We live in a part of the world where it snows in the winter. It is also dark a large part of the day during November, December, January and February. Today, the 8th of January, sunrise was at 9:52 and sunset at 14:52, so officially light for five hours. However, how bright the day is depends on whether the sky is clear or not. On cloudy days, it can seem dark all day long if one doesn’t get outside and one needs lights on inside to be able to do anything.
I’m writing this blog while taking breaks from moving snow. We have a long driveway so it takes many hours to clear the driveway well. We got heavy snow on the 2nd of January and it snowed for several days creating chaos in many places. Among other things our garbage bins were not emptied on the designated day as the garbage trucks were not able to get at many of the garbage bins which had been snowed over.
One day it was blowing the snow, so it got quite packed as well. I’m still working on doing peripheral areas so that when it snows the next time it will be slightly easier. Usually we have one very heavy snowfall during the winter, so I’m hoping we have had it now. The worst that happens is that it turns mild, the snow melts but refreezes as ice at night. That is forecast for about 5 days in the future.
I actually enjoy having something to do outside that challenges my muscles and gives me fresh air and exercise. Now that I’m not working and having to get up at 5 am to clear the driveway to go to work, I find that removing snow by hand shovel very enjoyable. I wait until it’s daylight and quit when it gets dark. We don’t have to take the car out every day, so we plan trips out for shopping or being social with the weather forecast in mind.
Not every winter is filled with as much snow. Sometimes snow comes as early as October and sometimes it comes and goes as some days are milder. We often get a heavy snowfall in March, just when I’m wanting spring to arrive. Usually the ground freezes in November at the latest and then melting snow will often become ice. Ice I don’t like. As we get older, ice, especially under a thin film of snow, can cause even the most cautious walker to slide and injure themselves.
We have now lived in our house for almost 36 years, moving in on the 1st of March in 1989, a short time before our daughter was born. During all these years, there have been winter storms, hurricanes and heavy rain, but never any major damage to our house or lot.
Usually I like to get the driveway cleared first, so that we can get out with the car, so on the 5th of January I was working on that. I found a large branch that had broken off a pine tree. I called Brock to help cut the branch into smaller pieces so it was easier to move. Sawing the branch indicated that the wood was quite dry which is probably why it broke under the weight of the snow.
We work for at most 30 minutes at a time and go inside for warm-up breaks regularly. Fingers get cold fastest. The rest of me keeps quite warm with the layers of clothing that I use and I have warm boots. But fingers, even with two layers of gloves, can get quite cold when it is -10 degrees Celsius and the shovel one is holding is also cold. There’s usually no hurry to get the work done, though I want to make as good use of the daylight hours as possible.
Suddenly, Brock came to me and told me something had happened. I hadn’t heard anything as my hearing disability makes me unaware of even some danger sounds. I walked part way up the driveway and saw the damage to the railing.
That changed on Sunday, the 5th of January 2025 when heavy packed snow on the roof of our house slid off and damaged the glass railing we have on our terrace. There were no person injuries, and material damage can be repaired. I’ve been reflecting on this damage since and realize that since we have lived in the house for so long, it is not surprising that something like this happened. An analysis of the situation made me think that the packed, blown snow last Friday was probably the major reason for suddenly getting damage. Usually the snow just slides off the roof, missing the railing and piling up on the terrace. We remove it once or twice during the winter so it doesn’t get too heavy. This time there was too much blown snow on the terrace already, so the snow from the roof had nowhere to go.
As you can see from the picture, there is a lot of snow on the ground, one section of glass has been shattered and seven sections have been pushed over by the weight of the snow. Our first challenge is to remove the broken sections, some of which may be reusable. But replacing the railing will be a job for the summer months. Brock has already started getting things supported so there isn’t more damage. Working in freezing temperatures does not make loosening bolts easy.
As you can see from the picture, there is already a fair bit of snow on the terrace, before more came down from the roof. We normally remove at least some of the snow from the terrace. In some places on the terrace, where it is more open and the wind was blowing the snow, there is about 40 cm of snow.
Winter always gives us different challenges. No two winters are alike, but here in Norway there is always winter and many people get surprised by the first snowfall. Weather forecasting is much better now so that we get warnings of heavy snow so everyone can prepare themselves, and perhaps plan to have a day at home instead of going to work, to school or to go shopping. I like the change of seasons, no matter which season is coming next. I look forward to having snow on the ground to brighten up the long dark evenings. We add extra lights along our terrace and inside our living room to make things a bit brighter. Before you know it, winter retreats. The snow always disappears and spring is around the corner with longer, lighter and warmer days. I’m going to enjoy winter while it is here.