day feels to the average person and provides us with much more precise data with which to complain about the weather. So at a very minimum, the daily forecast will feature four temperatures, for example: tomorrow there will be a high of 0 degrees (feels like -5) and a low of -9 (feels like -15). This allows for many hilarious parodies such as "-15, feels like death" and "36, feels like the surface of the sun".

My snow and ice vocabulary has increased considerably over the past four months. I have learnt how to correctly use such terminology as flurries, freezing rain, blowing snow, whiteout, lake effect, Alberta clipper, snow drift, squall, black ice and powder. I never knew there were so many different varieties of frozen water!

I've found the primary Canadian reaction to winter to be one of extreme revulsion and contempt. This comes in stark and often humorous contrast to my child-like glee after each new snowfall. This bitter hatred of winter seems illogical to me - there are so many wonderful things to do and see in the colder months and at the very least it provides fodder for a multitude of weather-related conversations (see above). But then again I'm not facing a lifetime's worth of sub-zero winters ahead of me.

Overall, I think we've coped quite well with our first Canadian winter. We have had to spend a small fortune gathering all of the necessary accoutrements (down coat, snow boots, leather boots, gloves, scarves, toques (beanies), thermals, ear warmers and ski gear), but once you're prepared for the conditions, the minus temperatures really aren't so bad. It's amazing how quickly you can adjust to a new situation - the winters that I'm used to in Perth average 9 - 18 degrees, which is more like fall (autumn) in Toronto!

Helpful comment under Monday's forecast: "BRRR!"

Skating On Thick Ice

Last weekend we headed north-east of Toronto to visit the nation's capital, Ottawa. After a comfortable four hour train journey it was a bit of a shock to walk out into the freezing -18 degree air! Quite fitting though, as the primary purpose of our trip was to embrace the cold at Winterlude, an annual festival that celebrates all things Wintery.

First stop was the Rideau canal which runs through the centre of Ottawa. Each winter, the 7.8km canal freezes over to become the world's largest skating rink! While Shane was skilled enough to skate the entire distance, I only managed a little bit and finished the rest by foot. It was all very surreal, I had to keep reminding myself that we were walking on frozen water. There were many beautiful sights along the way and a happy, festive atmostphere amongst the crowd. Naturally we stopped for refreshments - it would have been rude not to partake in offerings of hot apple cider and beavertails (fried doughnut-like slabs of pastry sprinkled with cinnamon sugar).

Next we made our way to the Snowflake Kingdom, a winter playground for kids (and big kids). There were some amazing snow sculptures and fun rides such as tubing and ice slides. We had a go on the tubes and tasted some maple taffy (maple syrup frozen on fresh snow). After a lovely dinner in the Byward Market area, we explored the incredible ice sculptures on display. It was amazing to see what can be done with a block of ice and a chainsaw!

On Sunday we got a bit political and cultural by visiting Parliament Hill and the National Art Gallery. It was so lovely to stroll through the park afterwards catching snowflakes and admiring the scenery. I couldn't help but hum 'walking in a winter wonderland'.