Confused Moose.

Bruce the Moose is having a bit of a confused moment

about how he is supposed to stand tall with his wreath

around his neck, not his nose. Poor guy. It's been cold

while we're away and our girls sent this photo along.

💗 Chy 💗

Hello November.

Our landscape is cold now and snow has come

and gone but will soon arrive with a force and

stay until Spring. It's such a pretty view, even

though I don't like the cold. Hello November!

~ Chy

First Snow!

As we settle in to our new home, our

new centre, we've joked about the first

snow that would soon arrive. In 2023,

the snow didn't arrive until December.

But this year, after a meeting in our

kitchen that is still waiting for a real

window, I came around the corner

to my office and squealed out loud!

Snow was falling in big flakes. It was

not sticking on the ground but falling

so lightly from the sky. My team all

started coming to see and we had a

bit of a laugh that we were so excited

to see the "white stuff!" We know it

will soon truly arrive and stay, and

then we won't be so excited to see it

anymore. For now, it made the day

feel warm and cozy inside and gave

us the chance to do more bonding

over our heaping cups of sweet tea!

Do you love the first snow each year?

~ Chy

Day at Home.

Foggy morning and then rain this

afternoon. A great day to be home!

~ Chy

The Storm.

We've been getting ready for a big storm that was predicated to hit our region over night on Sunday night and continue in to Monday. However, I was heading in to town yesterday afternoon to do a few errands, visit my mom and then go to an event meeting at 2 pm. As I started down our country road, the snow started to fall. The ground was bare and earlier, there had been some sun. By the time I finished my errands and visited my mom, the snow was a bit thicker. I headed to the meeting but did decide if it got too bad, I would head home early. As the snow continued, we all did decide to head home while it was still light and manageable. The photos above show the progression in about a 4 minute time span. Please note, I was on our lane and pulled over to take these shots, with no traffic around me at all. The snow got thicker, the fog set in and visibility was so poor that I'm glad we ended early. The last photo was of the cottage, which is not visible with the fog and snow fall. So crazy how quickly this came on. We were at +10 or 12 C on Friday (different weather reports have different recorded temps for the day) and basically no snow on the ground, to - 30 C today with the winchill and over 24 cm's of snow falling in 24 hours. Crazy! But happy for snow. 

Last Summer was the first time we've ever been on alert for a fire close to us. The dry weather we've had all Winter has been a big concern, so this new and huge snow storm is quite welcome in our area. I truly hope it helps to cut down the risk of fires this year. We've worked so hard, like everyone around us, to live in a beautiful area, in a sweet cottage and to lose all of this to a fire would be devastating. For now, while it's freezing outside, we're cozy and warm inside the cottage, with lots of tea, movies and books to watch, and my Lego to build. A quiet work week helped as well.

Where every you are and whatever weather

you're experiencing, wishing you well today!

~ Chy

An Eclectic Winter.

This Winter has been the most eclectic Winter that I've ever experienced. From no snow, to a bit, to a warm trend that felt like Summer, to a bit of snow, to a week of bitter cold, followed by another warming experience that meant we all have had messy cars as the bit of snow had melted, creating muddy country roads. On the weekend, we had some snow again, not much as you'll see by my photos, but enough so the mud was less. And then yesterday, warm again, so out came the mud. In between all of this, we've had warmer than normal temperatures (I still haven't put my - 40 C Sorels yet!), some rain (in Winter?) and a ton of fog (spooky and scary!). As much as we've loved that we haven't had any blizzards and travelling into town and even into the Big City has not been a challenge at all this year, the big worry is with very little snow cover, we run such a big risk of more forest fires this coming year. After being on alert last Spring for the first time ever, this has created some stress for us. Fingers crossed we get more snow and have a rainy Spring. We're hiring a tree company soon to come in and ensure that our little forest can be cleared a bit to decrease our risk. We don't want to take trees down but I do worry the brush under the trees is too much right now. I'd rather have this taken care of then be worried every time there is a fire near by.  Please keep our region, our whole country in your thoughts and blessings. Thank you for this.

You may be wondering about my photos above. The top left is the sweet branches we were gifted by a client for our front steps. I loved placing these as a welcoming path for guests who visited us over the holidays. There were smaller branches too and I put these in our dining room on the table, surrounding the big candle, as well as on our vintage cabinet in front of the windows, and a bit on the tea wagon. 

The second photo on the right is Bruce the Moose and Santa Claus, sadly, resting on the ground with a bit of snow cover. I'm glad they are not buried but they look so sad when they are not inflated. I love when they are up. With the higher cost of electricity this year, we haven't had them up as often but when they are up, I feel like a kid excited about something as simple as an inflatable!

Third photo is our new Hydrangea bush. I didn't cut all the blooms off as I wanted to see what it looks like in the snow. I love how this looks, even with the little bit of snow.

Fourth photo is showing our little girl and boy statues on their seesaw, in the snow, in the snowy forest.

Fifth photo is our stone bench right by the statues. Looks so empty and needing some company. I look forward to the Spring when we have flowers growing close by. A sweet spot to sit and reflect on a warm Summer day.

The final photo shows a bit of green that has popped up. Some of our plants are a bit confused by above normal temperatures and lots of sun. Today was cloudy and foggy but the sun should be back soon. 

It will be interesting to see if we end up getting a blizzard or two along the way. Hopefully not, though some steady, frequent snow would be so very helpful. 

Hope all is well where you reside!

~ Chy

Last Bike Ride.

We've had such warm weather without

snow, so just before Christmas, we took

the bike out for one last spin. A sunny

day that was a bit cool but the road was

just perfect for a smooth ride. I really

didn't think I'd like riding but I'm a fan!

~ Chy

Horse and Wagon.

A breezy and chilly but sunny day for a horse

and wagon ride down our little country lane.

~ Chy

Welcome December.

Though we have NO snow, this image

reminds me of the typical scenes we

would be living within. I do hope we

get a bit of snow before Christmas.

Not sure it will come but we can hope!

A brown Christmas would be strange.

~ Chy

Summer in Winter?

We are having the best weather so far.

NO snow, at a time of year when we

would have had a least one blizzard

and a constant stream of cool to cold

air, with snow here and there, always

with lots of sun. But at the moment, my

garden is struggling with how warm it

is and the trees and bushes are not sure

if they should bloom or wait .... I was

able to sit outside yesterday in the sun

and wait for dgs to come down the lane

from his bus drop off. The birds were

singing, the geese flying overhead (to

the North by the way!) and the air was

warm and lovely. How is your weather?

Hope it's warm and sunny where you are!

~ Chy

Happy Halloween!

Today, on a cool and cloudy day,

we're all ready for little ghosts and

goblins to visit the cottage tonight.

More photos to follow. Happy Day!

Halloween.

~ Chy

A Rainy Monday ....

A Rainy Monday .... 

a little video from our

cozy little cottage in the

big, rainy woods today!

~ Chy

P.S. Click on the link above

to see the video on my Instagram!

Canada Day.

Canada Day was on Saturday, July 1st but we were under some intense weather warnings and I didn't get a chance to write about the day until now. In May, we had wildfire evacuation alerts. In June, we had heat warnings as well as later in the month, rainfall warnings. And then we started July with tornado warnings. There was quite a large tornado that touched down in the southern part of our province, destroying several homes and leave quite the path of destruction in its path. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured or killed. Having lived through tornadoes as a child in Saskatchewan, and then the big F5 in Alberta in 1987, this time of year always makes me a bit jittery. We have a tornado kit, and our precious photo boxes are stored for easy access in case we need to grab them if we end up under an alert. Fingers crossed this Summer settles down soon so we can just enjoy it, instead of being on alert all the time!

We didn't have big plans for Canada Day. To be honest, the last 6 weeks have been quite crazy, so a long weekend with no plans was really our only plan. Rest and doing nothing sounded like heaven and something we were quite looking forward to. We slept in on Saturday, then worked on finalizing the Festival tasks now that our event is over. Closing the books on it by this coming Friday is our goal. Everyone has received their funds for supplies, production and performing, so now it's just writing reports for our funders and thank you's to all our donors, and volunteers. A big job but it was nice to get it going without any other tasks in our way. The only other thing we did, besides driving down the lane to take care of our neighbors home while they're away, was to run in to town to get some groceries. As we were ready to leave the store, that is when the bad weather kicked in and we had to wait at least 20 minutes before the thunder and lightening and torrential rains stopped enough to run to our car. As the storm was moving in the same direction as our cottage, we did really get any relief from it. The storm continued well through the rest of the day and into the evening. We could hear the fireworks in town at 11 pm, along with some from neighbors. The rain had stopped by then, though it started again in the middle of the night, continued through most of Sunday and today, stopping now. The sun is now peeking through the clouds. I'm hoping to head out after our trip down the lane to the neighbors to do a bit of weeding. All this rain has helped our garden grow, but it's also contributed to a few extra weeds, here and there! Easy to pick weeds when the ground is wet.

Eldest son comes for a short visit tomorrow and leaves on Thursday. He's in a show that is on Wednesday night. We're all going to brekky that morning and other than dropping him off at the venue and picking him up late at night, it'll be a short visit. I'll take it! He and our dear daughter in law live on the coast and we miss them all the time. Little visits like this and Facetime are the norm for now! Love them to bits!

Quiet weekend, just what we needed, and now with lots of rest, we're ready for another busy week. Hope your weekend was amazing, with new adventures and memories. 

~ Chy

Blythe in the Rain.

Sweet Carys in the April rain. Hoping

that our garden will soon be green. She

is looking a bit chilly sitting in the mist.

Soon the warm air will be here each day!

~ Chy

First Raindrops.

First raindrops to fall on our new car.

It may snow next week but today, rain!

~ Chy

Winter Weather.

..... has been amazing so far. We have

not had any new snow since early in

December and this week, the bit we

have has been melting as the warmth

that crept in settled and hasn't yet left.

We have had fog and frosty mornings

but the sun, the light wind and the air

has kept our Winter so nice. Many days

I have my jacket undone and the other

day, I wore shoes to work instead of

my big Sorels. I'm sure at some point

we'll have some fresh snow and maybe

a day of rough driving. But for now,

we'll embrace what has been gifted to

us for the start of 2023. I hope where

you are dear friends the weather is great!

~ Chy

Wish us Luck!

The last few years, we had a rink right

off our back deck. The rink is set to go

but in a different spot this year. And I

am not sure it will happen. We came

home from Disney to snow and since

then, it's been too cold to get the final

pieces in place. We'll see what happens

over the next few weeks. Wish us luck!

~ Chy

It's Snowing!

We've had amazing weather the last few

weeks. Sunny days, warm temperatures

and dry roads. But today, in the afternoon

as we were finishing up our Christmas

shopping, the sun disappeared and fluffy

flakes began to fall from the sky. With our

hot chocolates warming our hands, we

headed home to the comfort of our cozy

cottage. We brought our big wooden box

up from the storage room that holds our

wrapping paper, ribbons, tape, labels and

gift bags. I tidy it up, gathered a few items

to donate to others and now we're ready

to start wrapping gifts to fill up the empty

space under our little tree. A few cards to

send, a menu to finish and then we're ready!

How are you doing with your plans?

Are you feeling ready and relaxed?

~ Chy

Summer Storms.

We have had just one, maybe two storms

this whole Summer. As someone who hides

when the lightening strikes and the thunder

rolls, I've been so grateful. But we may have

a big one tonight! We have a heat warning

all week and now storms are moving in. It

may be a very long night! Wish me luck!!

Hoping the weather forecast doesn't happen.

~ Chy

Lovely Summer.

Summer is lovely so far. Very few bugs, unlike last year when we couldn't sit outside very long because of the swarms of mosquitoes that tried to consume our bodies and all the aggressive, nasty wasps that got in to our little cottage. This year is almost bug free. We are having a few days of super hot weather but then it will cool again. I'm not great with heat this high but am thankful for limited bugs.

We have some items on our "landscaping task list" that we need to tick off, now that the festival is over. I've started to work on the deck, which needs to be scraped, sanded, then re-stained. It's a little too hot to stain. I may have to do the prep work, then stain it closer to Fall when it's cooler. Tricky to work the timing to do this but would love to have it off our list before the snow comes back. We also need to work on installing the final row of fencing and the gate on our picketed veggie patch. Next is talking to the greenhouse about our apple trees that have never given us apples - hoping they will honor the guarantee and replace them. Then we'll be working on filling the last of the empty spaces with cedar chips so we don't have weeds to pull. I need to order more chips and may stop in today to get this done so we have them on hand. We do a section at a time and the transformation is amazing! We have to lay the bricks in the front to create our new walk way and figure out what that looks like in the back and along the side as well. Can't wait to see this part done. Last thing on our list is to work on our greenhouse. The wind was not kind to it this Winter, despite the notation that it can stand high winds. Um, no. But thankfully, it was free so we'll find a way to get it back to working order so it doesn't just sit, as it currently is. 

Future thoughts for our property include adding shutters (our builder was supposed to but claims we said we didn't want them, even though they are on the list and on the plans, clearly visible), window boxes,  a garbage can receptacle and finally, the gate and driveway. Our drive is currently gravel, which has its appeal but we also like the idea of a smooth finish, so looking at either concrete or blacktop. Likely an expense for next year but we'll start the conversations now so we know the cost. Not cheap, I'm sure.

Always so many things when you own a property. For us, the hard part is having events, work and general like in between trying to get our list down. When I look at what we had in the beginning and then where we are now, I'm very proud we've got it down now to just a few items. Lots of hard work has gone in to putting this all together. We are enjoying it and hope to get the bits done this year and next so then it's just maintaining it all. So relaxing now to sit on the deck (that never existed), to look out on the work we've done (from scratch) and see our garden blooming (all dirt back then), and feel accomplished. Always something will need work or to be tweaked but it's finally showing what our true vision was and now is. Worth all the time!

Today I have the day off. It's usually Fridays but my newest counsellor would have been all alone tomorrow (I know he'd be just fine) so I switched days so he has another colleague in the building if anything comes up. Turned out to be a good move as our team member who is on maternity leave is now coming in tomorrow for a visit and to talk about her return to work, so I'll get some sweet baby snuggles in! Dh is working out at the moment, then it will be my turn, and the rest of the morning I'm going to do some paperwork and emails, then we'll load up our car with festival items, drop those at our office and head over to the cafe. We're meeting three amazing dear friends who are part of radio station to chat about our upcoming "birthday bash" and the future of the station. After that, dh has some blood work at the lab, then we'll likely head home for dinner and a quiet night. In between, I need to get outside to water our plants. 

What are your grand plans for this beautiful, warm,

cloudless, sunny, endless possibilities  Thursday?

~ Chy