Canadians, I've noticed, are fascinated by the weather. You can count on it coming up in nearly every conversation. Not surprising I suppose, as the weather does seem to have a fairly profound effect on life here. In winter here, the weather can sometimes make a big difference to what you are able to do or not do.

This winter has been a bit unusual though. It has been unseasonably warm ... well, perhaps I should say it has been unseasonably not cold, as it's still hardly what you'd call warm. But we have had lots of days where the temperature have been in the range of zero degrees and upwards, sometimes getting as warm as +10C or so. That might not sound very warm, but you have to remember that for February in southern Ontario we are told that it is not uncommon to get temps in the -20C to -30C range. In fact, I heard on TV that this is officially the warmest Toronto winter on record. The Weather Channel has been predicting some chilly times and lots of snow of late, but so far it hasn't amounted to much. We had a snowfall the other night and it covered the place with a lovely blanket of white, but it quickly melted again or was washed away by the rain that followed. Oh, and when it rains, and then the temperatures drop again... that causes some very interesting patches of ice!

Reports are predicting a cold snap this weekend, and they keep saying that snow is coming, but I'll wait and see. A lot of the locals are commenting on how fortunate we've been to strike this good weather, but to be honest, I'd be quite happy to get at least one big blizzard and a massive snow dump! I mean, c'mon! We're here to experience a Canadian winter, so bring it on baby!