Winter Tracks

Upper Kingsburg, NS

Feb. 6, 2015

Just us winter critters, out exploring the fresh snow. Consistent cold temperatures have produced excellent skiing conditions.  Lots of powdery snow atop a hard, crusty base.  I'm in heaven.

Spring is in the Air?

Upper Kingsburg, NS

January, 2013

This morning, while waiting in the lobby at the Lunenburg Fisherman's Memorial Hospital, several elderly gents hobbled in and sat down.  One of them commented, "it's a good day to be alive, ain't it?  Spring is in the air."  I couldn't agree more.

But, sadist that I am, I do love my winter and if I'm lucky, a winter that comes with lots of snow.  

Here's a shot from the intrepid Upper Kinsburg Nordic crew out for an XC ski expedition after a fresh coating of snow.  The wind was making its way through our jackets, our fingers and faces were cold.  The dusting of snow on the trees and the gorgeous clouds in the sky that day were our reward for enduring a classic Canadian winter outing.  

The piping warm thermos of choclatey chai tea, slurped down in the shelter of a millionaire's new hilltop house under construction, made for a pleasant break from the cold winds.  

It was a good day.

Snowy drive-by

Shot from the car, somewhere in Bayport, NS.

Seemed like a good shot to share out today, now that we have returned to seasonal norms for weather...

Snowy Morning Commute

I was greeted with a winter wonderland display on my morning commute. I LOVE SNOW.

Winter Fun on Romkey Pond

Sigh....shot on the weekend, remember when there was snow? Where is that winter that I ordered!?! I was looking for any excuse to go surfing, sadly...the ocean did not provide said excuse.

If you squint, you might be able to spot the group of people having fun out on the ice. There was an auger involved. I'm assuming it was used to test the thickness of the ice and not for *gasp* illegal ice fishing.

note to self: must clean inside of my windshield...

Frosty windshield

I was treated to a gorgeous display of ice crystals on my windshield this morning. I'm sure the -15 C temperatures last night helped!

Il neige!

It's finally looking like winter outside! Here's a shot of the snow on our hydrangea bush, taken just before Xmas.

Spring in the Cape Breton Highlands

A shot from Ski Tuonela, taken TODAY. According to owner, Chris Law, they received 25 cm of pow pow last night, 35 cm since Sunday! Hard to believe they have so much snow up there. If you love skiing, get up there to catch the white stuff while you still can..

Tuonela sauna door detail

A closeup shot of the entrance to the wood fired sauna at Ski Tuonela

Tuonela Lodge

One of the many buildings at Ski Tuonela, hope they still have some snow this weekend.

So that's where leaves go to die...

Hark, 'tis the infamous leaf bag trailer on the Cornwall Road!

I doubt many drafts get through this layer...of what appears to be hundreds of bags of leaves.

Turner takes flight!

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day!
Here, a co-worker tosses a ball for his dog, Turner, to fetch.

Stanburne nordic

Winter ain't over yet! Thanks to All Good! submitter David Lindsay for this great self portrait XC shot. Lookin' good, David!
Check out David's recent article about energy wood in Canadian Geographic.

Oh, there's snow 'up home'

See for yourself. This was shot at Keji two weekends ago, a recent 'recce' of the park this past weekend revealed that there is still plenty of snow inland. XC skiing conditions were excellent!

My prayers have been answered!!!

We finally have snow down by the shore, and more to come this week. HUZZAH!

Until recently, I had to travel inland to get my snow fix. This video was shot in the hill/field behind my buddy's place. I like how you can see some snow flakes at the beginning.

I tried shooting this one handheld, so I could hold the camera close to the ground.

New school

At the time, I didn't think this would be my favourite shot of the set, I was wrong.

L'burg curling club on the left, community centre on the right, and the new school under construction in the middle. My hat goes off to the construction crew, they worked right through that recent bitter cold snap...handling metal. Brrrr...

Meanwhile in Lunenburg...

This road is somewhat hidden, it makes for a nice walk at lunch. Nice to have these woods to walk through, always lots of deer hiding out down in the gulley at the bottom of the hill.

Here's a grayscale conversion of the same shot, which one do you prefer?

Snow melting in the morning sun

I was lucky enough to capture this shot of the melting snow, slowly falling off the roof of the main lodge at Ski Tuonela.

Now the people will know we had snow...

The grass might be showing 'down south', but there is still plenty of the white stuff just outside of Baddeck!

This week, I'll be posting pictures from my recent trip to Ski Tuonela. If you love XC, backcountry, telemark skiing and cabin lodging, you MUST check this place out!

The resort is incredible, you will not be dissapointed.

Thanks Chris and Ann, I will be back next season!

Ehem....what happened to my winter!?!

I know, I know, I'm the one of the few who wants it to look like this outside:



I can't help it, I love winter, and I feel like it's been cut short on me!

Sorry for the belated blog post today, and for missing yesterday's post altogether. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle for this blogger!

Stay tuned this week, for pictures of big waves after the recent storm.