 The chairs and table of the deck are resting in November after a summertime of glorious delights. Besides hosting numerous guests for barbeques and wine throughout the warm days, the colorful companions provided comfort and sitting spots for our small group of cigar smokers at weekly get-togethers. Imagine the pleasures of camaraderie among friends, interesting conversations, great food, and glowing good will snugged up in a comfy chair on a sunny afternoon overlooking the lake... all washed down with a little wine or ginger ale and the smoke from a fine Cuban cigar. A pleasant interlude from everyday cares. Now the chairs and table await a fresh spring and the first real warmth from 'ol Sol to welcome a new season, along about April next year. They will share the deck with Chickadees and all the other winter birds in the snow by the lake. The Brothers of the Leaf will be continuing their tradition, smoking their cigars around the wood stove, in the basement, in the Havana Lounge. They, too, will enjoy winter as they anticipate the upcoming spring.  I love to sit amongst the beautiful smells of barbeque during mild weather. The process of cooking is almost better than the eating, but together the smells and the tastes are like magic.
Winter barbequing isn't quite as magical, but still fills the bill for great satisfaction. Here's tonight's dinner, wings and cornbread, cooked on the grill at minus 22 degrees. Frank's Red Hot and butter made it a perfect feast.   This is the second time in the last 14 years that Mary and I have not been able to get to camp for Christmas. Crazy warm temperatures during the last few weeks and severe shortage of snow - we may have an inch on the ground, but that's it - make the trek impossible at this time.
Being stuck in town is not exactly Satan's sentence, though. Every day I admire the view from our deck on the lake in town and gasp with the magic. Here's this morning's hoar frost in the pines on the far shore, and this evening's sundown with a frost halo (a sort of sun dog) resting upon the golden ice. This one-minute time lapse video, taken from our deck in town, shows the morning sky from 7 o'clock until 8 o'clock.
The cold temperature shut down my camera just as the sun was showing on the horizon and more beautiful colors were appearing. Temperature was minus 29 (-21 F). Environment Canada's weather site added the helpful hint "Risk of frostbite". The magic of sundown!
This evening I tried a feature on my camera phone that is new to me. It's a sort of time lapse aimed from our deck at home across Pelican Lake to the southwest horizon. This clip occurred over a 55 minute time period. Viewing time is less than a minute.  Aaah... spring is in the air. This little snowdrift is just down the road from home. I had to stop on my way to the office to get a quick picture.
When the dog days of August come hounding us with heat I want to remember.       A highlight of our Cuban trip this year was our two-hour ride from Varadero to Havana in the back seat of a 1956 Chevy Bel Air.
Near Havana we walked around Ernest Hemingway's house, Finca Vigia (lookout house), and relaxed among the trees in the yard. I especially loved seeing Hemingway's boat, Pilar, registered in Key West, Florida but now permanently stored at Finca Vigia. For a few pleasant moments I dreamed of adventures and beers and stories on the ocean waters with Papa as I admired his beautiful boat. |
Archives
November 2024
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P.O. Box 1464
Sioux Lookout, Ontario P8T 1B9
807-738-BOAT (2628)
[email protected]
Sioux Lookout, Ontario P8T 1B9
807-738-BOAT (2628)
[email protected]
