WALKING the LAKE

When the sun is out we like to go for a walk and now that the ice is on the lake it's a great spot to get some exercise.

Our shadows were long as it was already late in the afternoon and by 4:30 the sun is almost gone for the day.

But we had a few hours left of daylight so enjoyed a walk to the far end of the lake.

It's hard to see but there were folks out ice-fishing on this sunny day.

As you can see by the tracks this is a popular snowmobile route through the Haliburton Highlands. Snowmobiliers can travel for miles on groomed trails and across lakes from Belleville to Barry's Bay.


It's -24*C here this morning.

Wishing everyone the very best in 2014.

Safe travels and thanks for stopping by.

FIRE SAFETY

Don and Carol's new home came with more than smoke alarms.....

It has its own sprinkler system. Each room has one or two of these nozzles that will spray water like a fire hose if a fire ever occurs. Such systems are rare in house construction here but are required by law where Don and Carol live. Why?

The simple answer is delayed firetrucks. If the lift bridge happens to be up when the firetrucks are responding to an emergency call, they could be delayed 20-30 minutes. Such a delay would be catastrophic in a fire situation. Thus the building code for that area requires that all new homes come equipped with a sprinkler 

Here Don points to one sprinkler in the basement that must be left exposed when he closes in the ceiling.

Their house is beautiful, comfortable and fire protected; not a bad combination.

Carol made sure we were well fed, healthy well fed. Lots of delicious salads, fish and low calorie cinnamon buns. I'm hoping they were low calorie because they sure were irresistible.

Thanks again Carol and Don for looking after us so well.

Safe travels everyone and a Happy New Year to all our readers.

WELLAND CANAL

Whenever we visit Carol and Don we like to walk over to the Welland Canal and watch the ships go through the locks.

This freighter from Algoma Steel was heading down river towards Lake Ontario. I was surprised the lock system was still being used this far into winter.

Talk about a tight fit and it didn't bump either side; amazing seamanship.

A little smoke, a little power and the freighter begins to move out of the lock.

Don takes one last picture before the ship disappears down the river.

When we arrived home after being away for 5 days our batteries were at 100% and the house was a comfortable 18*C.

This morning, as I type, the outside temperature is -20*C. Inside we are comfortable, the wood stove is working just fine, the batteries are at 94% and we expect to see the sun later this morning.

Once the sun appears we can forget about using the wood stove as the passive solar design of the house will keep us warm without burning any fuel.

Thanks for stopping by and safe travels everyone.

BRYAN and MICHELLE

Yesterday we spent the day celebrating Bryan and Michelle's wedding at the Ancaster Mill.

The bride was gorgeous, the groom handsome and their little girl so delightful.

The mill was the perfect place to hold the wedding, excellent food, historical setting and the river was spectacular in winter.

It was great to spend time with my sisters and see extended family.

Thanks everyone for a day full of memories. 

Soon we will be heading home after having three wonderful days staying with Carol and Don.  It has been the perfect trip, seeing family and friends and attending our nephew's wedding. 

Safe travels everyone and keep in touch.

ICE STORM 2013

We are in the Toronto area visiting family and friends. We had no idea of the devastation from last Sunday's ice storm until we drove through Brampton today. These pictures were taken this morning six days after the storm hit. The pictures do not convey the impact of seeing such destruction street after street. There are still people without electricity.

Haggert Street is still blocked from downed trees and limbs, six days after the storm.

Mill street looking south from Craig street. Hydro crews were busy trying to clear limbs and restore power.

Mill street south of Harold.

Trotters Lane, our old street. (click on pictures to get full view)

Living in the north is a piece of cake compared to the hardships so many of our neighbours in the south have been dealing with this week.

It takes your breath away when you stand there and see the destruction with street after street still littered with downed trees and branches.

My hat is off to all those you came to their rescue.

Thank you.

36 HOURS

We have been without internet connection for the past 36 hours. Ma Bell notified us that we were at the limit of our monthly data quota but for $50.00 they would keep us connected. Since our new month allotment starts on the 24th I thought that $50.00 was a little steep for 36 hours. I took the option to decline their offer and went outside to shovel snow.

But now we are back, connected and ready to share. 

It's getting a little crowded in town. Most businesses just stack the snow and some are now using quite a bit of their parking lot for snow removal.

My view as I was clearing our driveway during the storm on Sunday.

Update 12 pm

Our solar panels and Airstream trailer at 11 am this morning. It was -14*C when this picture was taken.

Although cold outside the sun was out and this is what the solar panels were putting into our batteries at noon today.

Looks like a winter wonderland outside. Stay warm and healthy everyone. Not sure when I'll post again as we are visiting family and friends for Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by and wishing everyone Peace, Joy and Love this Christmas.

DIGGING OUT

We have been digging out from the latest storm but it hasn't been as bad here as originally forecast. Some hydro customers in southern Ontario are without power but we are fine and this area hasn't had any power outages that we know of.

I try to keep the Airstream and solar panels clear of snow.

Mary cleans off her car.

And when we venture out we put on our clickers. 

So far we've avoided any damage from the freezing rain and the snowfall has been far less than originally predicted. Our cottage road was plowed Saturday morning which made the trip to town very easy. Today I will get the bobcat out and clear the driveway once the snow and freezing rain have passed.

We are scheduled to go Christmas caroling with the church tonight but that will depend on the weather.

Last night Dave, Vi, Peter, Eva and the girls dropped by. It was great to see them and have some time together. The girls enjoyed reading and playing while the adults visited.

Travel safely everyone. It might be a little slippery today.


Update 11 am

Just came in from clearing the driveway. Paul and Steve came over to help on their ATVs, much appreciated. Here are a few pics.

Our road; unless you have a high clearance 4x4 you won't be going anywhere soon.

Neighbours gate out my window.

We are staying put today.