Snow Removal
January 5, 2007 at 11:29 pm 20 comments
After a major snowfall like the one we had on New Year’s Eve, streets are immediately plowed here in Winnipeg. The priority, of course, is the main streets.
I was taking a walk after lunch when I saw this snowplow clearing our street.
All that snow is pushed aside to the curb. So you’ll see a lot of high piles of snow like this one.
There were times when I had to walk on the street because some of the sidewalks have not been cleared yet. I came upon these two homeowners who were snowblowing their driveways.
I found this picture of a gas-powered snowblower on the internet. It must be a lot easier to work this baby than shoveling all that heavy snow.
On parking lots, the piles of snow are a lot higher. Can you see the shopping cart beside that mountain of snow?
This is a picture I had taken two years ago when we were also in deep snow. That is the machine they use to clear the snow and dump it in a pile. You can see it here in action.
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Journey to Honeyville 
1.
JO | January 6, 2007 at 1:17 am
You do have lots of snow… how did you manage to stay and live there all these years? How come you never move to another province with less snow or shorter winter days?
Would you say that the salary rates there are higher compared to Toronto or Vancouver? Just asking, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want. Curious lang ako.
We moved to Calgary mainly because hubby got good job offer. If not, I wouldn’t even dream of moving to a much colder place than Toronto is.
2.
pining | January 6, 2007 at 4:00 am
hii niceheart! I hope you didn’t have to do that every year .. I mean that much snow is not a joke.. I wonder how much your heating bill cost? must be sky-high
3.
Karen | January 6, 2007 at 4:12 am
they plowed my street just recently (guys, i live in winnipeg too), i guess because we live in a crescent, away from the main roads. i’ve been walking in the middle of the road even if sidewalk are plowed. its just in my experience, sidewalks could become more slippery if the snow wasn’t removed properly, tapos magmemelt pa. besides, konti lang naman ang dumadaan sa street namin.
we need a snowblower. they just keep on forgetting about it, agh. my very nice neighbour, when he saw my dad shoveling, offered to remove the snow in our driveway using his snowblower.
4.
KD | January 6, 2007 at 4:44 am
Dito naman sa gitnang silangan, majority ng streets dito ay not designed with flood drains. Kaya konting ulan lang baha na agad pero dinidispatch agad nila yung mga trucks na hihigop ng tubig sa daan (like Malabanan sa Manila).
Happy New Year Tita NH
5.
Sunshine | January 6, 2007 at 6:05 am
Aaaw, I miss the snow. You should be happy. 🙂
Here in Sweden there should be snow everywhere, but this winter it hasn’t been any. What a pity. I would really like to go ice skating or ski.
6.
ann | January 6, 2007 at 10:40 am
Kawawa nman yung mga kids na kailangang pumasok sa school pag ganyan ang panahon. Ilang months ba ganyan pag winter?
7.
Leah | January 6, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Toronto is having such a mild winter right now. Akala all throughout Canada. Dyan pala, as usual pa rin…lots of snow.
i sort of miss it too for the fun things you can do with it. My daughter is pining for snow days so we can go toboganning.
8.
Toe | January 6, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Ay pareho kame ni KD… ganyan din yung baha dito. 🙂
That’s a lot of snow Niceheart. It must get really gooey when it melts. Interesting because I suppose that your kids must be really used to it. 🙂 Take care during your walks Niceheart!
9.
niceheart | January 6, 2007 at 10:52 pm
JO, it’s okay. I will answer your questions. They’re very good questions naman.
How did we manage to live here all these years? It just takes getting used to it. We do get a lot of snow, but as you can see, the government clears that as soon as possible. Yes we get extreme temperatures, so we just have to wear layers of clothing and thick warm jackets. And houses are provided with heaters naman. Also, all of my family is here, sis lives next door and mama is just ten minutes drive away.
Regarding salary rates. Ontario has higher salary rates but it also has a high cost of living. Our salaries here may not be as high as in other provinces but the cost of living here is also not that high.
Besides, I love my work here. Though the salary may not be that high, the benefits are excellent. And I can work at home pa. What more could I ask for?
Also, we have a huge Filipino community here (roughly 30,000), and we are tightly knit. Kaya para ka na ring nasa Pilipinas, except of course sa weather. 🙂
We’ve heard of kababayans who moved away to other provinces and then came back here. They said that they missed having Filipinos around.
I’ve written two posts that explain why I love living here in Winnipeg. Friendly Manitoba Part 1 and Part 2. And if you read my About page, you’ll also find the answer there. 🙂 But if you’re not up to clicking on the links, here’s my final paragraph on my Friendly Manitoba post:
“Winnipeg has long and very cold winters. But as I’ve said before, it is the friendliness of this province, the huge Filipino community here, the closeness of my family and the warmth of my friendships with fellow kababayans that make it bearable for me to live in this city.”
10.
niceheart | January 6, 2007 at 11:03 pm
PIning, it’s like this every year. But we’re already used to it. The gas bill may be expensive, but it’s not sky high.:) We are on the equal payment plan so we don’t get the bulk of it in the winter.
Karen, that’s very nice of your neighbour. See, another testament of how friendly Manitobans are. Kami naman, we live on a main road. Very busy street and it’s also a bus route. And we are also close to three schools kaya priority talaga.
11.
niceheart | January 6, 2007 at 11:09 pm
KD, parang Pinas din pala. 🙂 At least they do something right away to clear the water. Happy new year din sa yo.
That’s too bad Sunshine. Maybe it will still come later. Winter’s not over yet.
Ann, hindi naman kawawa ang mga kids. Actually they enjoy playing in the snow. Gumagawa sila ng mga snowman, snowforts. They also look forward to tobagganing, yung nag-i-slide sila down a snow hill. Usually hanggang March or April ang snow dito.
12.
niceheart | January 6, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Leah, we always have snow in the winter. I’ve heard pa nga during the holidays that there’s always a 99% possibility of Winnipeg having a white Christmas. I know there were a lot of places who either had a green or brown Christmas. 🙂
Toe, it’s more like slushy when it starts to melt. But the bad part is, when it melts and then the following days and we have freezing temperatures again, the snow turns into ice and it gets slippery. It can get tricky walking on ice, especially for old ‘uns like me. 🙂 But it’s nothing for the kids. I watch them glide gracefully on ice, as if they’re ice skating. They have very flexible bodies and nimble moves. 🙂
13.
Sunshine | January 7, 2007 at 8:14 am
I do sure hope soo. I really miss the snow. 😦
14.
iskoo | January 7, 2007 at 10:18 am
mukhang malaki ang nagagastos ng city govnt just to keep the place safe and convenient sa mga residents . dito sa pinas garbage collection lang nahihirapan silang pondohan 🙂
15.
cruise | January 7, 2007 at 10:21 am
ang month normally may snow sa inyo? grabe pala kung tumaas ang snow kakailanganin pa ng mga heavy equipement para matanggal ang makapal na snow.
16.
haze | January 7, 2007 at 3:57 pm
That should be delivered here in France Alps ! That’s perfect for a snowball fight & making a snowman 🙂 ! Penge naman kami dito 🙂 !
17.
eric | January 7, 2007 at 10:59 pm
There was a time when the other borough residents of NYC used to complain that Manhattan used to get cleaned up first before the other boroughs — Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.
Besides a snow pile up, ice and sleet are what I detested also during the winter months 😦
18.
niceheart | January 7, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Iskoo, the City spends millions of dollars just to clear away the snow.
Cruise, we have snow usually from November up to March or April. Sometimes even after the snow has melted, we still get a bit in May.
19.
niceheart | January 7, 2007 at 11:55 pm
Okay, haze, I’m throwing some at you right now. You better catch it. 🙂
Eric, well I guess Manhattan is a lot busier than the other areas. The two days following New Year’s, we had warmer temperatures and the snow started melting. But of course temperatures went down again and the sidewalks are now icy.
20. Snow route parking bans « Journey to Honeyville | January 8, 2007 at 12:09 am
[…] This is one of the cars that was covered in snow after that snowfall we had on New Year’s Eve. […]