After our last thaw, when it rained and rained over the days leading into the New Year, the temperatures dropped and we had one of the largest skating rinks in the land. Lake of Bays was one giant ice pad. Though at first we weren't 100% sure that the thickness of the ice would make it 100% safe - our "safe" thickness for walking on is at least 4" - we did our checks and it passed our criteria .
We decided to clear off a patch not too far from shore. The snow that covered the lake was feather light and the ice surface beneath was as smooth as a baby's bottom, maybe smoother! Armed with a few shovels, we pushed the snow out towards the perimeters to expose our rink. It wasn't a tough job and we had our rink cleared off in less than an hour.
What a glorious opportunity to experience skating on one of the purest sheets of ice....no extra water, no hoses, no zamboni. It was amazing!
To make it even more incredible, we ventured beyond the boundaries of our rink. Out into Haystack Bay we pushed. One stride after another, with only a few inches of snow blanketing the the ice, we found the surface below to be just as smooth. There was little or no resistance from the snow and it was is if we were gliding only on the white blanket. It was "powder skating". . what fun!
We arrived in Vancouver with great anticipation. After being away for about 4 years we were back on the west coast to visit old friends and see our two kids for an early Christmas.
In Vancouver Rob met up with a few good friends, including John Gilbert an old tennis partner, well know for his UFO H2O creation at Vancouver's Expo 86. Later, we met up with Julia's mom's and tot's group who all have children of similar age to Adam, our first born. Although their meetings are not frequent, they have kept in touch going on to 27 years!
Next, it was off to Vancouver Island to relax with good friends at a beautiful resort located on Long Beach. It took Julia less than 10 minutes after parking the car to dash out in to surf. Although the next stop across the Pacific from where we were might have been Hawaii, the water was very, very cold. She seemed to love it. Just up the coast from Tofino we visited a secluded hot springs, a 90 minute boat ride away, and saw gray whales and sea otters. It was nice to be back on the Island where we used to live 30 years ago.
After returning to Vancouver we drove up the Coquihalla Highway to Kamloops, our home before moving to Foxwood. Again, we had a wonderful time visiting and being well entertained by friends. Several days were spent up at Sun Peaks where Rob used to work and where our kids Meg and Adam are spending the winter. This will be Meg's third winter working there, this year as a pro patrol. Adam, who has been working hard as a geological engineer in Vancouver, decided to take the winter off to teach skiing at Sun Peaks. It was good to see our friends and we celebrated an early Christmas with the kids. We skied two days and the conditions were actually quite good.
After banking almost 2000km of driving in 10 days we returned to Foxwood and to yet another foot of snow. It was good to be back at home and in our own bed. We knew that we were in familiar territory when saw the wild turkeys. The scratching at our bedroom window woke us; there he was, a peeping "tom" looking through the glass! A total of 7 turkeys paddled through the snow by the front of the house. We never thought they were that curious however from this experience, apparently they are.
We left for Ottawa Friday morning to meet up with our son John. By 10:30 am when we pulled out of the driveway there just a dusting of snow. Although the weather department was forecasting 25cm of snow in our area we thought little of it. It would likely be another case of "how many times do they have to get it wrong before they get it right"?
Well, when we returned Saturday night what a surprise we had. There wasn't 25cm of new snow, there was about 40cm of it! Our car barely made into the driveway.
Sunday was spent cleaning up. The temperatures had already begun to warm up so we tried to get as much done as possible before the snowblower clogged up with wet snow. By noon we had most of it cleared off.
The snowmobiles have already been out and the ski hill has started making snow, so winter has started her engine. Lets hope for a good one!
We both got away last week with Annie to take a short canoe trip into Algonquin Park. The weather started off brilliantly. It was warm and sunny, the wind was light; our first day was great!
After a late-ish start from Foxwood and some backtracking to the west gate to get a camping permit - we discovered that the permit office at Canoe Lake was closed for the season - we finally dipped our paddles into the water around 12:30pm. While loading up the canoe we met another couple who were also just setting out. Lo and behold we learned that they were both from the lakeshore in Montreal where Rob grew up, they went to the same high school as he did and Rob was in the same class as one of the sisters. Small world!
After 4 or 5 hours of paddling we settled on a campsite on Tom Thompson Lake. Dinner was rice soup and lentils, hot bread with pesto and cheese and a litre of wine. There was even a few slurps of scotch by at least one of us. The evening was cold, however we managed to keep warm.
Despite a forecast of rain showers, we were spared for most of the next day. Our campsite was well set up with firewood and a bed of pine needles under the tent; we did not want to set up a new campsite. So we decided to stay put and do a 5 hour day trip out and back. It wasn't until we returned that it started spitting with rain, but it wasn't enough to spoil the evening. Dinner was veggie chili, lots of it, but hot chocolate and no wine.
On the third day, our last, it rained and we had a rather adventurous trip home via Potter Creek. Had we studied our route a little better in advance we would have avoided that route as water levels were just bordering on being too low. Fortunately, we were going with the current, we weren't packed too heavy and it was our last day so finishing up wet was not a big issue.
The trip was fun and Julia even muttered that it was better than she had expected!
It was memorable year for weddings at Foxwood. We had four of them (and not one funeral) with the first one happening in the middle of June, just ahead of the G8 summit.
Richard and Stephanie tied the knot on our dock. The air was fresh, the breezes were refreshing, the backdrop was amazing and no one in the wedding party ended up in the lake!
Right after the Labour Day weekend we had three more weddings. Each time when the weather looked like it would not cooperate, it was the Foxwood magic that took over, the clouds parted and the sun smiled down on everyone.
Elissa and Steve were the first of the Fall. They had friends and relatives gathering from around the globe. Two weekends later it was followed by Pam and Josh. We tracked the weather down to the final moments and had a wonderful ceremony on the patio of the Main Lodge. Josh even made the wedding cake and was it ever delicious! Then Josie and David had their wedding just last weekend. There were a number of guests who traveled from all parts of the continent, including the the west coast, to attend. They had a wonderful Ethopian stew for dinner in the Main Lodge
Having a wedding or special function at a smaller resort like ours can be quite special. You have the resort all to your own so you can celebrate the way you want, even if part of it means staying up to sing song around the campfire with friends until 4am. Unlike any of the larger resorts or hotels Foxwood has a location that is so private, a setting that is spectacularly natural and pure, and an atmosphere that is relaxed and warm.
A few weeks ago we came to the conclusion that our hives might be missing their queens. The bees seemed healthy enough however we couldn't locate a queen bee - they are larger than all of the others - and we couldn't find the eggs that would be the sign that she was around.
So two new queens were ordered on Friday. Instead of driving the 3 or 4 hours to pick them up, we had them express posted to us in the mail. They arrived the following Monday, each in a small cage accompanied by a couple of their "attendants". The tiny cages were packed into an envelope and sent off to us.
When we got the queens we introduced them to their new hives while still in their cages. Each one has a small sugary plug in the end of it which stops the queen from escaping quickly. Over the span of a few days they eat through the sugary plug and then are free to move into their new home. This slower integration gives all the bees a chance to acquaint themselves with each other gradually.
It's been close to a week since the new bees arrived. We'll wait a few more days to check and see how things are going. It will be a good sign if we see some freshly laid eggs.
