Bob's Yer Uncle

The storm that brought such incredible amounts of snow and high winds to the Eastern USA, fortunately only dumped about 20 cms or more of light snow on us. The day after the storm, we woke up to brilliant sunshine and blue skies. Our friend Bob was out on his snowshoes, enjoying the beautiful day and making some trails, and was kind enough to think of us, and called us up with an invite for a snowshoe hike this week. A quick look at the forecast saw we were due for rain and freezing rain, so we quickly agreed to go out Sunday morning with him. This was our first outing on our new snowshoes!

It was minus 27 when we woke up, although the forecast was for a high of minus one. We put on layers (and layers!) of clothing and headed out to meet up with Bob. At his house we gathered up our snowshoes and walked up his road to the set-off point. He gave us a few tips on how to put the snowshoes on, and told us that we might get a bit warm with all the layers we were wearing, but we figured we could unzip our jackets if we needed to. About 50 steps along I started to remove my hat, gloves and scarf! I was already getting too warm.

Bob’s neighbours are kind enough to allow him to snowshoe through their property – they have about 1200 acres and it’s a mix of bush, open areas, and interesting terrain. We could see their farm in the distance as we were walking along.

 

 
Bob had already set a portion of the trail so it was easy to walk along and enjoy the sunshine, and the views of the land around us. After a slight but easy incline we came to a beautiful view. It was hazy today or we would have been able to see much more. As it was, we had a great view of Lake Clear below us and far in the distance the Ottawa River and Gatineau Hills. If we had brought along our binoculars I bet we could have seen even more.
 

 

The owners of the property use the land for logging, as well as farming, so we got a quick rundown on the types of trees they remove, and the ones that were growing around us. We came to an unusual stand of trees we were told were ironwood trees.

 

As we walked along, we learned a bit of the history of the area. We knew that the early European settlers had been lured to this area with promises of fertile farm land. But the harsh climate, and rocky shallow soils led a number of the new settlers to give up and move elsewhere. You could still see some of the old fences that once divided up the land.

 

There were also apple trees spread throughout the area we were in. Bob tells us the cattle eat most of the apples that are low to the ground, but that he has come out and picked the higher apples over the years and even tied in with another neighbour to produce some apple cider from them. These apple trees were pretty large; very old, very beautiful and very gnarly looking. They have been here for a long, long time. On picking days, the cattle stick close, knowing there will be more apples on the ground when everyone leaves.

Before setting out, I had read a little “snowshoe etiquette” which said to make sure everyone takes turns breaking trail. When we reached the end of the trail that had been set the day before, and had to break new trail, Rob and I made sure to offer our help. I of course ended up offering just when the route was up a hill!

But I set out anyway, and Bob was quick to praise my snowshoe technique with the kind words “you know how to walk”. Because basically, that’s all you have to do with these snowshoes !! Still, by the time we got up to the top, I was pretty happy to have someone else take over. I could feel some new muscles at work.

Other than rabbit trails, we didn’t see too much in the way of wildlife. But it was a beautiful walk, and I loved looking around the area a bit.

 

 

 

We eventually came back to where we had started, and set out on the way back for lunch at Bob’s place. Just before we got there though, he offered us a view of the lake he lives on so we took a short detour. We had to strap our snowshoes back on, and we weren’t really sure we could snowshoe much further but we gave it a go. As he talked about the other people who live in the area, I realized we were on the lake and stopped as I am a little hesitant about being out on ice. But they assured me I was fine!

 

Rob took a photo of me on the lake. I think I was still casting an eye down to make sure I was really o.k. though. I dropped my scarf too, but managed to notice and pick it up. We seem to have a history of leaving things at Bob's place!

 

 

We weren't really all that far out on the lake and were soon at the dock and then at the edge of the shoreline.

A nice leisurely stroll through his woods, and I could see his lovely log home.

The chickadees and finches were all out to greet us, and we kicked off our snowshoes under a warm sun and blue skies. Bob had cooked up a fabulous carrot and sweet potato soup, and we stayed for lunch before heading home.

Jet was glad to see us as we had been gone about 5 hours. I didn’t feel too bad as he had lots of play time in the snow the day before, but we still took him out for a good play and a walk. Walking was interesting, I could really feel my legs had been working hard in the snowshoes. Guess we shall see how we feel tomorrow.

Taking a play day was a great idea. Although we spend a lot of times outdoors every day, Rob has been really busy this week looking at roof designs, calculating snow loads, and going through endless research into heating systems. He needed a break and some nice fresh air. On a bright sunny day like today, I can’t imagine living in a climate that didn’t include winter. It was an absolute treat to be able to go out in it and walk through the areas we did. At the end of our walk our friend Bob summed it up - “it sure makes you feel alive”. 

The title of this entry - well - we use it all the time when we are trying to say "something is easy to do".  But we use it a lot now when we talk to Jet and try to persuade him that our good friend is his friend too. Jet is slow to accept new people. So - Bob has become "Bob's yer uncle". As in - it's easy - just make friends with him. I'm not sure Jet is buying into it just yet- but he will. Bob has been a patient friend at winning over Jet's acceptance.

And speaking of Jet. Here he is. On a beautiful sunny day, when the fresh snow was piled high, Jet came out for a walk with us this weekend and was somehow different. I can't put my finger on it - but he was calmer, and somehow more relaxed than normal. Maybe he's maturing, maybe it was just a really good day, maybe he was just smiling as much as we were on a glorious, sunny winter day.

Maybe he's going to give "Bob's yer Uncle" a nice big welcome someday !