Muskoka Winter Travels

THE COLD AND BEAUTIFUL REALITIES OF A MUSKOKA WINTER

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

ALTHOUGH IT IS ANTICIPATED THERE WILL BE RAINFALL BY THE FIRST OF NEXT WEEK, IT CAN NOT DIMINISH THE RAW NATURAL BEAUTY ONE WITNESSES TODAY, AFTER THE SNOWFALL OF YESTERDAY. IT IS MINUS 20 C HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, THE LAST TIME I LOOKED AT THE OUTSIDE THERMOMETER BUT THERE HAS BEEN A SLOW RISE IN TEMPERATURE, SINCE SUNRISE, WHEN IT WAS ABOUT THREE DEGREES COLDER. THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY OF THE USUAL CRACKING AND SNAPPING OF TREES AND THE TIMBERS OF OUR HOMESTEAD, INDICATING THE TEMPERATURE HADN'T HIT AS LOW AS IT HAD BEEN A NUMBER OF DAYS AGO. THERE IS A GOOD PADDING OF SNOW ON THE FRONT LAWN, WHICH ALWAYS CONCERNS ME. BY ALL STANDARDS OF MUSKOKA LIVING, THE WATERLINES MAY BE BURIED SAFELY TO GUARD AGAINST THE DEEPENING OF GROUND FROST, BUT HAVING A FOOT OR MORE OF SNOW, AS INSULATION, IS A LITTLE EXTRA GOD-PROVIDED INSURANCE AGAINST POTENTIAL FREEZE-UP. EVEN THE SNOW ON THE ROOF, HELPS WITH THE INSULATION, AND IF ANYTHING IMPRESSES ME ABOUT OUR ABODE, IS THE REALITY THE FIRST OWNER, INSISTED ON MORE THAN ADEQUATE INSULATION, AND WE HAVE ENJOYED 22 YEARS OF RELATIVE WINTER COMFORT. I HAVE LIVED IN HOUSES WITH GROSSLY INADEQUATE INSULATION, AND KNOWN THE CONSEQUENCES OF WATERLINE FREEZING, AT MINUS 30…..AND HAVING TO CLIMB INTO A CRAWL SPACE TO UNTHAW THE PIPES BEFORE THEY BURST.

WE ARE ABOUT TO HEAD OUT BY AUTOMOBILE, THROUGH THIS WINTER WONDERLAND, ON ONE OF OUR REGULAR ANTIQUE HUNTS. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT OUR ANTIQUE COLLECTING INTERESTS BY CLICKING ONTO

http://gravenhurstmuskoka.blogspot.com/ I HAVE ALREADY BEEN OUT FOR A DRIVE THIS MORNING, TO TAKE SUZANNE TO WORK, AND THE MOTORING IS GOOD ON THE SIDE ROADS. IT IS A TRULY AMAZING JOURNEY ALONG MUSKOKA BEACH ROAD, NORTH TO BRACEBRIDGE, AND OF ALL THE ROADS I'VE TRAVELLED IN MY YEARS AS A ROVING REPORTER, IT IS THIS STRETCH OF TYPICAL COUNTRY TOPOGRAPHY, I FIND MOST CALMING AND INSPIRATIONAL. YOU GET TO TRAVEL BY THE ALWAYS PICTURESQUE LAKE MUSKOKA, AND THE PASTURE OF THE FORMER JONES FARM, PAST THE CATHEDRAL MAPLES. AND THEN WIND SLOWLY THROUGH A SMALL VALLEY WHERE ANOTHER FARM HOUSE STANDS OUT AGAINST THE SNOW-LADEN FIELDS, BORDERED BY HARDWOOD FOREST AND ROCK.

YOU COULD TAKE A THOUSAND PHOTOGRAPHS ALONG THIS STRETCH OF MUSKOKA ROADWAY, AND STILL FIND OTHER QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES OF NATURE TO FRAME FOR POSTERITY. I LOVE THIS ROAD THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND EACH SEASON OFFERS DISTINCTLY TANTALIZING PANORAMAS, AND LOTS OF WILDLIFE. I CAME UPON SIX WILD TURKEYS ON A HILLSIDE YESTERDAY MORNING, JUST VISIBLE THROUGH THE FALLING SNOW. OFTEN WE WILL COME UPON DEER IN THE PASTURE, HORSES AMBLING THROUGH THE FEILDS, OWLS PERCHED ON DEAD TREES AND FENCE POSTS, AND HAWKS CIRCLING OVER HEAD. BETWEEN TWO URBAN AREAS, THIS HINTERLAND IS AN OASIS FOR A LOT OF TRAVELERS, WHO PREFER TO DRIVE THIS ARTERY THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE, RATHER THAN TAKE THE HIGHWAY NORTH OR SOUTH. THIS IS A ROAD YOU CAN MOTOR ALONG MORE SLOWLY, AND THOUGHTFULLY, WHILE ENJOYING THE SCENERY….. WHICH TODAY WILL BE ABOUT AS ENCHANTED AS THE WINTER SCENES FROM "NARNIA" BY C.S. LEWIS. THERE IS A INVASIVE BUT WELCOME AURA OF CALM, AND SENSATION OF GENTLENESS TO IT ALL, DESPITE THE COLD, AND THE SNOW-COVERED ROADWAY. IT IS AN UNFOLDING SCENE THAT POSSESSES THE VIRTUES OF SOLITUDE YET IT WORKS QUITE THE OPPOSITE, AS WE FIND OURSELVES STIMULATED BY THE SAME VISTA THAT RELAXES THE URBAN BEAST WITHIN. SUCH IS THE CONTRADICTION OF THIS PASSIVELY BEAUTIFUL PLACE, THAT WE ARE EASED AND ENTICED IN THE MOMENT OF DISCOVERY, BY THE ALLURE OF THE VERY NEXT TURN IN THE ROAD……WHEN ANOTHER SCENE WILL REVEAL ITSELF TO THE EAGER SPIRIT. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE UNAFFECTED BY THIS EMBRACE OF MUSKOKA WINTER, AT LONG LAST, AND SEEK ADVENTURE FROM THESE RISING, FALLING, TWISTING COUNTRY LANES, BY LAKESIDE AND FARMSTEAD, THROUGH MAPLE GROVES AND PINE FORESTS.

WE OFTEN WONDER ABOUT THOSE WHO PREFER TO VISIT MUSKOKA IN THE WARMER SEASONS OF THE YEAR. MIGHT THEY ENJOY THIS SCENERY AS WELL? IS IT POSSIBLE, AS THEY FIND PLEASURE AND RELAXATION IN THE SUMMER, TO FEEL SIMILARLY PAMPERED BY THIS BEAUTIFUL SCENERY MOST OFTEN CAPTURED BY ARTISTS, IN THEIR PAINTINGS, AND DESCRIBED IN BOOKS, BY INSPIRED AUTHORS?

INDEED, I AM SPOILED, TO LIVE IN SUCH A PARADISE AS THIS, OPEN TO MY ADVENTURES THROUGHOUT THE ROLLING YEAR. WE SHALL ENJOY THE DRIVE THIS MORNING, AND STOP OCCASIONALLY, TO RE-VISIT WILD TURKEYS, OWLS, AND HAWKS……MAYBE TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE HORSES IN THE FIELD, THE DEER ON THE SNOWY HILLSIDE. IT IS A PRIVILEGE, WE SHALL NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED.