first off - nice set of photos!
lol..i must agree with Kwajo...
I've spent parts of the last several winters (including this one) in st john's...while it has a beauty to it, i do find the winters quite rough, in terms of little sunlight and biting wind (i think this is one of the reasons that, esp. downtown, there's been a tradition of very brightly colored houses, which helps to visually offset the long winter months).
the more i think about it, though, the more that i start to realize that my *single* biggest beef with winters here is the deplorable attention that is paid to effective & efficient snow removal. i have never, ever seen such poor resources or priorty given to snow removal - driving along main arteries in the city which are BARELY wide enough after a heavy snow fall to pass another car, sidewalks not being cleared even on large streets, forcing pedestrians into the before mentioned narrowed streets....the last 2 major snowfalls, the centrally located cul de sac where i stay when i'm in town was plowed..one cut..and the ridge was 18 - 20 FEET past the far side of the sidewalk in front of my driveway...if it snows < 5-7 cm, we simply dont get plowed.