We had an early snowfall this year that we thought would melt but didn’t; Old Man Winter came early this year and didn’t leave. However, between Christmas and New Year’s we did see some unusually warmer temps with the thermometer rising above 0C! And that trend continued though I was no longer there to experience it as I had left for the Fraser Valley to House/Pet sit for our youngest son and daughter-in-law. Luke said that the temps were lurking around 4C! Which almost seems warm to me; in the Fraser Valley it was 1C when I arrived but, oh, so cold! Fraser Valley cold gets into your bones and causes you to seize up! As I write this entry I am four days away from my departure to return home and let me tell you, I am looking forward to the warmth of the woodstove in the Earthship!
Anyway, Winter came early and buried us under a heavy blanket of snow turning our place into a Winter Wonderland! Thankfully we had managed to clear a trail from the D down to Moose Hollow just before the snow flew; it made for a poetic walk in the snow. We are working hard towards creating as many “loop walks’ as we can as neither one of us is a fan of the “there and back again’ walks. Getting the trail to Moose Hollow cleared after the big winds last year was high on our priority list. And then with Bear and his recuperating leg it was even more important that we get the trail cleared as there is no way he would have been able to negotiate that path. I think next Spring/Summer our main goal will be to create a new trail back up from the Boathouse – our longest “there and back again” trail.
The new return Boathouse trail may also help us discover who uses the scrub there as a trail across the property. There is that one spot on the Boathouse Trail that absolutely freaks the dogs out; we have often found tracks crossing the trail there. Feline tracks. And wolf tracks. And hoof prints. Bear tracks. We’ve got ’em all it seems; it’s a veritable animal highway! And of course it is completely surround by saplings ranging from 1 foot to 5+ feet! I was telling some folks the other day that other people probably use a grader and just plough through them but I go out there and individually cut each one down, hauling them to a burn pile to deal with when conditions allow. It’s great exercise! I definitely get my Steps in! I would really appreciate an operational bathtub to soak my aching back though. When I was just a youngster my dad worked in the bush; was he a faller? I dunno about that? I only remember him as a boom man. Only! Have you seen what those guys can do?! In my teen years I had a boy friend, the first love of my life, who worked at a sawmill and he would come home smelling like sawdust, and trees and oil and now? Now it is my turn to spend time in the bush and to cut down trees and to breathe in the wonderful smells of the forest. It’s heaven on earth. Coincidentally, both my dad and that guy, they are bush men on the other side and have been for over 20 years. So it’s like I get to hang out with them and it’s good.
Whoops! I strayed off topic again? Imagine that! What more can I say? You see the photos of the Winter Wonderland and it is ever so much more beautiful than the photos can depict. It snows a lot and there is cloud cover sometimes but the sun does poke out, even on the greyest days reminding us that we are not forgotten; when the day breaks with sunny, blue skies? Oh, man! Now there is a sight to behold! Who knew the sky could be so blue against the backdrop of the snow covered land? Glorious. Absolutely glorious. We love to get out on the trails in the snow, and the sun and the dogs LOVE it! None of us are super keen on the windy or rainy days but we go out anyway. The strong winds make the dogs skittish so those are usually shorter walks and we have to keep to trails that aren’t surrounded by trees. We have watched fully grown trees just topple over, roots and all! And rainy days? Our dogs are …. marshmallows….and don’t actually like the rain. If it’s just a drizzle they can live with it but a steady hard rain? “Nah, thanks, Ma but we are happy here by the fire!”
Hope you enjoyed the photos.
Cheers,
Deanna