Winter at last

After an unusually mild and pleasant fall and early winter, Vancouver is getting its first serious dose of snow. That's set off the usual panic, with schools and universities closed, the transit system in chaos and dire warnings against venturing onto the roads unless strictly necessary. The University of B.C. even had to cancel its annual snowball fight because of, well, snow. Since the campus was closed, who would be there to fling snowballs?

Here are some photos from our day:

Part of my snow-clearing routine is brushing the snow off the hedges. If the snow gets too heavy, it can break and deform the shrubs. Photo by John Denniston.

John, suitably dressed for winter, tackles the front sidewalk.

The view from the front steps this morning, snow-covered car in background.

The back yard in snow, with mom's old bench well piled.

Snow on witch-hazel blossoms.

The bench looks comfy with all that white fluffy coating, but it wouldn't be.

The bird bath in winter. It won't do the birds much good, but it serves as a good measure of the amount of snow that's fallen.