Spring Break?

It's been an unusual winter. In fact, I can barely remember another winter with this much snow. When my family lived in small town Saskatchewan, there was a blizzard when I was in grade two, and it heaped snow over our lilac hedge and closed the highways for a week. My mom worked as a nurse in the hospital in the next town and had to be brought the nine miles home in a Bombardier, I think.

More to the point, I can't remember ever having this much snow this late in March. Ever. This week is Spring Break (it always seems to fall around April 1st -- maybe the teachers want to avoid April Foolery?) and here are two pictures: last year, which is what the end of March usually looks like, then this year:

Same yard, slightly different angle... It's almost depressing how much snow is still left. Edmontonians are resigned to the fact that spring is late this year, and we may have tulips into June. Sunny Alberta, as our province used to be known, hasn't been terribly sunny for the past several months, and the temperatures this year have been far below normal so perhaps we'll have a reprieve from the pine beetles that have been threatening our forests.

Really, we have very little to complain about. Our friends in Winnipeg are preparing for the second flood of the century in less than 15 years. Global climate change is definitely affecting their flood plains. Kind of puts into perspective the fact that I can't ride my bike this Spring Break, like I did last year...  but look at the difference between today's picture, and last March 30th!

Soon, soon I'll be able to get back to the bike... the sun is shining today!