Muskoka Winter, Not So Bad

A RAINY DAY IN JANUARY - I CAN LIVE WITH IT

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

IT MIGHT BE DARK AND UNINSPIRING, AT FIRST GLANCE, BUT TODAY'S WARMER TEMPERATURES, AND POTENTIAL OF RAIN, ARE PRETTY TYPICAL OF JANUARY THAWS I'VE KNOWN IN THE PAST. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO LAST A LITTLE LONGER THAN MOST OTHER THAW PERIODS, TRADITIONAL OF EARLY WINTER, BUT THEN THIS HAS BEEN QUITE UNUSUAL FROM THE ONSET IN DECEMBER. I WAS PREPARED FOR WINTER IN EARLY NOVEMBER, AS SOME FORECASTERS WERE CLAIMING, AS THE START OF THE COLD AND STORMY WEATHER. IT DIDN'T SHOW UP. I WAS THERE WILL SHOVEL IN HAND, TOQUE OVER MY EARS, AND VIGOR IN MY STEP. I FEEL ASLEEP WAITING.

I WILL BE GOING OUT AGAIN SOON, FOR A MOTOR TRIP UPTOWN HERE IN GRAVENHURST, TO DELIVER THE BOYS TO THEIR MUSIC SHOP ON THE MAIN STREET…..OPPOSITE THE HISTORIC OPERA HOUSE. I'LL GRAB A COFFEE, THAT ROBERT OWES ME FOR THE LAST FIVE I'VE BOUGHT FOR HIM, AND I'LL TAKE IT WITH ME ON A WALK OVER TO THE BOG. IT'S A LITTLE TRICKY TO WALK ALONG THE PATH, MIXED WITH ICE AND SLUSHY SNOW, BUT IT'S NOT VERY DEEP IN THE FIRST PLACE.

THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PINE LIMBS THAT HAVE BEEN BROKEN OFF, SINCE THE FIRST STORMS OF DECEMBER, WITH THE STRANGE COMBINATION OF RAIN, A DROP IN TEMPERATURE, AND THEN HEAVY SNOW. I'VE SEEN IT FIVE OR SIX TIMES ALREADY THIS WINTER SEASON, WHERE THE LIMBS HAVE BEEN OVER-BURDENED BY ICE AND SNOW, SO MUCH SO IN FACT, THAT I'VE HAD TO SUSPEND MY WALKS MANY TIMES, AS SO MUCH ELEVATED DEBRIS COMES CRASHING DOWN ONTO THE PATHWAY THROUGH THE WOODS. EVEN THROUGH THE AREA OF THE CATHEDRAL MAPLES, ON MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD, THE SCENE, AT TIMES, HAS BEEN QUITE AMAZING, AS THE WEIGHT-STRESSED BOUGHS ALMOST HIT THE ROADWAY. THERE ARE A LOT OF DOWNED LIMBS ALL OVER SOUTH MUSKOKA, CAUSED BY THESE WEATHER EVENTS. WHAT'S PLEASING TO THE PASSERSBY AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, HAS PLAYED HAVOC WITH VENERABLE OLD PINES AND MAPLES, AND WITH QUITE A NUMBER OF HYDRO LINES IN THE REGION.

A LOT OF THE PRESENT SNOW WILL MELT AWAY ALMOST TO GRASS LEVEL, IF THIS WEEK REMAINS AS WARM AS PREDICTIONS INDICATE AT PRESENT. I DON'T LIKE NOT HAVING AT LEAST A FOOT OF SNOW AS INSULATION OVER THE WATERLINES……SO I'M HOPING THEY'RE WRONG.

ANYWAY, IT IS STILL A WONDERFUL SCENE HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, AND AS I LOVE TO WRITE THROUGH THE FOUR SEASONS, I WILL SPEND MOST OF THIS DAY PLEASANTLY OCCUPIED BY THE GOOD GRACES OF A WONDERFUL WRITING PARTNER…..MUSKOKA.