The leaves have officially changed colour, and much to my disappointment have started to really fall. I live pretty much straight north of Minneapolis and am permanently land locked, so the weather here goes unchecked by the reach of the ocean or the great lakes. The fall here doesn’t last long (where does it last as long as it should?) and as I’ve been relishing a chance to dress comfortably in layers and play with my collection of scarves, I know it’s a bubble that’s about to burst. I can’t remember a Halloween when we didn’t have snow and my fall jackets have already stopped keeping me warm while I wait for the bus. It’s too soon – we can’t be there already can we?

In The Prairies the winter arrives with a dry continental cold that’s already sneaking into the wind. The cold routinely reaches -45°C (a staggering -49°F ) and combined with the lack of moisture, living here becomes something to reckon with. My hands are already starting to dry and I’m working on buying the right lotions and looking for fall gloves because by November my hands are usually starting to crack and bleed from the lack of moisture in the air. The winter is an uphill battle.

The cold is shocking. It hits your lungs so hard it hurts, and it takes a few moments to catch your breath, to focus and adjust to the difference in temperature between warm bodies and the invading air. The wind starts blowing in the North West Territories and there is nothing slowing it as it rushes over the prairie at full force. By the time it reaches us here it’s a freight train ripping through the streets and pulling up sheets of black ice in its wake.

This is going to be my first winter without a car, last month Mister and I finally decided that since we live on a rare residential street with a bus route, and there are bus shelters where I need to go, that it makes more sense to downsize and save up than for us both to drive. The bus service here is unreliable at best though, often running over 30 minutes late or shutting down completely. In the winter the police cruisers that are on patrol routinely pick up people at bus stops and drive them to where they need to go, if the buses aren’t running and you’re not near any stores the cold can be incapacitating, or deadly.

Downsizing for us is imperfect, but it means we can save for trips and house repairs faster. We can buy the nice wine and premium hot chocolate to warm me up after a long, slow bus ride home.

The winter is a struggle, but I really do like it here. Prairie people are above all things, midwesterners. Good humoured, dry wits, and helpful. Fighting the prairie winter is something we just do, together. We help each other get through it, we always talk about it, and when it takes a lot of physical endurance to just go out and get groceries everyone you meet at the grocery store is a fellow warrior with war stories of quick turns and narrow misses. Everyone is helping their grandparents or elderly neighbours, and returning home feeling like they accomplished something just by getting home safe again. I love the feeling of returning home in the winter, and of giving our friends a warm dry place to be.

I’ve been sick for the past few days and have finally taken a couple of days off to recuperate – I realized yesterday that I haven’t had more than a long weekend away from work in six months, which would account for my starting to fade post-wedding. I’m going to take this long weekend to read on my deck in the sun (with a fleece on) while I still can, to have a great Canadian Thanksgiving, and to spend some time with my Mister when we’re not rushing to do groceries or walk the dogs or tend to our friends. We’re going to just be together for a few days.

Wedding pictures are starting to roll in, I’ll have some to show by next week for sure. Have a good fall afternoon, and if you’re not in Canada you should take Monday off in honour of your Canadian Friends!

Thanks for the update Laura, you guys DO take the day off – see, what do I know! But that’s even better, I’ll have a Thanksgivingy update for you on Monday and you can….give thanks to Spain for funding their man Christopher. 1492 was a good year.