All Day the Snow Fell

Snow comes in many guises.  This week's installment came like the snow on a movie set. Like Christmas card snow.

Big flakes, hanging softly in the air as if reluctant to land on the ground. 

This is pretty snow.  Not so much the kind that comes howling down on the wings of an Alberta Clipper, driving sideways, stinging eyes and freezing cheeks.   This was soft snow.  What you might call Warm Snow, except that's an oxymoron of sorts.

Snow that really called out for cameras, and people to get outside and scuffle through it.  Snow for the horses to roll in happily.  For Taffy, there were tracks of deer to snuffle, and snow to be thrown aside as she ran for glee. 

Here's a Roar for the Lion's!

Communities are glued together by volunteers, by community groups that unite.

High on this list would have to be our local Dwight Lion's Club. Today they hosted a Christmas Social at the Community Centre -- a great excuse to get together, enjoy some munchies, visit with friends before we all get too busy with the season, have some fun.

 Five dollars, and a donation to the Food Bank got you in the door...    Of course, there were tickets for the 50/50 draw available, and a door prize to win the centrepiece.  It all goes to great causes.

It was also the occasion for the Club to hand out cheques, from monies raised through their fundraising efforts, to the Huntsville Hospital, the Salvation Army, and the local kids involved in the Me to We trip to China next spring.

The Club raised a LOT of money for all of these causes over the past year. 


They are always on the look-out for new members, by the way. You should come on out and get involved.  After all, that old saw about 'you get out what you put in' is true.  Involvement in community is what makes Community.

While many of the winners of the 50/50 draw were from the area, the big winner came with a 519 phone number -- which just shows that during the summer when the Lion's are out there selling tickets  it's well worthwhile to chip in. The winner this year took home over $500, which will be most welcome at this time of year, we're sure!   (a cautionary note for those of you at Bondi:  be on the lookout for Brian, who has his very effective methods to sell his allotment of tickets! )

Marcy was delighted to win the centrepiece -- we just worry if the table at home is big enough to house it, or if the family will have to peer around and over it to chat over the Christmas turkey!

Thanks to the Dwight Lions (and Lionesses, of course!) for putting on the Social, and for all the work you do for this community all through the year. Long may you Roar!

Happy Camper

Dave can't wait for the snow.

He just brought home a new set of skiis, from Algonquin Outfitters.  Great skiis, great deal, great people... how could you possibly go wrong?

He posed with them, so we could check the AO logo on the straps.

Dave is one of the people who dreams of winter, of slopes, and snow showering away from edges. He enjoys snowmobiling, snowboarding, skating on the lake. He knows how to drive the trail groomer and set track.  He can play frisbee golf on snowshoes.  Helped to build his own fish-hut...

Dave does winter.  Don't complain to him if it's snowing.

Colonial Bay Talks about Skiing in Muskoka

This isn't my post -- it was posted by Bruce Howell on the Colonial Bay website.  I am sharing it here -- because there is no way I could say it better.

We partner with Colonial Bay, and other area resorts, in the Resorts of North Muskoka venture.  We're proud to promote their quality accommodation, along with our own. Together we are stronger, offering our guests more choices.

When it comes to skiing, the Howell family knows their stuff.  Bruce's niece, Dara Howell, is currently competing at Copper Mountain, where she just finished 10th in her first World Cup Half Pipe competition. Dara started skiing here at Hidden Valley.

So when Colonial Bay put up this great post about Skiing in Muskoka, sharing it seemed the best way to spread the word!  People often overlook Arrowhead Park -- with it's extensive ski trail network. (Here at Bondi, we have over 15 of groomed and track set skiis, and we include a day pass into Arrowhead or Algonquin Park with all our rentals.)

You can read it here... or link over to the post on their site.


Colonial Bay:  Skiing in Muskoka

Muskoka’s landscape – hilly, rocky and treed – isn’t just beautiful. It also offers amazing terrain for skiing. Whether you prefer the thrill and speed of alpine-style skiing or the tranquil tracks of cross-country skiing, Muskoka is the perfect location for both.
Arrowhead Provincial Park has 29 km of groomed, track-set, cross-country ski trails and 12km of skate skiing trails for beginner to expert skiers. Both classic and skate skis can be rented from the Park Pro Shop. Glide silently through the trees and then warm up next to the bonfire before exploring another trail.

Our local alpine ski area, Hidden Valley Highlands, has surprisingly varied terrain given its size. With twelve runs ranked from easy (green) to most difficult (black diamond) and a terrain park, there’s something for skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities. For first-timers and those who want to improve their skills, the Snow School offers both beginner group lessons or one-on-one private instruction.

Weather permitting, both Hidden Valley and Arrowhead will have terrain open through the holidays.

If you’re planning to be in Muskoka for the holidays, Hidden Valley has two celebrations: the Christmas Eve Torchlight Parade and New Year’s Eve family-friendly fireworks. Check out their events page for info.

Other local holiday events include:

December 17 – A Portage Flyer Christmas at Muskoka Heritage Place - Ride the Portage Flyer to visit Santa from 5-8pm

December 17, 28, 29 – SantaFest at Santa’s Village - Admission includes horse-drawn sleigh rides by Twin Maples Farm, Ice Skating (weather permitting), sliding, guided ATV rides by Bear Claw Tours, winter Olympic biathlon, gingerbread cookie decorating, craft making, colouring & letter writing, petting farm, marshmallow roasting, story time and visits with Santa

December 20 – Michelle Wright Christmas at Algonquin Theatre

We hope to see you this holiday season!


Many thanks to Colonial Bay for such a super post. Winter -- bring it on!

Lights Up, Limbs Down, Candles Lit

In the snow that was falling like it belonged in a Hollywood movie, Brian monkeyed up the ladder and nipped off a few branches that were threatening to gently jostle the hydro line.  Best to stop that before the winter storms come along -- trees and hydro lines don't play well together.

Over at the Dwight Municipal Office and Library, Phil Pavey loaned the use of his spider-lift to help string trees into the big white pine.  And we do mean big.  This was part of the Friends of the Library initiative this year to Light Up Dwight.  They "done good."

We'd suggest leaving this up there year round. Maybe they could light up on the August long weekend when the local firemen host Firefest at Dwight Beach.

Not as lofty as the pine, the tea light shining in the ice-star is a perfect Christmas season accent.  All you need is the mold, and a place where the forms can freeze.  A friend told us that her freezer this week held nothing but these lovely lantern-shades.

If Martha Stewart isn't stopping over, you can get a low-cost version by simply freezing water in a small bucket until only the centre of the bucket remains liquid.  The effect is very much like this -- but of course, there is something totally charming about the stars shining along walkways.

The bright lights are one of the very nice things about this season, when it gets dark early and the colours in the land have dwindled into muted blacks, whites and grays.

We're Christmas Season ready up here in North Muskoka.  And we can't wait to see you!

Hiking in December - Wonderland

Columbia Clothing has a great tag line:  Get Out... and Stay Out.

Which goes to show two things:
a) the power of advertising.  That this line sticks in memory for years and years is powerful stuff.
b) that with the right clothing, there is no place better to be than OUT.

Well dressed for the climate, and ready to enjoy the Great Outdoors, tThe Baysville Hiking Club dropped over to Bondi Village Tuesday and spent several hours happily rambling our trails.

We have plenty of trails to ramble.  Almost 20 km in total.  15 of those are groomed and track set for winter cross country skiing.  About 5 of them are not really suitable for hiking at this time of year, due to their location nestled adjacent to or within wetlands.  That still leaves plenty of scope. 

Not to mention plenty of great landscape views! 

With the leaves down, you can see far into the forest, right to the rocky 'bones of the land' and that amazing Muskoka Granite. It's beautiful stuff, but small wonder it defeated those early pioneers who thought they could turn it into farmland.

Down by Damalot, where the beavers live, the wetlands fill in with colour of their own -- after the leaves are gone and before winter wraps it all up in White.  The bittersweet's bright reds and the unfurling cat-tails make interesting camera studies.   The ponds themselves are filling in with shelly ice -- that too makes for interesting photos and plays of light and shadow.

Sometimes the brightest colours out there are the clothes of the hikers themselves -- and that too makes for lovely photos.  Walking through the sugarbush, the woods are so wide open you can almost see to the far horizons!  We love our trees and forests, different in every season. 

Still, I am reminded of the Saskatchewan farmer who retired into the mountains of B.C.  Asked how he liked it, he shrugged.  "It's nice enough," he avowed, "but the mountains sure do block the view."

Much the same can be said for a summer woodland.  Come this time of year, the view sort of 'opens up.'

Many thanks to Gloria Woodside for sending me these beautiful photos of the Baysville Hiking Club's hike with us!

Uber Egg

Gracious...  Look what we found in the nest box yesterday!  This chicken is an over-achiever!


(and probably walking a little gingerly today, one might think -- wow... that thing is HUGE!)

David measured it around the circumference at 6 3/4 inches.

It is for sure a double yolk. Perhaps more. 

It is certainly the biggest egg we've ever seen -- other than of course a duck egg or an ostrich!