The Craftiest Workshop

After our first winter in Grande Prairie, I had written a blog about my snow shoveling and how the winter had gone. It was a bit of a parody but the stats mentioned were the truth.

Diary of Winter in the Country

This winter, with its late start, is looking to equal or surpass the winter of 2021. Like in December 2025, in 2021 British Columbia had an atmospheric river. Those rivers seem to continue on over the mountains and dump snow on Grande Prairie. We had no snow on the ground before Nov. 24. In the month of December alone the city had accumulated 83cm of snow. I am pretty sure we have a bit more than that out in the county. On the Weather Network this morning I saw that Grande Prairie had 418% more moisture fall than the 30 year average for the month of December. The 4th wettest on record.

For us it just means more shoveling. Our snowblower impeller died just before Christmas. We went to Fort Mac for a few days and brought back a more powerful and sturdy snowblower. We built a ramp out of osb and 2X4’s to get it off the truck. It was a good thing as temperatures went above 0° and the 15+ cm that fell while we were away was heavy to move. Most of the snow that accumulated on the roof also slid off barely missing us twice. Between the day the first snowblower died and us going away, we had bought a sleigh shovel to temporarily help move snow. It is much better than a regular push shovel and I make piles which Chris then now snow blows onto the yard.

On a snowshoeing trek around the property, we discovered that the heavy plastic covering the front 3 feet of roof on the greenhouse had given way from the freezing rain and heavy snow. We had to chip away at the 2-3 inches of ice on top of the snow then dig down to get the door open. I had glass vases and other glass decor that were coated in snow and ice that needed to be brought in to thaw. The only thing that broke was one glass vase. We put up some scrap osb plywood to cover most of the holes until spring.

The next day we worked on shoveling the snow off the deck. The snow on that side of the roof falls onto the deck and stays put until it is shoveled off or melts. The snow was at the height of the railing in some places so about waist deep. Some of the snow was too frozen to move but we got most of it off.

The birds and squirrel become almost frantic while it is snowing. Their hiding spots for seeds and nuts get buried in snow. I feed chickadees halved peanut halves and sometimes give out 50 on an outing outside. The squirrel stays inside his shed unless temperatures are above -20. Now that the snow has that icy layer, it is easier for him to get around on top of the snow but he still prefers to use his snow tunnels.

This pattern of multiple days of snow in a row with unpredicted amounts reminds me of our time in Barrie ON with the snow squalls off Georgian Bay. The difference here is that most of the snow has fallen on days when it has been -20 or colder. It is harder to enjoy snow when you are struggling to keep warm.

On the idea of staying warm…I had found my toes getting cold in my tall Kodiak boots so I folded a sheet of aluminum foil over my foot and covered it with another sock. It kept my foot pretty warm and still fit in my boot. Unfortunately, after 5,000 steps back and forth shoveling , the foil had basically shredded itself into tiny pieces in my socks. My next try will be cutting one of those foil emergency blankets and see how it holds up. I recall putting my feet in bread bags as a kid so I could stay outside longer and keep my feet dry…might have to give that a go as well.

I have to say that the daily snowfall definitely keeps us busy. Hard to fall into a winter depression when you are forced outside to get fresh air and exercise. I would like a few days of no snow to just enjoy snowshoeing, interact with the wildlife or have a campfire. I am a little bit nervous about how much water we will have at the beginning of April. As the guy at Home Depot said to me, “Only three more months of snow left!”