The snow arrives on Friday, December 16, 2005 at three in the afternoon. Arrives on the lawn in front of the municipal building in Oak Bay Village on the Avenue. Delivered by huge trucks. Six loads. Carried down from Mt. Washington, up Island.
A backhoe scoops the snow from the piles the dump trucks dump, redistributes it, makes room for the next load. At one point the bucket extends, lowers, delicately - despite the bulk - dislodges snow stuck in the bed of the truck. An unusual ballet.
Kids of all ages are on the sidelines waiting for the chance to play.
The final load is dumped, the final scoop is scooped; the backhoe operator turns his seat around and, now a plow, drives away.
Immediately kids ant the hills of snow. Immediately snowballs are in flight. Youngsters begin their own redistribution.
It is six degrees Celsius. Daffodils and tulips from just up the peninsula are for sale in the stores next to the pile of snow. The grass on which the snow is piled is its brilliant winter green. Some bulbs have put up an inch or so of shoots in a nearby garden. The sun is warm. The air is cool.
A plastic sled appears. Then cardboard from boxes gotten next door at the grocery store. There is much hooting and hollering.
Some passing motorists catch a glimpse of the frolicking as they drive by and do a surprised double-take.
The snow pile is in the shadow of the municipal building and two days later, on a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, there is still a lot of snow, still a bunch of kids.
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