The fabled Nor'easter

As someone who grew up far from the sea and who spent most of my adult life on the west side of Canada, I had heard of the Nor'easter and was aware it was weather that easterners respected and even feared... but it was mythological, the subject of folksongs and tales, not anything within my ken. 

Now that I've lived in the Maritimes through six winters and the beginnings of a 7th, the Nor-easter is old hat.  You fill the woodbox ahead of time, then hunker down, stay inside if you can, avoid the roads at all costs, make soups or stews, find sedentary things to do (like reactivating this blog), go to bed early or otherwise wait it out.  The weather forecast on the radio this morning wasn't for a winter storm or blowing snow, it was for a Nor'easter... as though everyone listening knows what that means, what comes with the package, without needing to have it spelled out: gusty winds, blowing snow, drifts across your doorway and other inconvenient locales, windows plastered with snow on the prevailing-wind side of the house... um, the northeast side... and if things are really howling, the possibility of a power outage.  Oh joy!

Never let it be said that I'm a competent videographer, especially with my tiny Canon Powershot camera, but I thought I'd post a small Nor'easter sample for your viewing pleasure (especially pleasureful if you're watching in a warm, sunny place)...  Try to imagine the sounds that weren't picked up: the chirps of chickadees unfazed by the storm, and the muted sonorousness of the fog horn aiming to be heard above the blast... as if any mariner were foolish enough to be out on the Bay...

In the nearly interminable time it took to upload that video, I got stir-crazy enough to go out and shovel off the back deck even though the snow isn't expected to stop for another 7 hours... at least the drift in front of the door won't be quite so deep tomorrow morning...  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to attend to my soup...