Tag Archives: Weather

Commentary, nature, Photography

Lake Walk

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The Great Slave Lake has defrosted, finally.

When I’m in the north, I live near this lake. It’s the tenth largest in the world, the deepest in North America, and has a huge impact on the weather. To some extent, it moderates, but it also causes the heavy, wet lake effect snow, too.

We had quite a warm day yesterday, but when I went walking on the lake trail, the breeze coming from it was decidedly cool. It hasn’t warmed up much yet!

The name “Slave” has nothing to do with slaves or slavery but comes from an Indigenous word, “Slavey,” and is Dene in origin. The Slavey people are distinct from the Dene, but their histories have intersected frequently.

Here is another photo of the same lake, from a similar vantage point, taken in December, 2019. I think it was about -40C.

Greetings from Great Slave Lake.

Have a good week. 🙂

Commentary, musings, nature, Photography

Winter Blast

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Much of Canada and the northern United States has been sitting in an icy, windy, thumpingly cold Arctic low for the past one or two weeks.

Some more southerly parts have been even colder than us, and we in the southern NWT had anywhere between -36 and -40C (-33 to -40 F). It takes me about seven minutes to walk to work, and by the time I get there, my eyelashes have collected ice from my freezing breath. It’s been pretty chilly.

But I’ve had lovely memories, like this one, to sustain me.

And this one.

The north is very blue and white right now, but I do like the southern blue and white. 🙂

A Little Laugh Turneth Away Wrath, Happy Holidays!, musings, Photography

Sliding on a Slippery Icy Road

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Here is a northern take on Winter Wonderland (my apologies and salutations to Felix Bernard).

Doorbells ring, are you listening?

In the lane, snowplows glistening

A breathtaking sight

We’re trying tonight

To stand up on a slippery icy road

Gone away is the sand truck

Here to stay is a cold front

It screams a north gale

As we plod along

Sliding on a slippery icy road

In the meadow we will build a shelter

And crawl inside to get out of the wind

You’ll say are you freezing

I’ll say not now

But that’s a possibility later on

In a bit, we’ll perspire

As we sit in the fire

We’ll thaw and we’ll stretch

Sam McGee at his best

Sliding on a slippery icy road

In the meadow we can build a shelter

And pretend that winter is all done

That’s quite a feat of self-deluded nonsense

But that’s what happens when you’re freezing cold

When it snows, watch for frostbite

When it blows, get a tissue

We’ll frolic and play, the northern way

Sliding on a slippery icy road.

A little northern humour. 🙂

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Commentary, musings, nature, Photography

Visual Coffee

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This was a recent morning scene.

I hadn’t had coffee yet but the bright morning sun helped me to get going.

Alas, as of a few days ago, this sunny weather turned. It has been a mixture of watery snow that has turned to snow that has turned to rain.

Inevitably though, whatever comes out of the sky over the next couple of weeks will be snow.

That’s the way of the north.

And it will stay for a bit, at least until March. And it will look like this.

Cold, crisp, clear.

🙂

musings, nature, Photography

Cirrus Clouds

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A couple of days ago, I saw these rather spectacular cirrus clouds, or

horsetails, as I called them when I was a child.

Cirrus clouds are usually very high, between 5 and 25 kilometres (3 – 9 miles) above the ground. They often indicate the arrival of a front, or in the tropics, the possibility of a hurricane. Our weather remained steady (and hot), so these cirrus weren’t indicative of a change – they were fair weather cirrus.

What I found particularly interesting about these clouds was the corkscrew in the center of them. It looked like someone had swirled the clouds with a whisk. That corkscrew shape is also a type of cirrus, but they aren’t usually found together.

Cirrus clouds have been documented on Mars and Jupiter and are also responsible for light halos and winter sundogs.

Cheers from cirrus clouds of the Okanagan Valley. 🙂