Monday Forest photo: January 30, 2012

1:30 pm -5C cloudy

 Still winter here. The sun has shown up the last couple of days, which makes it all more bearable. And the fact that sunset here is after 5 now is a lovely bonus.

I fear that some creature is helping himself to the contents of the hive in the big cedar. There are pieces of comb and dead bees lying at the base of the tree. Based on the size of the scat that was also there, I'm pretty sure that this is a creature that does not fit into the hole, so perhaps the damage will be limited to the extent of his reach.

Monday Forest photo: January 23, 2012

12:00pm 1C cloudy

I admit it. I'm getting bored of winter, and it's still only January. Snow, freezing rain, ice pellets, cold, colder, less cold, more snow, blah, blah, blah. I even forgot to publish the Monday Forest photo until Thursday. Whatever.

Monday Forest photo: January 16, 2012

1:30pm -6C cloudy

Another up and down week. It was really cold on the weekend, but we're back to above normal temperatures (which are starting to feel normal). Everything is crisp and clean in Monday Forest and perfectly wintery. I've had the experience a couple of times this week of standing quietly and hearing nothing but the wind in the trees and chickadees and the occasional snap of a branch in the cold. I think this had to do with the perfectly clear skies, cold temperatures and wind blowing from the north, where there are few roads for many kilometres. It's almost as if the absence of cars, or airplanes or chainsaws or snowmobiles has a sound. I can hardly get enough of it but it is a rare treat to experience that silence.

Luc finally broke down and borrowed my dad's snowblower to get the ice on the pond clear of snow before the temperatures warmed up last week. He discovered the amazing amount of work that can be accomplished with the help of a small amount of fossil fuels. And so the skating continues!

Monday Forest photo: January 9, 2012

12:30pm 2C cloudy

The last couple of days have been glorious in Monday Forest: bright, reasonably mild and hard-surfaced. Our neighbour has been over the trails with his snowmobile, packing down the snow and providing almost a sidewalk to walk on. I can hardly recall enjoying my walks more and that's saying a lot. Mind you, my week was hijacked by a very nasty stomach virus which laid me low and kept me out of the woods until yesterday. It was a joy to get back out with Meg.

My little adventure in illness gave me a new appreciation for our town's amazing emergency room service. Within ten minutes of leaving home, I was triaged, examined and iv'd. I spent the night and left in the morning - nausea under control and rehydrated (I left out the grislier parts of the story). All at no cost, I might add (for the benefit of any of my American readers who doubt it's possible to receive quality, timely medical care in Canada).

I was also reminded that I am not nearly as sturdy as I think I am, and that my previous good health may have been as much luck as right living. So, humbled and recovering, I resumed my daily walks.

I had to include Meg in the photo this week, because today is her third birthday. If it's true that a tired dog is a happy dog (and I believe it is), then Meg had a great day.

Monday Forest photo: January 2, 2012

12:00pm -1C light snow

We've had every kind of weather this week and we're back in a rapid change from warm to cold. It's hard to get bored by the weather. A few days ago we had heavy, wet snow followed by a drop in temperature which resulted in many trees being bent over, some right to the ground. I shook the heavy snow off all the trees which were impinging on the trail, and got much of it down the back of my collar. I alternated between being too warm from the exertion to keep my hood up, to freezing cold with a load of snow on my neck. You'll be relieved to know I survived and so did the trees.