Family Day (Warning: big picture)

[ShadowHM]

We have a brand new statutory holiday here in Ontario - Family Day. The problem is, not everyone has the day off. My husband did not.

So, what can you do as a family activity without Dad on a day when half the city is out 'doing family stuff' together. Line-ups were going to be immense at any of the 'good stuff'. So the Royal Ontario Museum was out. So was the Science Centre. And so on....

So, we went for a boat ride. Oddly enough, there were no line-ups for this.
Here's hoping you all had a great long weekend too.

[Griselda]

Is there a big picture to go along with this?

Sounds like a good reason to have a holiday.

[ShadowHM]

Is there a big picture to go along with this?

Sounds like a good reason to have a holiday.

I could have sworn I put the link in there and actually saw it on the preview....

Here is is then.

[Griselda]

Thanks. Remind me to come to Toronto one day to see that in person.

[T-hawk]

So where exactly in Ontario in February does one find non-frozen water in which to float a boat?

[Zed-F]

Toronto, obviously!

Actually there is a little creek that runs behind our house in Ottawa which is not frozen, and seems to be the chosen residence of a flock of ducks. My daughter gets quite a kick out of greeting them every morning when she goes to school. The Rideau Canal, however, has been quite nicely frozen since January... but then IIRC it gets a little help from the city in that respect. Too bad I'm not a fan of ice skating.

Now if I were still living in Edmonton, with the weather they've had this year, everything would be frozen.

[ShadowHM]

The snow accumulation presents problems for me, in that the snowbank beside the driveway is high enough that it is a bit of an issue to heave new snow over it. But the accumulation is even more of an issue for the city administration, because those snowbanks (icebanks by now) narrow the city streets and pose a hazard for driving.

The city is slowly clearing them - and those truckloads of snow have to go somewhere. One of the storage places is near my home, where the city owns a 17 acre parcel of land that remains mainly undeveloped. (And oh my, the debate over what should go there and who should pay for it and how they should pay for it has been going on for a long time ).

But for right now, it is a perfect place to put those truckloads of snow. The truck traffic is about one every three minutes, and it just keeps growing....

I reckon it is about four stories high and a full city block in area at this point.

[mostly_harmless]

So what happens when it all melts? That's a lot of water that will have to go somewhere. I hope your place is not downhill from that storage place. :-)
mh

[ShadowHM]

So what happens when it all melts? That's a lot of water that will have to go somewhere. I hope your place is not downhill from that storage place. :-)

The way it is being packed down, it will take a very long time to melt. Last time we had something like this (1999, IIRC) it was June before the pile finally finished melting.

And yes, my home is on slightly higher ground.

[ShadowHM]

The way it is being packed down, it will take a very long time to melt.

Just to follow up: we took a walk last weekend to see if there was anything left of that monstrous pile of snow from last February. Yes, there is. Under the accumulation of dirt and garbage that was left as the pile melted/evaporated, there is ice. The boys are standing on it.