The world is changing.....

The sun is slowly creeping back into our world here on the edge of the Boreal. Today was the first day this year that there was a glimmer of light on the horizon while the kids got on the bus. Yesterday it was absolutely gorgeous outside, with the daytime high of -5. While its too early to claim that spring, that distant, much awaited day, has been scented, it feels like we have tilted back toward the warmth of the sun. There is still plenty of winter to go, anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks of possible -40 Celsius weather can blow in at anytime, to say nothing of the windchill value and snow.
We got a good laugh the other day seeing the chaos and confusion caused by a little (4 inches) of snow that fell in the UK. One four inch snowfall, which melted a couple of days later, and the "worst winter in 18 years" is over for the Brits.
In this part of the world winter is a long, long season. But it is not a uniform one. By this time of year we are in mid-winter. The snow has been 3 feet deep outside for six weeks, the mercury hasn't been in the plus range since November. Weeks of bitter cold (-45 windchill) are the norm and then a strange thing happens that always seems to catch us off guard.
One day you open the door and step outside, in full winter armor (Toque, Mitts, Parka, Wool Overalls, pants, sweater, long johns, felt boots) and it hits you.
Its not cold.
"Hey kids come outside and see this!"I yell into the house. "Boy its nice out here!" everyone exclaims. "Take a look at the thermometer, how warm is it right now honey?" I yell to my wife. "Its minus 20!" she yells back!

-20

Its less about it being "warm" and more about how accustomed we have become to -30 -40 as the "norm". Then when it gets up to close to freezing, its an absolute heat wave. People open their doors and windows to air out the house, everybody is in their shirtsleeves with sunglasses on, heading to the lake to go ice fishing.

If we were in London, the same -5 accompanied by a little snow would be "the worst winter in 18 years!" We are accustomed to what we are acclimatised to I suppose.

The difference between life on a temperate island in the gulf stream, and the sub-arctic of central Canada!