I have to say February has certainly been an eventful month so far. A couple weeks ago it started snowing. And it didn't stop. For four days we were inundated with the white stuff. Given that we live in a place that panics if two inches of snow falls, you can't imagine what it was like when over two feet of snow came down! Of course, I was in my element. It was stunningly beautiful, and brought back so many memories of childhood winters on our family's farm in Idaho, and also memories of the years we spent in the Kootenays when my children were young.
There are a few downsides to being buried in snow though, especially if you are a wiener dog. Poor Jenny. The snow was many times higher than she is. In fact, it was even higher than Fergus, but unlike Jenny he loves the snow. I just had to be sure I got up early enough each morning to shovel a path for them to walk on. By the end of Snowmageddon 2017 we had run out of places to put the snow as we shovelled it. You can see from the picture our wall of snow was almost higher than my husband's car.
The snow event was followed by an ice storm. Ice storms are a regular occurrence in parts of Ontario and Quebec. They are almost unheard of in British Columbia. It was a thing of both beauty and destruction. The morning after the storm we woke up to a world coated in ice. Literally everything outdoors looked like the top two pictures. Quite predictably we lost our power. My morning started by lantern light and finished the same way. The strangest part of the ice storm wasn't the actual ice though. It was the sound of branches "exploding" as the weight of all that ice became too much to bear. You can see an example of the destruction in the bottom picture.
Given that I've been snowbound and icebound for much of the past couple weeks there's been lots of knitting happening. Okay, there's always lots of knitting happening, so I guess I should say more than the usual amount of knitting has occurred. The thing is, I hardly have any pictures to share. My Coast Salish vest from the knitting retreat I attended last fall is done. Except for the zipper. So no picture there. My skirt from Sylvia Olsen's book Knitting Stories is finally finished. It's been washed and blocked, and is now drying. So the only picture I have of that is the one above where I am sewing the waistband. I've also finished the Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. Again, no picture. The socks are the ones I Kitchenered by lantern light during the storm, knit with Regia's Pairfect yarn. And the shawl is part of the Curious Handmade mystery knitalong. It's upside down in the photo, but that's the kind of thing that happens when you resort to having your dog model your knitted items.
It has been a treat to be able to get out for long walks again now that the weather has improved. A few days ago I was walking beside Frosst Creek (yes, it has two s's, it's not a typo), and there was an eerie mist seeping through the trees.
When I turned around to come home I was treated to this sight. So much drama in one walk!
My hikes up Teapot Hill have been curtailed due to snow and ice. I'm hoping the trail will be walkable in a week or two. But the roads are now clear of snow and ice, so I've resumed my walks to the lake. The cloud formations yesterday were incredible.
So that's February so far. I'm hoping the remainder of the month has a little less weather drama, and that by the end I will have some pictures of all the knitting I've been doing to share with you. In the meantime, how's February been treating you in your corner of the world?