Today I was clearing a path through the snow and watching others go on holiday. Apparently it is too cold for the geese so they are leaving the city and traveling to warmer climes. Swathes of them flew over, I could hear the wing beats and the physical effort it cost them to fly.
Strangely I am enjoying the real winter. This afternoon it was a mere -5 degrees C but with wind and a humidity of 93% it felt cold. Since I can connect to the local weather station I have become obsessed with the subtly changing climate statistics.
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| frozen canal |
Until the canals freeze solidly they are broken up in the middle by an icebreaker to prevent people skating. The layer of snow is really pretty but it prevents the ice layer underneath freezing more thickly, it acts as an insulating blanket. Everything is reduced to muted colours and the light is nuanced as if in a black and white movie. The snow emphasizes ice wrinkles.
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| moorhen footprints |
Small amounts of snow cause havoc here as no one has snow tires, it is just too slippery on the bike. The moorhens and I are on foot.
Clean, new, uncrushed snow changes all the familiar environments. The light turquoise sky shining through the cloud gauze becomes an event. Sounds are muted but people are more chatty and stop to talk to each other. It is too cold for the youth who hang out on the street corner and the neighbourhood has reclaimed its territory.
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