Friday, February 27, 2015

Photo Friday: The Longest Month

It has been the coldest February on record. The Rideau Canal has seen the most-consecutive days of open skateway in its history.

Winter doesn't seem like it's ever going to end.

The snowfall has been mercifully light, with no more than a couple of centimetres of light accumulation (made light by the bitter cold) most of the time, and only one or two storms that have left us with close to 10cm. Shovelling, thankfully, has been minimal.

With the cold, the snow hasn't melted, and the depths have grown. But the snow doesn't bother me. I love how the crisp, white accumulation beautifies the landscape. It's the cold that has made me tired, that has depressed me to no end.

The path from the office parking lot to the building has grown narrow, and has steep banks on either side. It's a long trudge on a cold day: when there is more than myself walking the path, we do so in single file, or heads hung low as we endure the cold journey.

It's too cold to explore the outdoors, to capture photos. There have been times when I've driven in my car, when I've seen the beauty of the fog along the Ottawa River, when I've seen the glow of a sunset or a sunrise, when I've spied a snowy owl, perched on a barren tree branch. I've wanted to pull over and capture the sight, but I hesitate, I shrug, and I keep going.

It's too cold to pull over and get my camera out of the trunk. Wearing mittens isn't conducive to photography.

And so I long for spring, for warmer weather. But with this month, it seems as though winter will never end. This has been a brutal winter. In these frozen depths, this has been the longest month. Like the path to the office, it is a long, depressing slog.


Um... Happy Friday?

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