As I’ve mentioned once or twice (or 853 times) in the past, I’m not a big fan of winter. I’m not fond of the staggering oppression of the humidity in the dead of summer here in Montreal either, but right now it’s winter that is dragging on. Admittedly the season wasn’t too bad for quite some time. While snow buried areas to the west, the east, and all across the states, we barely had snow at all throughout most of January.

Then it’s like someone woke up and said, “oh right, winter in Montreal!” and threw a ton of snow at us over the past week or so. It still hasn’t been all that bad but it just seemed like it was coming down non-stop for awhile.

It would be easy for me to sit around and grumble about how much I want it all to melt and how fed up I am now of snow, but it doesn’t really do much good in the end. Regardless of how I feel about it, it’s still going to be there and I still need to go out in it. The only way to survive winter with your sanity intact is to try to enjoy it as much as you possibly can.

Last weekend we went out with our friends on a Saturday night to see some fireworks at a Winterfest that we had heard about. It was a bit chilly but not too bad and we enjoyed some pretty sights and hot chocolate.

Just as we were leaving the snow started coming down; while we visited with our friends at their place it turned into a raging blizzard and the roads were pretty nuts when we headed home at midnight. The upside to all the snow was that it provided further opportunities for winter fun.

For instance, once they plowed the parking lots, we were left with several large, high mounds of snow which provided a fun spot for sledding mere steps from our door.

Meanwhile the park is all but hidden under all the snow which doesn’t make for great walking (ah, if only I had snowshoes!) but it was great fun for a bounding Border Collie mix.

As for me, well… in the words of Tara Stiles you can do “yoga anywhere”. Even up on top of a great big mound of snow.

(The heavy winter boots and multiple layers sure do make balancing a whole new challenge though!)

So I’m trying. Still. How long until spring? I want to enjoy some mild weather before I start grumbling about the humidex.

(More photos over here)