Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Quiet Winter Interlude

It seems some of the more southern blogs are talking about spring already and here in the Canadian north we have only just finally gotten settled into winter.  It's been a warm and wet season thus far but on Christmas day it began to snow and it finally decided to stay.  Each day since bringing just a bit more.  The temperatures still aren't as cold as they should be but at least we now have that snowy protective layer on all the plants.  This past Sunday, to celebrate our latest dump of snow, we ventured out of doors.  Staying cooped up in the house all winter is no way to live.  And there are Christmas snowshoes to try out.

The view - from the other side of the hedgerow
I don't often shoot our house from this angle but we walked across the back field on our journey.  This field is not owned by us so we don't generally venture onto it.  A British Columbia trait, where property lines are to be respected.  In PEI they are a lot looser about such things.  Many people walk through fields and woods without a care, as long as they aren't doing any damage.  We have been laughed at for our seemingly neurotic property line abiding tendencies. 

We're very lucky to have some quiet country roads nearby.  We were able to strap on our snowshoes at the door and walk through the field, and down some back roads into the woods.  We weren't the only ones with this idea as cross country ski tracks were evident on the route we took.


It looks like we'll be using our snowshoes more in the near future as the weatherman is telling us a nor'easter is expected tomorrow evening and into Thursday.  Cross your fingers for a snow day!


13 comments:

Johanna said...

Oh lovely pictures. I love winter it's so lovely and quiet.

Laurrie said...

Keep those snowshoes by the back door, snow is coming. We're expecting 16 inches in southern New England tonight, and PEI will get hit later. What a great way to get out and around in a snowbound world!

Anonymous said...

Your snowy scene is lovely. I need to get myself some snowshoes for winter exercise. We're expecting the same snow tomorrow -- but like so many storms this year and last, this one is expected to cross the Gulf of Maine from Boston to Nova Scotia with relatively little snow falling on Maine. I hope we do get at least the 6" they're promising; I want to get out and do some cross-country skiing. -Jean

lifeshighway said...

How cool are those snowshoes! I need a closeup.

Gardeningbren said...

We have our snow shoes at the ready and fuel for the generator as those nor'easters usually take a tree or few down and then..no power...lucky so far though!! Great photos!. You have way more snow than us...teehe he...just teasing)))

Anonymous said...

We need the snowshoes here in the Falls today too. It is really coming down. I had to laugh at your neurotic property abiding because I have a husband like that. I say he patrols the line and we live on a postage stamp sized lot. Lovely photos to show the snowy north.

fer said...

Good luck with the snow!
For us winter is just starting, we still have to wait a bit for some snow too.

Anonymous said...

We found the same thing re: property lines here in PEI. The snowmobilers are especially fond of traversing wherever they please!
NEVER get away with that on Vancouver Island!
However, these loose rules in return do allow us to venture freely across other lands, though we still ask permission first if it's a new place.
The snowshoes are a great idea - have fun!

Floridagirl said...

What lovely, snowy scenes you have on your island! Love that view of your house and property. I laughed at your property-line sensitivity. We're the same way here but have learned that people in a small town are much more lax about such things. Maybe because everyone knows everyone or is related to someone who knows them? After six years, we're still small-town newbies.

Have fun with those snowshoes! I've never actually seen a pair in real-life and couldn't imagine getting around in them.

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden said...

We just had another significant snowfall and so I guess winter is here to stay for awhile too. You look like you had fun trying out the new snowshoes. Your previous post was very cute. In my experience, those kalanchoes bloom for a good long time.

Marguerite said...

Johanna - thank you. I managed to remember to bring my camera with me! so often I forget.

Laurrie - I was joking with hubby that he would need them to take out the garbage after tonight. It's been snowing for a couple hours already and it's thick!! 25cm expected by the morning.

Jean - I've always thought of trying cross country. It looks really fun. A nice quiet sport. But I don't think I'd do too well as I have a hard time 'skating' in skis. Actually I can't skate either - sacrilege for a Canadian!

Cheri - waiting on hubby to take a picture for me and I'll post so you can see them. New snowshoes are rather odd looking.

Gardeningbren - I didn't think that was possible. Every time we watch the news Nova Scotia seems to be having far worse weather conditions than us! By the way, I had no idea you lived on an island. Didn't realize there were islands off Nova Scotia. So much for me to discover here. I look forward to more posts on your home.

GardenWalk - ahh, maybe it's not a BC thing but a neurotic thing!! good to know, LOL. We've only recently made contact with the lady who owns the adjacent property as she's in Ontario so I don't feel so bad going over there anymore.

fer - I wondered about the seasons in Japan. How cold will it get there?

peihome - I've heard about the snowmobilers!! all bad unfortunately. Glad we haven't got anyone in our neighbourhood at this point zooming around.

Floridagirl - Interesting, I hadn't thought of ignoring property lines as a small town thing. I grew up in a small town and we wandered everywhere but I just assumed it was because we were oblivious kids!

Jennifer - I've had good luck with kalanchoes before so I'm hoping that holds true again. Looks like we're in for another huge snowfall tonight so the snowshoes will get more use in the near future.

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

That really brings home the difference in climate! Love the blue skies + snowy landscape, and snow shoes sound like a great way to explore it and avoid cabin fever. Here it is mild, grey and damp...

Marguerite said...

Plantaliscious - It's easy to forget that we bloggers are sometimes separated by thousands of miles and extremely different climate zones isn't it. I hadn't considered when I posted this that some people wouldn't know what snowshoes looked like!