雪まつりも終わってクルマで遠出したりすると、いわゆる「光の春」を感じる瞬間がときどきある。雪景色には変わりがないのだけれど少し「ぬるみ」のようなものが感じられるのです。春分を１ヶ月先に控え徐々に日の長さも感じられ、早朝のあかるさも時間が６時過ぎになると目に見えてくる。
微細な変化が訴えてくる独特の季節感。
なんですが、降雪は容赦なく続いていて雪かきに休息はなかなか訪れない。自宅兼用事務所なのでみんなが出社するまでの時間には事務所回りの除雪が欠かせません。なので降雪ぶりは日々のカラダの筋肉痛と完全に同期している（泣）。
ことしの冬はほぼ例年同様の降雪状況ですが、昨年の大雪とだんだん似てきていて、わが家周辺の堆雪ぶりはなかなかに過激な状況。周辺道路はほぼすべてが１車線化していて安全最優先の交通ぶり。
降雪量429cmは昨年の431cmとほぼ同じ。平年の399cmよりも多め。積雪深（積雪の垂直寸法）は99cmで昨年の104cmより5cm少なめですが、平年値80cmよりは20%以上深い。
グラフは札幌管区気象台が提供してくれている数値ですが、ほぼ毎日チェック。
ところで、昨日は久しぶりの業界的情報交換機会がありました。東大・前真之准教授とも久しぶりに対面。やはり対面しての情報交換は有益。意見の異なる問題についても、それぞれの考えを尊重し合う機会が必要でしょう。いまの日本にはそういう「寛容性」対話が欠けているように思いますね。
さて本日もわが家周辺の雪との黙々対話、頑張ります。
English version⬇
As of February 20, "snowfall" around my house is 429 cm.
Sapporo is now at the peak of its snowfall season. I want to spend my time relaxing and interacting with the snow. I am also having a gentle conversation with my muscle pain. I am still in a state of pain.
When I go out by car after the Snow Festival is over, I sometimes have a moment when I feel what is called "spring of light. The snowy landscape is still the same, but there is a slight "lukewarmness" in the air. The daylight of early morning becomes visible after 6:00 a.m. as the spring equinox approaches a month ahead.
Such minute changes give us a unique sense of the season.
However, the snowfall has been relentless and there is no rest for the snow shovelers. Since our office doubles as a home office, it is essential to remove snow from around the office before everyone arrives at work. The snowfall is perfectly synchronized with the daily muscle aches in my body (I cry).
The snowfall this winter has been almost the same as usual, but it is gradually becoming more and more similar to last year's heavy snowfall, and the amount of composting around our house is quite extreme. Almost all of the roads in the area are now single lane, and safety is a top priority for traffic.
The 429 cm of snowfall is almost the same as last year's 431 cm. The 429 cm of snowfall is almost the same as last year's 431 cm, and more than the normal year's 399 cm. The snow depth (the vertical dimension of the remaining snow cover at that point) was 99 cm, 5 cm less than last year's 104 cm, but more than 20% deeper than the normal value of 80 cm.
This graph is provided by the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory, and we are checking this figure almost every day.
Last night was the first opportunity in a long time to exchange information in the industry. I met with Associate Professor Masayuki Mae of the University of Tokyo for the first time in a while. As I said, exchanging information face to face is beneficial. It is necessary to have an opportunity to respect each other's views on issues where we have different opinions. I think that such a "tolerant" dialogue is lacking in Japan today.
Well, I will do my best again today to remove snow from the surrounding area.
