Skating through the Forest

Yes you read that right.   I'm going back to some of my favourite winter memories here, and this is one of the best.  Ten years ago I joined a Bruce Trail group that headed north to the Huntsville area for a winter weekend.  It was great fun, and a group of friends I still see regularly.

There was snowshoeing right at the lodge we stayed in, but most days we headed over the Arrowhead Provincial Park for cross-country skiing.  With its varied levels of groomed trails, it's a mecca for cross-country in the area and it was only 20 minutes away.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

It was there I discovered they also had a well maintained skate trail.  So the next year I took my skates and insisted to my companions that I wanted time to skate this trail.  They all sat in the warm car while I went for my skate - it was bitterly cold.

They created the trail by laying down ice on one of the winding campground roads, and they actually had a zamboni to maintain the ice.  It was amazing skating, and one of the first such trails in Ontario.

I often went skating in the big arena at the university when I worked there, and even took lessons when I was 40 or older, so I could at least stand up on my skates, and I really enjoyed this winter adventure.

Dry Stone Fence

I'm dipping back into the past for awhile until we have something new and interesting to share around here.  This is a remarkable old stone fencerow that is actually a dry stone wall. It was located on the farm beside our previous home, and I walked here with our dog for several years.  The stones are all piled to create vertical walls, and it stretched from nearly at the barn almost to the back of the farm.

At first glance you might not notice anything special about this line of stones, but once you look more closely you notice how unique this is.

It's a little hard to illustrate with photos because in the summer it's covered with green and in the winter with white.  A skiff of snow like this is ideal.

As you can see, it's a long farm lane that went straight back down the middle of the farm.

By getting closer I think you can see the vertical sides better.

This was probably built 120 years ago, but is still stable today.  You could climb up and walk along the top; it's about five feet thick.

I expect we will lose many features of the cultural landscape like this, just because they don't fit well with modern farming methods.  This is undoubtedly the most interesting old fence I've found since we moved up to the valley.

A Peaceful 'Normal' Winter?

 Looking out the window this morning I was struck by how 'normal' a winter this appeared.  A foot of snow, gentle snow falling easily, and no wind.  And to beat that it was beginning to look like we might get some sun today!    And we did!

It was simply a gorgeous winter's day!

You could almost picture sitting our there in the sun!

Yesterday wasn't at all so nice!

And for those who were asking, our snowstick is in find shape, with a nice winter blanket.

The Snowstick Returns!

 I've been wondering where our good old snowstick went, the copper crane that we use to measure the snow depth.  But as the snow melted almost away to nothing last week, there it was, fallen over under the weight of one of those December snowfalls.  Luckily we were able to rescue it and stand him up again to continue his work

On Dec. 30th it was standing back up and ready to go, just a little snow around its feet.

The next day virtually all the snow was gone.

On New Year's Day we had a light dusting of snow.

And then winter returned, about a foot of snow, coming down very gently.

Jan. 5th added a couple of inches and we're back to deep snow after our big meltdown.  That's winter for you!

Winter Comes, Winter Goes, Then it Comes Again!

We're in the middle of a continuing roller coaster of winter.  On Christmas Day it was still snowy, but then the big thaw began, taking us almost all the way to green grass.  Today it is snowing like mad again and winter is back.

Christmas Day

Just four days later.

Dec. 30 - it looks like spring!

A light snowfall that was gone within hours.

Jan. 2 - a nice gentle snowfall, about 4" deep.

Note our snowstick in the lower left.

Yesterday morning - about a foot now, and lots of blowing snow today!

Happy New Year!

The new year has arrived, I can't believe it!  Time moves so fast as you get older.  Just yesterday it was summer and I was riding downtown to the library or for coffee.  Now it's winter, though a mixed up -  warm then cold then repeat, snow then melt then snow again.

So with our fixation on the weather and on holidays, you might not have noticed, but yesterday I published my 3000th blog post!  I can't believe how much it's helped concentrate my mind over 15 years!  And that's not all, because I've also received just over 40,000 comments and over 1,7 million visits!  That's the real reason I celebrate.

Your dedicated commitment to reading and making comments means a great deal to me, particularly over the past five years while I've been paralyzed.   So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And why do I blog?  First because I enjoy reading blogs, so I figure it's a fair trade.  But second because I find it engages the mind like little else.  Having to take pictures, think of a theme to post those pictures around, and actually writing the blog, gives my brain a small routine challenge every day if nothing else.  

So thank you, and best wishes for a great new year!

2024 Review Part II

I was surprised to find these 'Tidbits' signs around downtown back in the summer.  The brainchild of a  professor from George Brown College in Toronto, the tidbits of history they posted certainly helped me understand the industrial legacy of the harbour area.  There are still mysterious gaps right by the waterfront where long gone industrial buildings once stood.  

This is the old hotel that stood where the library is now.  It was mid-summer when these started showing up.  You might note that this is when I had to enter the modern age and finally learn how to use QR codes!  Gotta keep up with the next generation!

In August along came one of the best bird pictures I've ever caught, a Rudy-throated Hummingbird visiting our Mexican Sunflower.

Pretty soon it was harvest time and Mrs. F.G. worked hard at growing several kinds of hot peppers this year right here in our own garden.

We're in the middle of a significant apple-growing area, so it's always notable when apple season arrives in early fall.  These apples were at Goldsmiths Farm Market.

Meaford has several festivals over the year, but none is so obvious as the Scarecrow Festival, held in late September..

Then it's fall and the leaves start turning colour, one of my favourite times of year.

I also got this great shot of a Monarch, just outside our front door, very late in the season.

On one of my last trips downtown in early November I saw these two Mute Swans in the harbour.  Although we often see one or two in Thornbury's harbour, I don't recall ever seeing them in Meaford before.

We went on our annual drive to look for Sandhill Cranes, and we were very successful, though these were photographed at an extremely long distance.

And then I arrived at physio one day to find this charming fellow greeting me as I went in.  A cheerful end to the year if nothing else!

Happy New Year!