1st snow storm of year and 50 cm plus buries my London home

Possibly as much as 20 cm of snow fell on parts of London Saturday. (I just checked the depth of snow in my backyard: 50 cm as of Sunday morning. It is deeper on my compost bin but I'm not fighting drifts to reach it and take an accurate measurement.)

The storm is expected to continue off and on through Sunday depending upon the strength of the lake effect snow squalls.

Hwy 402 west of London was closed because of white outs Saturday afternoon, as was the Bluewater Highway south of Bayfield. Strong snow streamers coming from both Lake Huron and Georgian Bay brought snow squalls, and winds gusting from 50 to 60 km/h, to large swathes of Southwestern Ontario.

Even trees are bundled up against the cold, and the snow

Finally, a real  snowfall. New Year's Eve was relatively snow-free but the first day of the new decade was a different story. There was a lot of snow. It is now early in the morning of January 2 and the snow is still falling. I'll be getting some exercise shoveling the driveway come daybreak.

And the trees, if you are not from a country with heavy snowfalls, are wrapped in burlap to protect them from snow damage. A heavy fall of the winter white stuff can bend and even break tree limbs.

Champion graders still plowing London streets

London finally has some snow. And when snow comes, the snowplows can't be far behind. (Actually they can be far behind; There have been times that two, or even three days, have past before a plow opened our suburban street. Oh heck, I confess. There have been times that the city has left it to the sun and time to clear our street.)

I mention the make of grader because this plow was made in Goderich, just a little more than an hour north of London. Sadly, it must be reported that the plant, after more than a century of operation, has been closed and the work moved to the States. To read the whole story check out Rockin' On: the Blog.

Mice Lights, Nice Lights

It finally snowed. Not a lot but enough to call out the snowplows and blanket the ground with maybe 100cm of light snow. It's a little late but it now looks like Christmas.

The Christmas lights decorating London homes are brighter when there is snow reflecting the light.

A Final Christmas Door

Our last Christmas door takes minimal seasonal decoration to the limit. One wreath is it. Yet, how I would love to have the home that goes with that wreath.

Another elegant, heritage London home

This is another in the continuing series featuring the entrances to elegant homes in London, Ontario — homes given annual, simple seasonal decoration.

I love this home. It reminds me of a Georgian mansion which I took care of while attending Ryerson back in the '70s. The home in Toronto was on Bloor St. near Avenue Road. Today an Intercontinental Hotel sits on the spot.

It is nice to see this home being well maintained.

Finally, Boxing Day and a Dusting of Snow

The temperature climbed above freezing Boxing Day in London, Ontario. It certainly was not a bitingly cold day, although the newspaper used that overworked term the other day to refer to the outside temperature.

But there was a dusting of snow and so it's beginning to look a bit like Christmas, but a day late.

Oh well, it was good weather for lining up in front of stores in the early morning hours for the Boxing Day sales. Some stores opened at 6 a.m. to cash in on the demand for sale items.

By the time the doors opened, the line-ups in front of some stores were hundreds of shoppers long.