Embracing winter

frost on the mudroom window several days ago

My garden blogging friend in Toronto pointed out this well-known Quebecois phrase to me in a FB comment on a previous post:  it's part of a poem by Gilles Vigneault, also turned into a song, performed by Vigneault and others.

Mon pays ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver...”
(“My country is not a country, it’s winter...”)
– Gilles Vigneault

She provided a link to an excellent audio version; I didn't find her comment during a quick attempt to look through recent ones,  so can't provide that link here.

sun room/solarium window with reflection from mud room windows

It's a good thing to experience what seems to be a major winter storm at the moment (at least with power), since we appreciate how beautiful it is here in summer. It's beautiful here in winter, too.  And winter lasts a long time here.

Offices and public buildings in the City of Rimouski (of which our village of Le Bic is a part) were closed this morning, only opening up a few essential functions at 1 pm.  Schools were closed all day.  Sections of the major highway near our house -- the primary artery from Quebec City up the length of the Gaspé Peninsula-- were closed from yesterday afternoon until mid-day today, including the stretch near our house, from Le Bic to Riviére du Loup.

My gardening companion did an excellent updated post this morning about our snowy conditions, complete with great photographs of our house and garden covered with LOTS of snow.

Here was the drift behind the house -- a significant accumulation.

Click through the link above to see more photos.  He told the story well.