First snowfall (a hint of it)

First snow...didn't last more than a few minutes as it fell to the ground, but the weather has officially taken a shift toward winter now.  The garden is now mulched with straw and leaves, only kale and carrots still making a cheerful appearance; our clothing has begun to layer, our hat and mitten basket is full again, woolen scarves hang on the coat rack, and our insulated muck boots as well as winter footwear have been brought out from storage; our bicycle shed is nearly finished, but we'll continue to cycle to our errands around town (we love our children's bike trailer from Wike in Guelph) until the deep of winter is here; winter tonics, teas and syrups have been prepared and our herbal remedies shelf is well stocked up (read more on our favourite winter health tonics from last year's post here); the sky is more often grey than blue, the grass is brown and crackling, the air is chilly with occasional warm spells that surprise us..these are the slow rumblings of winter beginning in southern Ontario.  Very different from the brilliantly sunny, heavily snowy, unpredictably stormy Manitoba prairie I grew up in.