Icy day...

[fajrdrako]

One degree below the freezing point this morning, and drizzling. I left the apartment and found myself hemmed in by a sidewalk covered in totally invisible ice. Since breaking my ankle, I have neither the balance nor the nerve to venture past the barrier, and no guarantee that the road beyond wouldn't be slippery, too. It looked fine, but then, so did the sidewalk. The apartment building casts a cold shadow, so that even when you can't perceive the difference, the street in front of it is always colder and icier than the rest of the street.

While I was standing on the lawn wondering what to do, a big burly gentleman from my apartment building went striding past me, and almost landed on his butt. He recovered and continued without falling, but it was a close thing. It didn't encourage me.

I considered options. Calling a taxi to go to work would take a while, and I'd probably be late. Phoning maaseru would just wake her up, and her guest, too, probably, unless she'd already gone to work. Getting the cane would mean I'd have to carry it around all day, and no guarantee it would help.

So I went to the parking lot in the basement, and out the back door onto Fourth Avenue, and the sidewalk was fine there. I walked to the Fifth Avenue bus stop, and got a bus there.

When the bus got to my regular stop on Third Avenue, maaboroshi got on. She usually leaves for work at least half an hour before I do. But on leaving the apartment, she had slipped on the ice, soaked herself, bruised her elbow, and had to change her clothes and go to work late.

Makes me worry, a little, about how I'll get home. But I'll cross that icy bridge when I get to it.

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Can you get ice walkers?

Yes - and believe me, I was annoyed with myself this morning because I hadn't already done that! Back in April lying around with the broken ankle I told myself I'd get ice walkers for sure. So how did the season sneak up on me this way?

The last one was during a snowfall, and I didn't know the ice was there and I was walking briskly

That was the case when I broke my ankle. On all previous occasions, I'd just picked myself up again and dusted myself off if I fell. Thinking each time that I was lucky not to have hurt myself. Ahh, the joys of winter.

I converted an aging pair of running shoes to snow treads by screwing a few small sheet-metal screws into the rubber soles. Can't wear them inside, but they work great in slippery weather.

Woo, good trick!

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

So how did the season sneak up on me this way?

The same way it did to all the rest of us here ... with little cat feet, till one day - ZZZIPPPP!! Swoosh! THUDD! [Wince. :-(]

If anything, this season seems earlier than last year, and I distinctly remember my surprise when the snow that stayed in late 2007 came just six days after the usual start of winter in Winnipeg (Nov. 15, which I call "Snow Day"). I thought that Ottawa's climate is supposed to be warmer than Winnipeg's, no? Or is global warming just a flash in the pan??

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think you just can't trust the weather, wherever you are. I expect mid-November to be the 'start of snowy winter', though when I was a kid, there was often snow before Halloween - which then melted again.

They say it will be warmer today. Good!