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Simply a question of timing This month it seems we live in some sort of a little heaven in southern Ontario. All around us, there are road closures, fender benders, huge dumps of snow-- all the stuff we associate with winter in the middle of February, not early December. And here, in little old Halton Hills, what do we have? A dusting of snow at best. A sample. A bit of the white stuff that is nothing more than a tease for those people whose raison d'etre is to strap on a pair of skis and go out in the raw cold. Now, for the record, I'm not complaining about the lack of snow; more making an observation about the weather. Some of my co-workers, who live out of town, marvel at the fact they leave a foot of snow at home, only to find an inch of slush here. Maybe we're lucky, maybe we're just good people who Mother Nature (or Old Man Winter) has decided to reward for our `goodness' -- I don't know. But I do have one small confession to make. I want it to snow-- just once. A pretty good one, not a dusting, not a blizzard, just a little something in-between, perhaps six inches or so. And I don't want the snow to make a quaint little Currier and Ives picture-perfect image outside my window, nor do I worry about having that sometimes over-rated White Christmas that good old Bing Crosby has been singing about for decades. Nope, I just want a storm to do a small test run. You see, I bought a new snowblower, and short of dispersing a pile of leaves The Sidekick raked in front of the house-- well, I have yet to try it out. And after spending a whack of money on it, well, you know what they say about boys and their toys. (Now I never ever buy `toys' when it comes to farm equipment-- they are always for `work', not play-- my story and I'm stickin' to it...) But just one teeny, tiny, itsy bitsy little 7 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, December 16, 2010 Book by Dec 31st and receive $150 off per person Ted Brown storm to allow me to make sure it works properly would be nice. The Sidekick states she sees no need of a test storm to make sure it works. She figures someone in a research and development department has already gone to great lengths to test the snow blower long before releasing it to the rural consumers like me. But my next door neighbour Matt also wants it to snow, for a similar reason. He too has a need to test a piece of machinery. It's his 2010 F150, with honkin' big tires, and four-wheel drive. He feels it's his responsibility to be sure the vehicle is up to the challenge of a real snowstorm, before we actually have one. I've already told him that the fact it's a Ford is good enough. Hello-- it can handle anything Old Man Winter can throw at it. I know from first-hand experience! But he's young and eager. With both Matt and I sharing a `need' for a test storm, there's one small problem. We share a driveway. The driveway he wants to try to punch through with his truck, is the same one I wanna blow the snow off. So we have come to an agreement, of sorts. And it all circles around timing. In other words, if he wants to drive through a pile of snow on the driveway, then he's gotta get up and get out there before me. Yeah, right. For the record, when it comes, I know I'll have it blown away-- long before he's even outta bed. EXPERIENCE MAGICAL MALAYSIA Inaugural 16 Day Deluxe All-Inclusive Escorted Tour February 28 ­ March 15 2011 EXCLUSIVE TO VISION 2000 TRAVEL $4,799 p.p. + $524 taxes Includes: Return airfare from Toronto, Deluxe Motor Coach, All hotel accommodations, All meals as per itinerary, All sightseeing tours and Admission Fees as per itinerary, Local English speaking guides Georgetown Fares are per person in Canadian Dollar, based on double occupancy and subject to availability at time of booking. 905-873-2000 328 Guelph St. Georgetown, ON TICO Reg #50018501 Open Saturdays 9am - 4pm www.vision2000worldtours.com