From the depths of Winter

I have been doing some research into the temperature and precipitation fluctuations in the Shuswap since my great grand parent's arrival here in 1938.  All the photographs and the letters over the early years on the farm made it clear that there was lots of snow and it was cold enough that the lake froze over.
My house sits where my great grandparent's house once stood thus I gaze out onto the same view of the lake that they had all those years ago. It is not frozen, and has not been frozen for many years now.
Through the weather archives I discovered that the first winter that my great-grandparents endured on the farm, alone, without the youthful support of their grandson, the temperatures were consistently well below zero, and as cold as -24. A total of 225.8 cm. of snow fell that winter, lasting well into March. The snow probably didn't melt until late spring.

I have posted this picture before of my great-grandmother Caroline making her way to the house. Once in the house the temperature was dependent on how well the wood stove was stocked. With no central heating the only room that was warm was the kitchen. The house itself was very poorly built so that it is no wonder that water would freeze overnight.

 Charles and Caroline Fleur de Lys were well advanced in their years when they bought the farm. They did not have any preparation for living the rustic lifestyle on the Shuswap as their home in Montreal had all the modern luxeries.  Caroline made it very clear in her letters to Switzerland that she found the absence of running water and bathing extremely difficult to endure. Caroline had to wait 20 years for central heating. It was installed in the winter of 1961 and she joyfully proclaimed in her correspondence that "it is 32 degrees (f) outside and inside all through the house it is an equal temperature of 80 degrees (f)."

The long cold winters on the Ranch are in the past. Climate change is very evident in at least the last 10 years. The last winter we remember the lake freezing was in 1991. We were living in the Atwater cabin which was built directly on the water. Our neighbors skated over the 2 km. of shoreline between our houses to visit us.

1991 - the view from the Atwater Cabin. Before the lake freezes a mist forms above the water.

We started to move back and forth to the Ranch in 1990, moving here permanently in 1993.  In 1993 my parents were about 10 years younger  than my great-grandparents were when they bought the farm and were the lone pioneers for a year. It was evident in the years that followed our move to the farm that there are tasks that are best done by a younger person, which is a problem throughout agriculture where the average age of a farmer is 57.

The winter of 1991 also brought record snow falls. Brent is up on my parent's roof removing some of the accumulated snow. This is a good example of a job best done by a younger person.

 Brent with the snowblower on the top of Eddy and Betty's house roof. We have not had to shovel snow from our roofs for many years. The last time we can remember was the winter of 1994.

Even with our 4 wheel drive vehicles we would often get stuck on the farm or along our Sunnybrae Road. Most of the time we could help each other out. Here Brent is pulling Eddy out of the ditch. Eddy is in the truck with his two little dogs and our black lab, Kia Ora.