The skies cleared late Saturday.


Although we didn't get the dump of snow on Friday, it kinda nickled and dimed us with flurries all day Saturday. The snow is now about thigh deep now. I guess we got enough that the bunnies have started using my shoveled paths.


In the center, you'll see a big air hole.


Coming back from Frasertown yesterday morning. My tree line trail is still in good condition.

Late yesterday.


Howling winds today. One minute the ski doo tracks are buried, and the next they are clear.

I don't know how much I'll post over the next week or two. I got a little consulting job at the salt mines and I might be too tired to post in the evenings. You might be thinking "Gee Frank, I thought you were retired. Why would you want to go back to work?" Well you know the old saying " If I had Mr. Slates money, I'd add it to mine".

Yesterday, Razor took my truck to the Kelly's. I'll sled across to their place and Mrs. K will keep Kita company while I go to wo, wor, work. The lake is pretty slushy so I went back and forth a few times to pack down a trail. May be next year I'll put a tree line that way too. The temps are supposed to go down to the minus teens for the next couple of days, so the trail should harden up OK. I've been practicing getting up early the past couple of mornings. The first morning that the alarm clock went off, I thought it was a smoke detector. This afternoon I'll cook up a few meals so I won't have to cook when I get home.

Who called this a heavy snow fall warning, Mel Lastman? For those of you from away, Mel was the mayor of Toronto who called in the army to shovel driveways a few years ago when they had a couple of flurries.

Yesterday started lookin' good, the other side of the lake almost disappeared.


8:00 am yesterday.


10:00 am today, what's the dif?


It cleared up late yesterday afternoon. Kita looks for his bed. There were two tarps, I found one hung up in a tree, the other one must be on the other side of the lake.



The wind just picked up and brought another flurry, so maybe it's not over yet. Temp is +.4c. This winter has been too easy, most of you urban suburbanites could have survived this one. Winter, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Six.

1. No black flies.
2. No mosquitoes.
3. No horse flies.
4. No deer flies.
5. No nippers.
6. No sand flies.

I just noticed that the counter rolled over 16,000. Some of you need to get a life!

First off, I have to apologize to Patty, who went to Martin River with us. He was on the wagon, so I didn't recognize him.

The weather report on Tuesday said that it was -16 in North Bay and going up to -2. Since it was -25 here, I thought that it would be a nice day to work out side. But it got too hot, +3c, so I started cleaning out the A frame. Plus, by the end of this week, I think somebody might need it. I want it known that I had no part in some one's life changing decisions. I let the fire burn out and opened the patio door to the deck. It was so hot that George cried to go out.


By mid afternoon it was so hot that I decided to go to the beach.


What better way to end a day at the beach than a couple of chops on the barbie?


So, after 2 days, this is the piles of junk that came out. Not counting the bunk bed for Joseph and the roll away cots that I put in the garage. The cots are free to a good home.



All I have to do is find a place for 2 doors, and vacuum, and the A frame will be livable.

Last evening I went to the Kelly's for supper. Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the fixin's. You better get back soon Shirley, Mrs. K is winning me over. We are under a winter storm warning starting this evening, so I think I'll go to Frasertown and get some coffee water before it hits.

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.