in the deep freeze

My poor New Zealand fern, the one in my icon, would be shriveling up in the Arctic blast we've been suffering under the past 2 days. Minus 30 degrees centigrade is cold in anyone's books.

It's really only worth remarking on because it's been several years since we had a real January cold snap. We used to get a couple of weeks a year in the deep freeze, any time from late December to early February. Not lately. A clear sign of climate disruptions, I think.

We hadn't even had much snow in recent years, up to last year when we had several large snowfalls and over the winter accumulated several feet. It's a lot better for the shrubs and perennials when that happens. We've had a great deal of winter-kill on them lately because of insufficient snow cover to insulate them properly.

This year we're getting both cold and snow. Were the 10-15 years of milder winters just a blip? One would be tempted to think so, if it was possible to ignore the summer melt in the Arctic Ocean. I have a feeling there are a number of polar bears that would argue the question.

Meanwhile, it looks like there might be some movement in the lengthy transit strike, and the prediction is for increasing temperatures and more snow.

Ah, the joys of winter in Canada.