February!

Yesterday's snowfall is almost gone today - a sudden warm spell has turned most of it into gray slush - so here's a photo from February 2011. It looks like February is our snow month.

That White Stuff!

Guess I'm not going cycling today. We've got about a foot now and it's still coming down. Humph!

Whee!

Well, that snow is gone now, though we may get some more before winter's over. Victoria doesn't get much snow - I don't think we had any last winter. But when we do get some, Victorians like to get out and enjoy it as much as possible. This was the scene last week in Banfield Park in Vic West.

Snowman's Best Friend...

...is a Snowdog!

More Snow

We had about 3 inches more snow last night but it's melting pretty fast.

White Stuff

Well. I walked outside the other morning and this is what I saw. Where is global warming when you need it?

Snow 2

Our snow is pretty much gone now although that's not to say we won't get any more. Actually the snow on the walkway here just provides me with an excuse to post this photo. It's taken using an adapter I just got that allows me to use old Pentax Takumar lenses on my Sony camera. I have accumulated a bunch of these lenses from thrift stores over the last few years (50mm, 55mm, 105mm, 135mm, 200mm) and with the new adapter they are producing pictures I like very much.

Snow!

Victoria's weather lately has been wildly variable with lots of dramatic skies, surprisingly warm and then suddenly cold. And while I've been secretly gloating over our snowlessness while the rest of the continent experiences blizzards, I woke up Saturday morning to a light covering of the white stuff. Of course it does snow in Victoria but not usually until after Christmas. And while it can be very deep (a meter or so in exceptional years) it is generally very light and melts rapidly. Saturday's snowfall is still with us thanks to the cold snap Fern mentioned. Above is what it looked like on the West Bay Walkway.

Snowbow

When we stepped outside the Oak Bay Marina Restaurant earlier this week there was a fine light mist falling. By the time I reached my vehicle this had become a fall of tiny little snowballs about the size of BB gun pellets. Then, while I stood to take this photo of the "snowbow" over the entrance to Oak Bay, the small pellets changed to pea-sized ice balls. Twenty minutes later that particular cloud had blown past and the sky was once again blue. In the photo above you can see the "snowbow" on the right side of the photo and if you look closely (or click the photo to enlarge it) you can see some of the small white snowballs that were falling.

Snow!

Yes, Victoria gets this white stuff, too. It'll probably be gone in a day or two but here's a few shots of what the West Bay Walkway looked like when I took my morning walk yesterday.

Atmospherics

I thought this would be an interesting photo to post next to yesterday's because it is so different and yet it was taken within an hour of the other two. The mist just rolled in and completely changed the whole landscape. Quite fascinating. I won't deny we were all glad to be close to the lodge when it happened and not still out in the forest. - Fern

Snow Day!

British Columbia has a new holiday; Family Day and we took advantage of it to go north to Mt. Washington to enjoy a little of the white stuff. Now I know many of you would rather drive away from snow but here on southern Vancouver Island we get so little of it that we enjoy it from time to time. One of the things we did was go snow shoeing in the woods and that was so beautiful and alot of fun! - Fern

Meanwhile...

...back in Victoria, to celebrate Fern's return from sunny Mexico as well as her birthday, we arranged a truly Canadian welcome home snowstorm for her. To enjoy this spectacle to the fullest, her uncle took the whole family the one of Victoria's favorite Sunday Brunch venues, the Oak Bay Marina Restaurant. It's a magnificent all-you-can-eat buffet - Eggs Benedict, croissants, shrimps, beef and a cornucopia of other good things to eat (click HERE to see the Sunday Brunch menu). Even a vegan like myself went back to the buffet twice and had to loosen my belt. The snowstorm only lasted about 15 minutes and was little more than a pretty reminder than winter is not over yet

Weatherman

Since I'm beyond the age of considering a career change we can all rest comfortably with the certainty that I will never become a weather forecaster. All I have to do these days is make some glib remark about snow like "it usually melts off during the day" and we are immediately deluged with about 20 centimeters of snow that is quite clearly not melting away. Oh well, it continues to be pretty but Victoria is a city that always seems caught by surprise when it snows. Nobody seems to know what to do and a snowfall more than ankle deep means businesses and schools close.

Wipe Out

Southern Vancouver Island gets so little snow, but when we do, the kids take full advantage of it. These two had their share of good fun and a few good spills as well! - Fern

That White Stuff

You can blame it on me - this white stuff. Last week I was careless enough to write about being on the "downhill slope towards spring" and the weather gods were obviously listening. We've had light snowfalls the last two nights. However, usually it melts off during the day. I don't have to be out in it any more than I want so I'm free to enjoy how a light dusting of snow makes even the most mundane objects interesting.

In Search of Snow

This stretch of the E and N Railway line runs just south of Shawnigan Lake and we went up there looking for some white stuff. I know the rest of the continent gets more than they ever want but here on the wet west coast, we sometimes feel feel a certain lack. - Fern

Dogged

Victorians of greater experience than myself can correct me but I think our recent snowfall was a little unusual. Generally snow here arrives later, in December or January. However, whenever it comes, it seldom gets very deep or stays long. And, except for the odd patches in the shade here and there, it is pretty much gone now and even yesterday it was looking pretty tacky - gray and slushy. One thing I've learned about snow is to photograph it when it's fresh as in these photos. The footbridge on the left is the same as was featured HERE about three weeks ago. Quite a remarkable transformation for such a short period of time.

More of the White Stuff

It snowed again last night. Today's photo was taken only about an hour ago when I was out on my morning walk on the West Bay Walkway. It's warmer than it was a few days ago and there were lots of other walkers out this morning. Snow seems to make people friendlier - nearly everyone I passed today said "Good Morning!" and smiled. Usually only about 50% of the people greet each other on the walkway.

Backyard Snowscapes

A little more snow overnight but this looks like it will be gone by noon today. Both photos were taken with the SMC Takumar 1:2.8 105mm prime lens.