The Changes that Snow brings

We woke up this morning to an unusual brightness in the room, and it took a few moments to recognize what it could be.  The trees outside were covered with thick white snow! The overnight forecast had called for a few flurries, but this was obviously more than that.

Down in the kitchen Jet barked and barked at the window, and I don’t know if it was because of the brightness, or simply the anticipation of getting outside.  He paused at the doorway and I just knew he would have a case of the “zoomies”.  Sure enough he did – several times, but he’s learned to calm himself down a little so it doesn’t get out of hand like it used to !

It feels like I’ve been talking about and planning for the arrival of snow for ages, but in actual fact we were nowhere near ready. I had found my winter boots in a box the day before but had tucked them away so had to dig them out.  Coming back into the cabin with snowy feet I realized we hadn’t quite got our entrance reorganized so we still have to enter through the kitchen, and the carpet that covers the wooden floors will get wet which isn’t good for the wood. 

I also remembered that we always had a stash of windshield wiper anti-freeze, and lock de-icer at the dome, so will have to make sure I pick some up this week as we have none here. We found the snow brush, but it isn’t actually in the truck yet. We have seven – yes seven – snow shovels, but none of them are down here at the cabin where we need at least one.

I have got a stash of soups and canned goods stocked up ready in case we can’t get out, but the fridge is a bit bare and I should make sure it doesn’t get too low for the next few months. I realized today I am out of bread, and getting low on a few other staples. (Not to mention we have run out of red wine!)

I think it’s the first time that I started to think that we are seriously living here now – it is no longer a cottage where we will just make do because we are going to leave and go home in another day or two. This is now for real!

Although it was just a little snowfall, it has stayed all day as the temperature is well below zero.  The roads look icy, and I doubt any plows or sanding trucks have been out on the main road.   We could have ventured out, but we have a line of soft stone in front of the cabin as we are getting some more work done to the road, and most of the rest of the road is full of stone and waiting to be graded. Unfortunately the grader got a flat tire and all work stopped temporarily until it can be repaired later in the day.

Ah yes, the road. It’s been a bit of a learning curve.  We had hoped that Brennan’s bulldozer would get repaired earlier in the fall so we could get the road finished, but it just wasn’t possible. When we called to get some grading done, (by the same person who will plow and sand our road this winter) and to see if he could maybe get the last sections finished, he and Rob agreed to meet up and walk the road to talk about potential problems, and possible fixes. Well, it was no surprise that he felt that some sections were too narrow, especially at the "steep curve" part, so we all agreed to add more stone, and to increase the width where needed. At the same time, the final part that approaches the cabin has never had any stone laid, and it will be a mess come spring when the snow melts, so a layer needs to be added to it as well.  They started the work on Friday, and would have finished up today but due to the flat tire, they will have to now return tomorrow.  By the time the tire was fixed, it was already dusk outside. All this to say that we couldn't drive our truck out today as there were big piles of soft stone blocking our way out!

The photo above shows the steep curved part is now a bit wider and I am feeling a lot better about driving on it. It will be graded again tomorrow, but I tried it out with the truck on Friday and was pretty pleased.  We shall see how it goes this winter, it may need grading again in the spring once things settle a bit.

They moved some rocks away and levelled out this section on Friday. They filled it with stone today. I was worried it would lose it's nice country laneway feeling, but it didn't, it still looks much the same thanks to all the evergreens. It was even prettier today with the snow!

We decided not to worry about being unable to get out of the driveway, and all the work being done on the road, and went out for a couple of good long walks in the glorious sunshine. It was cold and crisp out, but the sky was blue, the woods were beautiful and we stopped to admire the snow in the trees.

It was so lovely to be out in the sunshine. Where the sun had melted, the moss was a bright green, and the reflection off of the river was stunning. Rob noted how the snow had melted on our riverbank but on the other side of the river, the snow was still all there. I am glad we are on this side of the river!

We are both really looking forward to the next few months, as we have only once been here in the winter.  I love to head down to the river, and watch the changes that occur there. This week we noticed how the ice had formed around the vegetation at the edges, and then hung suspended out of the water when the river levels dropped.

And we saw our first owl last week! It flew out and landed high up in a branch of a tree and sat there while Jet and I admired it. (Well, Jet barked, but only once or twice, and then he sat and admired it) I took Jet home, grabbed my camera and went back, and was so pleased to see the owl still there. While I was taking photos, Rob arrived, so he was able to watch it for a while too! What a beautiful bird.

I think this winter we will learn that we need to be flexible. If the weather is bad, we will just have to curl up in the cabin and not worry about trying to go anywhere. I will make sure we have a few more staples always on hand, and we will get the snow shovels and all that other winter stuff organized and close at hand. It’s not like we didn’t already do this at the dome every year, so it’s really just all regular winter routine stuff. We just don't have a regular winter routine here yet. Of course at the dome we were a few minutes walk from a convenience store - here it is about 5 km. away! And the power does seem to go out here a lot more often, so we need to be prepared.

Later on in the winter, when the weather gets too nasty, well, we will just take our cue from Jet. Find a little spot of sunshine, curl up, and have a snooze. Clever boy.