Winter is still more than a month away, but on Monday of this week we had a small taste of what is to come, and it serves as a reminder that it is time to get prepared for the season before cold and snowy weather arrives in full force.
My Monday morning walk to the office was a chilly, windy, snowy affair, and I was thankful that I had already hauled out my stash of winter gloves and toques, so I was well prepared for that chilly walk to the office.
The sub-zero temperatures that we saw on Sunday evening and throughout Monday also forced me to turn on my baseboard heaters for the first time this season, which took the chill off my wooden floors, but I am certainly not looking forward to those costly winter hydro bills in the months to come.
While the cold, snowy weather lasted into Tuesday morning, our first taste of winter was relatively short-lived, as by Tuesday afternoon the temperature had crept back above zero, and the snow had turned to rain.
Monday’s chilly snowy weather has left no doubt that we will soon be trading in the sounds of lawn mowers and street sweepers for the sounds of snowblowers and plows, and we have certainly already traded in our shorts and sandals in favour of warmer garb.
Preparing for winter weather is old hat for us Canadians: we know what the winter months can throw at us, and we are always ready to take on the day no matter the weather.
Many have been preparing their homes and properties for the coming winter months, from sealing windows to prevent drafts, to chopping wood for the fireplace, to wrapping bushes in the gardens to protect them from the coming snow and wind; there are numerous tasks to complete in order to prepare for winter.
If you have young children, you not only need to prepare yourself, you also need to ensure that the little ones will be toasty warm in even the chilliest of weather, so parents are no doubt double and triple checking their stockpile of snowsuits and mitts, and ensuring that all of the kids have boots that fit and have no holes or leaks.
As they always are at this time of year, local garages have been busy in recent weeks swapping out summer tires for winter tires, and Monday’s snowfall will no doubt prompt the procrastinators to head to those already busy garages for a tire swap and a tune-up.
Preparing for winter can be expensive as not everything related to winter is as easy on the wallet; winter, you see, is good for our economy. We Canadians spend a small fortune on winter, and not just on our vehicles. Heavy coats and warm boots are costly but necessary items for any Canadian, and that’s just the beginning of our winter expenses. From the added cost for heating our homes, to outdoor leisure activities like skiing or snowshoeing, living in a cold climate like ours costs us money.
As expensive as winter might be, it definitely pays to be prepared, so that when we wake up to stormy winter weather, we can still get to work, or wherever we need to get to with as little frustration as possible.
While living in a cold climate might be costly, one benefit is that we are a tough bunch and we don’t let a little bit of bad weather alter our plans. That winter spirit, while admirable, also gets us into some trouble as we can all feel far too confident when faced with the worst that Mother Nature can toss our way. As a result we tend to drive more quickly than we really should, and we can take chances that we shouldn’t, and sometimes those chances end in collisions, and those collisions can be deadly.
So, with winter weather now having knocked on our door for the first time this season, we all need to ensure that we are prepared, and we need to remember that it’s time to slow down on the roads and save that aggressive energy for the pick-up hockey game or for an outing on snowshoes.
The first snowy weather is also a good time to remind Meaford residents that winter overnight parking restrictions will be in effect beginning Saturday, November 15, and will remain in place until April 1, 2026. No parking is permitted on municipal streets or parking lots between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. to ensure safe winter road maintenance.
You can visit www.meaford.ca/parking for more information about downtown parking.
Finally, I normally save this bit of advice (well, it’s more of a pet peeve to be honest) for my Rants, Raves & Rumours column in our print paper, but I receive so many requests to issue this reminder every year, that I thought I would offer it here – brush the snow off your dang car! There is nothing worse than driving behind a vehicle whose driver has failed to brush the snow, and as a result you are blinded by a virtual blizzard of snowflakes from the car ahead. Worse yet is when a chunk of ice that has built up from days or weeks of failing to clear snow and ice from a vehicle flies off and lands on your windshield. Properly clearing the snow from your vehicle takes just a few minutes, and while it can be frustrating (and chilly), it is safer for everyone.
Winter will soon be here, be prepared, and stay safe!
