Shoveling

All bundled up, with a snow shovel awaiting, I am ready to tackle the first snow of the winter. Somewhere under that white blanket are daffodils with buds about ready to open, and a crushed daphne or two. All photos by John Denniston.

My sister Betty and her husband Bert have been shoveling snow at their little house in the Quebec Laurentians for four or five months now. He does the roof; she does steps and walkways. When I talked to her recently, she remarked: “Clearing snow actually takes quite a lot of time, you know.”

So I will not complain about Vancouver getting its first snowfall of the winter on Sunday. Or that the shoveling job, which normally goes to John, is mine this time around because of his bum leg. Pushing a snow shovel while using a cane would be too pathetic.

I did two rounds of shoveling on Sunday, after which the snow really began to fall, so my job isn’t over yet. Revisiting Betty’s remark about the time it takes, I had a truly Vancouver thought: How much extra do we pay for housing out here, I wondered, to make up for the amount of time we don’t spend shoveling snow?

The first shoveling of the season is kind of ... satisfying. By the third or fourth time, I won't be thinking that.

Vancouver is expecting about 10 centimetres of snow this time around. We've only just begun.

Clearing the backyard pathway to the garbage cans and compost heap. I won't get fined if I don't do it -- like I would if I didn't clear the front sidewalk -- but it makes life easier.