L'an passé c'était ceci http://i41.servimg.com/u/f41/09/01/15/32/08faca10.jpg Mother Nature is once again keeping all of us on our toes, reveals Editor and Philom. Peter Geiger, we know she likes to throw curve balls at us from time to time and this winter it looks as though shes going to reveal a possible split personality. The Canadian Farmers Almanac long-range forecasts are calling for a colder than normal winter with a greater than average complement of precipitation for the Ontario/Quebec border and points east into the Maritimes. From central Ontario west through the Prairies and Rockies, on to the Pacific Coast the overall winter will be milder than normal with near or below normal precipitation. Skiers across Quebec will rejoice: snowier than normal conditions are expected. Snowy conditions will also be the case over Newfoundland. Overall, the winter should also average below normal temperature-wise across Quebec and the Maritimes. Cold and snowy weather should also prevail over the Great Lakes region. In contrast, the Prairies, Rocky Mountains, and Pacific Coast should enjoy a relatively mild and somewhat drier than normal winter season overall. For some locations, the amount of wintertime precipitation rain or snow could average one-quarter to as much as one-half below seasonal normal. And near and along the boundary zone between the mild and tranquil West and the cold and stormy East, we look for some large-scale weather vacillations: going from wintry to spring like and back to winter, almost like some sort of a meteorological pendulum undergoing a series of pretty wild swings.