-17C today in the Great White North. That’s 1.4 degrees F to you ‘Mericans.
Bike wouldn’t start today.
‘Ahem.’
Rolled the car into work. Funny how I’d forgotten about alot of the winter muckity muck up here. The bitter cold. Football size chunks of ice/mush that you have to hack out of the wheelwells of your car. Frozen windshield wipers. 45 minute car clearing/ice scraping sessions. Bah.
I also forgot about things like the drive to work today through the remote section of woods. We had snow 2 days ago and freezing temps since and as the sun was coming up this morning it was as if the entire evergreen forest had been rendered in crystal. Trying to put it into words here really just doesn’t get it. I’ve never been one to really espouse too much on the religion issue – I figure that’s your business, not mine – but, I’ve always considered myself pretty much a Transcendentalist and I’m pretty sure that some higher power was hanging out in those woods this morning. I know I wanted to stay for awhile.
I’d forgotten as well just how much a light a full moon casts on a clear night after snow. The other night the kids played out in the backyard at 9pm (’cause we got home late from Moncton and they hadn’t played in the snow yet) and I swear you could have read a book out back it was that light. It was weird, as I was shoveling the driveway it would get darker and lighter as patches of cloud blew in front of the moon. Later, when I took the dog out forhis usual spin around midnight, the silence and the light was simply amazing. Amazing.
One perk of moving to another country is the discovery of so much new music. I’ve started listening to the ‘Classic Rock’ station here and though it’s ‘classic’ to everyone who grew up here, I’m hearing new stuff every day. It’s awesome. Goofy old hair metal from Canadian Bands like Honeymoon Suite, April Wine and Trooper. Also, The Guess Who apparently made alot more than just 2 songs (which you’d never know if you lived in the States) and alot of them are quite good. One thing I find really amusing is how much they seem to dig their John Cougar Mellancamp up here. He’s on all the time.
In addition, there’s bands like the Hip, Blue Rodeo, 54-40, and Sam Roberts – all of which I’d heard, but now get to hear more obscure tracks from and/or hear more often. I’m sure locals are more in line with ‘I’m so sick of all that old shit’ – but hey – it’s all new to me…and it’s all GOOD.
 As if that weren’t enough, they actually play Rush on the radio here – relatively often – and not the same 2 songs they used to play in the States all the time. Amen. I’ve found Nirvana (not the band, but the state of being).
Working in my unheated (except for a woodstove)garage the other night, I stumbled across a weekly Maritime Blues show (BluesZone, I think) that is really awesome, hipping me to the likes of Sass Jordan, Matt Minglewood, and a bunch of other Blues cats even better than those two that I can’t remember the names of now. Just really good stuff. Oh and here’s a tip: Jeff Healey is BADASS. He had that one hit in the States years back with ‘Angel Eyes’ but his other stuff is soooo much better. I dunno if he’s Canadaian or what, but he gets much more props up here, and for good reason.
Finally, I learned what is probably my most valuable Canadian Winter Survival Lesson to date:
Ocassional bouts of air guitar will go a long way towards keeping you warm in a cold garage.
I may have just saved your life. You can thank me later. With beer.