What’s going on? It’s January and there is virtually no snow in Winnipeg and tomorrow the forecast is for +7. Thought these ice candles would be fine until late March, but at this rate they will just be a puddle of water by tomorrow night.

We took a late afternoon walk at St. Vital Park just as the sun was going down. There were very few people around this normally popular weekend destination. Could it be the coolness of the day? 

It seems strange that we’re complaining about how cold it is at -12°C and in a few months, we’ll think this is a warm and balmy day and spring must just be around the corner. Unfortunately, at this point, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.  

I was on a hike with Shirley and some friends on the Tunnel Island trails which is a beautiful hiking area between Keewatin and Kenora. The trails are well used, especially by folks walking their dogs. It’s been a while since we’ve been out on the trails, and now they are very well signed with directions, distances, and including a full trail head route map. A short distance into the trail and we come across the sign makers sense of humor. It’s interesting that most of the dogs we encountered on our hike were off leash, which seems to be the main benefit of bringing your dog here, given the fact that the trails are virtually downtown, yet surprisingly remote after only hiking few minutes from the parking area.

This shot was an excellent opportunity to try out my 1/3 owned, new Canon EFS 10-22mm lens. I like the way the wide angle puts the sign in the foreground while still showing the full expanse of this section of the Winnipeg River system as it leaves Lake of the Woods. (Full size photo)

Well, more correctly, the eagles have landed. I was surprised this morning on my walk to the end of the road to see two heads in the eagle nest. They say that eagles mate for life and this pair has been returning to this nest for many years. Once endangered, we now see multiple eagles almost every day when we’re at the lake.

Speaking of the lake, we’re out for the first time in 2011 and in spite of all the changes in the forecast, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful sunny and warm (+10) day. The ice is still very thick in the 20″-24″ range, and I’m so glad I bought that ice auger a couple of years ago. Hacking through the ice with a pick axe, the way I used to do it, is a killer workout.. Cars & trucks are still driving on the ice roads, and ice fishing shacks dot the lake.

We enjoyed some time on the side deck in the sun with just tee shirts on. There is almost no wind and it was lovely and warm in the shelter of the cottage.

This was the scene in our driveway at about 10am. We'd just stepped out side to try and photograph a beautiful rainbow, but it faded very rapidly. In the one shot I got off, it's barely visible. This was the first time I'd seen a rainbow where there hadn't been any rain, or snow for that matter, for some time and it was a generally clear sky. But, as you can see, there was snow on the ground from Friday afternoon, and over night into Saturday. I skipped the FOG ride. I don't mind cold, but cold & wet is just a little too much. Perhaps there will be a ride on the holiday Monday, but I think Eric & I will be heading out to Sandilands for a little mountain biking instead. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I know I've got lots to be thankful for.

]]> http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/2009/10/11/early-snowfall/feed/ 0 http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/2009/09/08/at-the-end-of-the-day/ http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/2009/09/08/at-the-end-of-the-day/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:02:58 +0000 Garry http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/?p=561 Nothing beats sitting on the dock looking out over the water at the wonderous creation.

]]> http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/2009/09/08/at-the-end-of-the-day/feed/ 0 http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/2009/04/01/will-winter-ever-end/ http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/2009/04/01/will-winter-ever-end/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:00:10 +0000 garry.c.stewart http://www.bigdadoo.com/blog/2009/04/01/will-winter-ever-end/ This is no April Fools joke, unless you consider Mother Nature a joker. Even though we Winnipeger’s should know better, we still expect it to be warmer, and to have is stop snowing sooner, and of course it would be nice if it didn’t flood everywhere, but such is not the case.

Out the front window this morning.

2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved – Telegraph

Easily one of the most important stories of 2008 has been all the evidence suggesting that this may be looked back on as the year when there was a turning point in the great worldwide panic over man-made global warming. Just when politicians in Europe and America have been adopting the most costly and damaging measures politicians have ever proposed, to combat this supposed menace, the tide has turned in three significant respects.

This is Eric. This is Eric up a tree, a 45′ tree, at the top of a 32′ ladder. It’s high, scary high especially when you’re reaching up to trim of those last few branches.

As were doing this, for some strange reason, the Monty Python Lumber jack song pops into my head. Anyway, we keep working and before long the tree is down, and we didn’t hit any wires of the neighbors fence and it’s all good. We even got some applause from a neighbor two houses down. I think he thought there was going to be an impending disaster when we cut off the top 12-15′.