Fresh Snow, Fresh Perspective.

One of the things that is amazing here in the winter is what you see "in the woods".  Once the leaves are on the trees, this view is obscured. It's quite hypnotic at this time of year.

The fallen trees, the low growing evergreens. With a "marshmallow" cap, stumps, trees and rocks are transformed. And it reminds us that snow is truly beautiful.

Oh What a Little Sunshine Can Do.

It may not last today, since that's not the forecast, but it sure is nice to wake up to a hint of sunshine. And the hints were plentiful today.

Peeking through the tree through the living room window.

Filling the horizon through the studio window.

And creeping up the studio stairs.

Winter is wonderful when the sun shines. And after a few grey days, it sure is great to have it back.

A Back-to-Bed Kind of Morning.

I've been up for quite a while this morning, and unlike the past few, this was not a pretty pink sky to greet me - or a promise of a crisp, clear day. But a dark and dismal start.

It's long past sunrise and here is what it looks like out there.

I'm sure it's many degrees warmer today, but personally, I'll always go for colder and brighter - especially in almost-February.

Chilly Sunday Stroll.

Despite the frosty temps today, our guest was up for a walk this afternoon. So we bundled up - only cheeks exposed to the -gazillion degrees.

A few pretty pictures to share. I don't think there is a way to capture just how cold it is, but this colour of blue sky in winter is generally accompanied by severe minuses.

Lots of critter tracks today. Earlier in the week we saw a very determined fox trotting along the side of the road. He sure didn't seem alarmed by the car. In fact, I think he raised a paw to wave at us. I'm convinced that many of these tracks are his - or his relatives.

Interesting to see how when they went off the road, it was tough slugging through the deep snow. The tracks almost look like someone was skiing.

Saw these interesting structures near the sand pit. Not sure what they are, but they make for a great picture.

Snowy Friday.

What an up and down week - alternating between crisp blue-sky days and snow. Along with that come temperature fluctuations - we went from -26 to +1 in 24 hours at one point this week.

Today we awoke to another monochromatic morning. Lots of snow falling. I always marvel at how "quiet" gets even "quieter" when snow is falling.

A few pics to share. I think I even managed to catch the snow against the logs this time.

Sunny with a Chance of Skiing.

Seems that when the sun comes out (and it's not a curling day) so do the x-country skis. Yes, it's a tad chilly at -18, and yes, we had the trails to ourselves - at least the two we did. Amazing how you scoot right along to keep warm.

Since conditions on the lake are not conducive, we went to the Georgian Nordic Ski Club. We have been going occasionally for years, but this year we decided to join, so that we could go when we felt like it - and for as short or long as we wanted.

As cottagers, you wouldn't even know that this place existed for skiing. Apparently, they are a canoe club as well, but we haven't looked into that aspect yet.

I brought along my BlackBerry to take a few snaps - they aren't great quality, but it sure was easy.

The Club has a variety of groomed trails in the woods - long and short - with and without hills, to suit skiers of all levels. They offer Classic x-country as well as Skating, which is beautiful to watch but beyond our scope or desire.

The groomer actually creates tracks for the Classic skiing and the area to the left is for the Skating.

The scenery in the woods is spectacular and the Classic trails are even narrower, so you really feel the presence of the magnificent trees. 

Occasionally you come into an open area like this one - and today, the wind was there to greet us, dropping the temp even further.

This is the trail map and you can see that trails are labelled and range from 1.4 km to 16. There are also a couple of show shoeing trails as well.

See what you are missing in the winter time? It's the cold version of kayaking and paddle boating all rolled into one.  An excellent workout, regardless of how short the excursion.

What a Difference a Day Makes.

Yesterday morning, I took these pictures and then forgot to post.

The pictures are mostly to show another beautiful, yet powerfully cold, morning and many more snowwmobile tracks. Our neighbours were up on the weekend and although we didn't actually see them, the tracks tell the tale.

This morning is grey and light snow and going up to +1. What a change from yesterday when it was below -20 with the wind chill factor. It was the coldest day this winter "inside" the cottage - I think because of the wind.

I took another picture of how the wind totally rearranged the little snowdrift on the front deck.

Overnight a large wet spot appeared on the lake. Not quite sure what that is. Rick did notice that the snowmobile tracks looked icy on the bottom, which means that the water on top of the ice is flooding in after they go by. That's the same thing that's been happening for a few years, which makes it lousy for skiing or snow shoeing.

It's white sky, snow falling lightly with a prediction of 10 cm today. Not just a temperature change from the past few days, but a remarkable change out the window.

Late Afternoon Shadow and Light.

A very c-c-cold day  at -18, so of course we decided to go cross-country skiing today. Actually, once we got moving, it wasn't bad.

Then I got busy doing stuff when we got back, but when I looked out the window at around 4, there was some amazing light, so I took a few pictures.

Strange weather for the next few days. Cold with snow tomorrow - I think they said a high of -9 and then snow "or rain" on Tuesday with a high of +3.

Stay tuned.

Snowy Saturday.

A busy morning kept me from posting earlier, but I do have some pics to share.

It is snowing here - and from my conference meeting this morning it seems to be snowing just about everywhere in the province.

When I took the pictures this morning, I tried to capture the little snowdrift forming on the deck, but I didn't quite get it.  Nor could I capture the wind that was creating the little drifts.

This is the little snowdrift forming. The wind gets caught between the two log walls and dances around in circles, which creates the little drifts. In the fall, you can watch the leaves dance in circles for hours.

This afternoon, I looked out the window and saw these tracks. At first I thought they were Rick's, because they're pretty large, but he hasn't been down there since the snow fell. So we must have had a nocturnal visitor. I wonder if Morris (our guard moose) has a new friend.

Good morning.

Back from the city. It was fun to be there. We had a great dinner with our kids, went shopping, got haircuts and went to the Boat Show.

But I'd much rather wake up here. And this is why:

Let's face it, you just don't see this out those blackout drapes in the hotel room.

Forecast is clear today, but I think a big dump again tomorrow.

Yesterday's Walk Pictures.

Looks like today is going to be overcast, but I have some shots from yesterday afternoon's walk to share. It was a perfect day to take my little camera for a walk. And although we are still not sure about the lake, the road provides a great vantage point.

I love how the snow makes little tee pees at the bottoms of the twigs. It really looks like meringue to me.

A couple of shots from the portage - the top ones are the Salmon Lake side - the bottom one, the Otter side.

For those of you who haven't seen the tree signs in the snow, quite a different sight from the summer.

The snow on these shrubs look like cotton ready for picking.

A nice shot of the snow mobile tracks.

We are heading to Toronto tomorrow for the boat show and a visit with the kids, so a couple of days without updates. Hopefully, more pics to share on Friday.