Always very beautiful, the season’s first snowfall is a joyous ocassion here in Toronto, Canada. This year the first snowfall came very late, today, December 27 2012. It started last night, but when we woke up we had over 10cm of snow.
Winter First Snowfall, Toronto, Canada, Dec 27 2012. Photo by Don Tai
Note a couple of things in the photo. Today was garbage day, so we have green bins for compostable (not yet picked up) and grey bins for non-recyclable garbage. These have already been picked up. The black blob in the treetop of the middle tree is a squirrel nest. This is where they hibernate over the winter. There is a streetlight on the left of the photo, which goes on in the night.
Most people have already shoveled their driveway in order to remove the snow. If you do not shovel and the snow freezes it can turn into a block of solid ice and can stay this way for a month or longer. Ice reflects sunlight and therefore resists melting. Snow that stays on the evergreens can weigh them down and actually break branches. Evergreens can also get wind burned and dry out, causing them to loose needles. On susceptible trees we cover them with brown burlap cloth to protect them. The City of Toronto will clear he snow off the roads within 48 hrs of the snowfall. Out side street seems the last to be cleared, so our street is often difficult to drive on. Once we are out of our street the larger streets are usually much easier.
Winter First Snowfall, Toronto, Canada, Dec 27 2012. Photo by Don Tai
My neighbour in the red hat is shoveling his snow. Today the snow was over 10 cm deep, thick and heavy, so it takes some time to shovel. I use a snow blower to remove a lot of snow, but cannot use it in the morning because the gas engine would wake up my neighbours. The evergreens retan their leaves and the maple trees have no leaves in winter.
Shoveling snow is tiring but is a tradition if you own a house in Canada. The first snowfall always looks so nice.
