OH SNOW! NOT AGAIN. NOT NOW. IT’S TOO EARLY FOR A BEAUTIFUL WINTER WONDERLAND. ISN’T IT?

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA — Winter is a lot like death. You know it’s coming — but it’s always a surprise when you wake up to it.

As it was again this morning when Muskokans were awash in a blanket of overnight white.

So much for a green Christmas? Even though it’s less than a month away from Dec. 25.

Thirty to 40 centimetres fell in parts of the district. That’s about a foot of snow.

And it’s what’s predicted for Saturday and slightly less Sunday.

Much of it was wet and packed making it hard to move.

This is what many woke up to this morning. Digging out and brushing off a car buried in the driveway. Photos Mark Clairmont

As snowplows began their annual cleanup, snowmobile engines could already be heard revving up in the distance.

Muffling the sounds of snowblowers at work and some that wouldn’t start after repeated grunts and pulls of the cord, which were followed by more moans.

And the joyful, gleeful shouts of kids out of school — as buses were cancelled again the first snowfall of the year — rang out through neighbourhoods as they sang and played in generally pleasant temperature a few decent degrees above zero.

Among many other closures was at least on anticipated gathering at the Bracebridge library where a Polar Express event is expected to be rescheduled after the new building at the Muskoka Lumber Community Centre shut its doors at noon.

With more of the same expected this weekend … if you didn’t get your shovel out today dig it out.

Bay Street finally opened last night in Gravenhurst just hours before the big dump. But drivers were out on the road early in both directions after district plows piled up banks along their path and town sidewalk plows cleared a walkway for pedestrians.

It’s going to come in handy around the house or business.

Because one of the galling complaints of winter snowplows around the home it that they take too long to show up.

Drivers and companies always spend countless early hours after a storm clearing out business parking lots.

But what’s the sense of making room for hundreds of cars and trucks when surrounding retail spaces when the customers and workers can’t get out of their driveways to go there.

Alas that’s winter. Might as well get used to it.

It looks here to stay.

Plows were busy shovelling driveways and business parking lots from the middle of the night past noon.
You’re going to be seeing a lot more of this giant equipment in the next four months. Get used to sharing the roads with these tireless workers.
But you’ll still need to keep your shovel and broom handy – if you didn’t dig them out today. It’s going to be a long weekend and winter it seems. Enjoy or not.

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