It’s that time of year again where fall is well underway and the overnight temperatures are getting close to freezing. That means it’s time to get the cottage ready for winter.
Boats are away for the winter
The boys, Eric and Scott come out with me Friday night to execute the Closeup Checklist. The main focus is taking care of anything that will freeze. We empty the fridge and remove food that won’t survive 6-7 months of sitting around in the cold.
Three big tasks are putting away the boats and cleaning up the dock, draining the water system and winterizing the septic field. We get started, after coffee ☕etc. around 9am
The boys do all the heavy lifting while I handle septic system. I won’t get into the details but it can be a bit yuckie if you think about it too much.?
The 3 of us move through the task quite quickly. May hands make light work.
By about 1:30 were done and heading into Kenora to pick up lunch and drive home.
Back in mid-December Len and I were out at the lake and this is trip #2 for the winter season.
The drive was fine and we stopped in Kenora for dinner at the LOTWBrewCo and arrived at the cottage around 8 p.m. As usual the snow bank at the bottom of the driveway and the driveway itself was impassible so I used the snowshoes to clear a trail. A few trips and we’re loaded in. The cottage is only -5°C and didn’t seem all that cold. With the furnace, fireplace and kerosene heater cranked on it’s quite toasty in short order.
Some beverages, snacks and a couple of movies and it’s almost 1am so we call it a day.
Next morning after a few coffees and a light breakfast it’s time to head down to the lake to get some water.
There is still lots of ice but also lots of surface water this year. I shovel off a light cover of snow to find out that I can also break off about 1” of ice with the shovel and hit a water pocket! Normally, this requires a pick axe to dig out a trough to dip the bucket in. There seems to be alternating layers of ice and water for about the first foot and then it’s solid ice for over 2 feet. We scoop out two buckets and back up to the cottage.
Later in the day we head out across the lake past the island and across the ice road to an area where there has been some sort of snow clearing activity.
Out past the island, where we see people fishing during the summer, there has been another ice road created that leads form a cottage in the north end of the bay to this fishing spot. There is evidence of several ice fishing holes which are now frozen over. With the ice roads “officially” closed I suspect any ice fishing shacks have been removed.
Next morning I’m up at 6am with a coffee watching the moon rise being washed away by the sun rise at 7:05am
Moon on the far right and Saturn straight ahead 6:00am
Sunrise in the East just coming over the trees 7:05am
Our water hole has frozen over with about 2″ of ice due to the -21°C over night.
After coffees and a leisurely breakfast we clean up, pack up and head for home. A good winter weekend.
We had Easton and Clark for the weekend, which was a lot of fun. Part of the weekend was a “guys” trip to Fort Whyte Alive for some outdoor activities on a very warm and sunny Saturday afternoon.
I was interested in the geese, but the boys were way more interested in the ice, water puddles and sticks.
Trying to break through the iceAlways need to have a stick when you’re out on a walk.
The geese were quite accommodating to a photo or two and allowed some quite close approaches before flying off all the while honking loudly at this guy who was disturbing them.
I’m up early and on the dock with two cups of coffee and it’s a sunny clear morning with a light south west breeze. After some reading and just sitting enjoying the view I’ve decided to take the kayak and get a closer look at the 7am feeding.
Most days during the summer a small aluminum boat comes out of Smith’s Camp at the end of our bay at around 7am. One of the staff is responsible for disposing of the fish remains from the filleting shack from the previous day’s catch. They have a plastic garbage pail on board that is dumped on an rock out cropping around the corner from the camp.
Prior to this at about 6:30am a flock of pelicans congregate at this spot awaiting their breakfast delivery. They are joined by dozens of seagulls that circle overhead in anticipation. Bald eagles are also perched high in the trees awaiting this event. Today I spot 5-6 of them. Some are easily spotted, others are tucked away in the branches and others fly back and forth along the shore line.
All of a sudden all the pecans take off and fly around the corner to Smith’s. Sitting in my kayak I can bairly hear the faint sound of the outboard motor of the “delivery” boat. Sure enough, a few moments later the boat rounds the corner and comes into view with all the pelicans following in formation.
As the staffer pulls ashore and dumps out the fish guts the pelicans eagerly land and then edge ever closer to their breakfast. They can hardly wait until the staffer gets back in the boat and backs away before they attack the fish remains.
Today, the eagles remain in the trees for some reason, perhaps it’s because I’m there. On other days I’ve seen them swoop in and the pelicans and seagulls scatter as they take over at the top of the pecking order.
After watching for a while it’s time to paddle back and rejoin the family for breakfast.
I woke up to the sound of gentle rain and a light breeze rustling through the trees. It had been calm all night and as I drifted in and out of a dreamy sleep, I drank in the nature sounds.
Shortly, there was thunder in the distance and then closer as the wind picked up and a small storm rolled through our location. I went upstairs to check on the windows and then just sat watching the raindrops on the patio door form rivulets running down to the deck.
Time for that 1st cup of coffee and more gazing out at the magnificents of creation. It seemed like I was trying to lock it all into my memory, to preserve the feeling for as long as possible.
After a breakfast of corned beef hash with poached eggs on top, it was time to get busy with a small maintenance project.
So thankful to have this place to relax, rejuvenate and let the cares of life drift away for a time.
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.
Well, it seems to have happened suddenly, it’s winter. We’ve had a little snow, and the temperatures have dropped enough that we’re feeling the chill of the season.
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.
