Lots of stuff to do out side today, so I'll get rid of you first.

Yesterday I went to Martin River for lunch with Causeway Keith, Richie, Razor and Moose Lake Ed. 101 kilometers round trip. It was a great day and a nice ride. We didn't use the groomed trails. We kept to old logging roads, lakes, rivers and small trails. We stopped at the frozen waterfalls again.





This icicle is 6 feet long. It formed by water dripping off the roof and over the clothes line. In the sun yesterday it seperated from the house and slid down the line. There was a bigger icicle on the garage but it broke off.


It seems that somebody had a birthday last week and didn't want it announced on the world wide web. Hey, your not getting older, wait, 43 is old. TTSK, it's your job to remind us next year and baby pics would be good too.

I guess I lied about the pics. Friday evening we had a little warm up. I don't think Whitey got the joke.


Here, Thomas Edison, the electrician, is trying to use mind over matter to stop the earth from spinning. He's wearing a life jacket in case it doesn't work.


In this one, I hollered out that if you didn't want your picture on the Internet cause you were wanted by the police or your wife doesn't know where you were, then get out.


The euchre tournament. That's Minky standing up, trying to psych out the competition.

My partner, Minky, placed us in fourth place again this year. Minky used to be young and foolish, but he got over the young part a long, long, looong time ago. You probably noticed that almost everybody has a nick name. I think Razor baptised most of them. Gotta run, Sympatico has dropped me 5 or 6 times today.

So, we finally got a little snow. They called it a "storm?" Only about a foot of fluffy stuff.


It doesn't take much to make a Husky happy.





Men's weekend is here! Yesterday I did up the laundry and made bread. I didn't think I'd have much time this weekend, baby sitting Richie and looking after a sick, whiny Razor. We got rid of.... I mean the Mayor is off to Sudbury to visit TTSK. I gotta send a little heads up to all the young fellers at Laurentian University. LOCK YOUR DOORS!!!

I won't be allowed to take any pics this weekend. Although, if I had one of those little "nanny cams", I would probably make a million.

Yesterday I zipped to town for a dental appointment. I hit a couple of pretty deep slushy spots on the pond side of the lake. I didn't have too much running around, so I had time to visit a friend. On the way back, I was trucking along pretty good, when a car passed me, just north of the psych hospital, and almost put a south bound Suburban in the ditch. It was the OPP! I thought, for sure he would turn around and the chase would be on, but he didn't. Late for a doughnut I guess.

The day had been a grey day with flurries, but late in the afternoon it cleared up. My side of the lake got the sun first.


Sun set.


6:30 am.


7:00 am.


It reached -1 yesterday. We are under a storm watch right now, chance of up to 20 cms of snow. The Newfies got had a nice storm yesterday. Did you hear the guy on the news? I'll paraphrase a little bit 'cause I can't remember word for word. "Geeze me son, looks at me car. Sheeze buuried. I cantz go fer me smokes and a case o'beer. I guess de ol' lady will have to shanks mare".

A guy on the radio said that bloggers were introverts. Oops, another stereo type broken.

I picked up a new chain for the Husqvarna, that's a chain saw, not a sewing machine, so I'll get back on the fire wood soon.

Happy Birthday, Joseph!! Excellent job on that interview, too!
Joseph has a link on his blog, to a down loadable version of the interview.



We got a little snow Saturday night. Just some light powdery stuff.



Yesterday afternoon Kita and I went down the lake to clear some,(a lot) of solar panels. The snow on my lot is only boot deep, but down here some of the drifts are thigh deep. The roof rake wouldn't clear the snow on the roof, so I climbed up and shoveled it off. While I was up there, I cleared the snow around the chimney. I was pretty sweaty by the time I was done.


I cleaned yours off too, Ron.


And yours, Steve.


-32.7 @ 6:oo am this morning. They are calling for snow or flurries for the next four days, just in time for men's weekend.

I had to switch propane tanks on Saturday. I can't remember when I switched them last. I think it was the same day that I took the truck to Frasertown, the first time. Whose job was it to remember?

I watched the ECMAs last night. Good show. I didn't recognize anybody in the crowd, though. But Shelagh has a face for radio!

Good one Berlin, you got me good. I'm still chuckling. I don't care what Richie says, you do have a sense of humour. Of course you would have to, wouldn't you.

Finally, they are calling for some snow today, but only 2cm's.


Thursday we went to Frasertown to get some coffee water. Kita and I had seen a partridge on the trail a couple of times. Something, a wolf I think, got the bird and this is all that was left.


Sunup yesterday.


Another nice day on Little Tomiko.


Yesterday Kita was watching the whiskey jacks at the bird feeder when a squirrel decided to climb up. He didn't make it. Here, I think Kita is trying CPR.


Yesterday was bread day. In between risings I made some bannock with raisins. I have never had bannock, so I don't know if it turned out properly. It's more like a pastry than a bread.


Last evening we had supper at Frasertown. Left to right; Trailerpark Dan (TPD), Cindy, Barb, Gord and Doe Lake Randy (DLR). The Fraser's must have been getting another course when I took this pic.


My son, Joseph, was interviewed by the CBC show, Quirks and Quarks, about his research on the peregrine falcon this week. He's not sure if it will be aired today or next Saturday. The show is on after the noon news.

Happy late Valentine's day. I guess that nobody nagged me to remember.

-29 this morning. Do you remember what winters used to be like in the olden days? Last Feb 17th.


Yesterday was another good solar day.


An icicle melting in the sun and freezing in the wind.


I wonder if any of those spam emails has a cure for this guy.

Being in tune with nature, yesterday I detected a change in the universe. Plus Razor told me that Dave was in, so Kita and I popped over for a visit. I think Dave is home sick already. He might go home by April. His solar panels were covered in snow, so I lent him my roof rake. I think I'll head down the lake to check the Birkby's panels.

Richie, you were right, men's weekend is next week. I was mis...misled, yeah, that's the word I was looking for. Check out this web site, it might help you out.
http://www.alibinetwork.com/index.jsp

Good morning blog bunnies. The radio said it was -26 in North Bay this morning, but it was -33.4 here. So I decided to post early, until it warmed up a couple of degrees. I actually logged on an hour ago. It has taken me this long to check emails and all the blogs. Blogger has finally forced me to convert to a new system, which was a little painful. The new password/log in didn't seem to work, but I guess it did.

Sunday was a weird weather day. Bright sun, dark clouds, snow flurries and high winds.


Yesterday morning.


Last evening.


This morning.




I decided to go to town yesterday. I didn't have to yet, except to go to the post office. Not too many idiots, except for cell phone users. At the bank, three people going in and two coming out, were on their phones. Who are they talking to, each other? Hey lady in the big Dodge dually, kinda hard to maneuver in a parking lot with one hand, eh? But the lady who !@%#!@# me off most was the lady in front of me at the grocery store. Extra large Timmie's in one hand and a cell phone between her shoulder and ear while trying to unload her cart.

Last weekend the lock on the back door broke so I picked up a new one yesterday. I decide on a handicapped, lever style. I thought it would be easier when one arm is full of fire wood and the other has a frozen glove.

Richie, maybe I'm mistaken. I was wrong ONCE. I thought I made a mistake, but I didn't.

Berlin, If you let Richie come, I'll look after him. All those stories about women at men's weekend aren't true, mostly.

Here's JocXXXXX, Jake.


Jake really wanted to go outside and play with Kita, but Kita doesn't have much patience with energetic dogs. We'll have to wait until Jake understands that "GRRR" means "You better back up you little punk, if you don't want a smack down".


Yesterday was a really nice day and an awesome solar day. Theoretically, my solar panels can generate 32 amps, but my charger is only rated for 30 amps. Normally on really good days I generate about 26 amps. Yesterday, I was generating 31 amps and had to turn the panels away from the sun. I saw this last February, too. It all has to do with the angle of the dangle. Late in the afternoon, a couple of young guys stopped at the bottom of my property, looking at the "no trespassing" and "beware of dog" signs with Kita sitting at the top of the hill, in the middle of the ski doo track. It seems that they were lost, looking for the Brule Lake road. I grudgingly let them cross my property, and gave them directions.


So next weekend is men's weekend on the Little Tomiko. (No pictures allowed!) There are poker runs and card games and generally lots of burping and farting. Man stuff, you know. I wonder if Richie will be ALLOWED to come. Maybe, if he gets his HONEY DO lists done, he can get PERMISSION. I know that he doesn't smoke, but, he could use the old "I'm just going to the corner store for some smokes. I think I'll put the sled in truck in case I get stuck" trick. Good luck with that, Richie.

Sun set Wednesday.


Sun set Thursday.


It looked promising yesterday afternoon, but we barely got enough to cover up the dog pee.


Sun dog at sun rise this morning.


Today is just another one of those terrible sunny days, but don't despair, they are calling for cloud and a little snow for your weekend. This afternoon I'm heading to Frasertown to pick up some olds papers and check the mail. Maybe I'll remember to take a picture of Jocko, oops, I mean Jake. He's growing up really fast.

So, ya noticed Rocky, one of my low maintenance pets. Rocky is about 15 years old, I think. George used to attack him, when he was a kitten.


Here's Billie the blue bill duck.


Ruffy, the ruffed grouse.


Puff, the dragon fly.


Woody, the wood duck with Nutty the squirrel peeking out in the back.


Bobby, the bob cat. He was gifted. Before I had ceilings, Bobby used to live in the rafters. George would climb the walls to attack him.


And the fishies.


I used to do a little taxidermy. I haven't done any for years. The only thing I remember is the moto, "taxidermists will mount anything."

Sun set Monday.


Sun rise yesterday.


It's been like Kita and I were the only living things the past couple of days. No birds, rabbits or squirrels, then late yesterday afternoon, these Whiskey jacks came for a visit.


Sun set last night.


This morning I saw this funny shape, just to the left (from the lake) of where the dock goes.


It is an air hole in the ice. The water is about half way up my boots.


Yesterday was just a terrible day. -27 in the morning, warmed up to -12, but with a wind chill into the -30's. Thermometer in the sun reading -2. Not a cloud in the sky. I bet your glad you could spend it at work, protected from all those nasty UVA and UVB rays, huh? Yeah, just terrible.


I spent the whole day out side yesterday. Chopped more slush off of the Yammie and greased the throttle cables and adjusted the carbs. I'll have to get Razor to check them out.

Here's a lesson for you. Clean ups can be profitable. I found $30.02 this morning. OK, I wasn't cleaning up, I was looking for some keys. Anyway, $10.02 was wrapped up in a receipt from Price Choppers dated the 30th of August 2006. It looks like it was change from Tina picking up some milk for me and cat food for George. The $20 was in a receipt from the LCBO.

So, last week the ground rats said that we are going to have an early spring. Now, environment Canada say that we are going to have below normal temps for the next three months. I guess we'll find out if superstition or flipping quarters are more correct.

Very funny Email Bryan, I can always use the help to spread my buns on the internet. Give me a call the next time you and Jose are off and I'll drop by.