Getting The Dog Out

Of course living in a northern clime isn't all long nights, hot drinks and hockey. There is lots more to do and here is an example. If you own a dog or two and they're large enough, then hitching them up to something or someone is a natural. I haven't actually tried this myself for fear of wrecking my back and ruining my kayaking career, but ski-joring with your dog is lots of fun.

I highly recommend you begin on a wide open area, say a forty acre pasture or something. That way the dog or dogs can be trained to go straight, and turn in the proper direction without you managing to hit something hard and immobile. The next step to try is shown in the above photo. Follow a deer path in the woods. The dog will usually stay on the path, nose to the ground. Finally, when all is in a controlled state, one can try heading off the path and into the trees. On this particular day, a few centimeters of snow over a hard crust allowed for some pretty exhilarating high speed slalom runs through the trees! Gee! Haw!

It Just Gets Better and Better...

What can I say...? Yesterday we snowshoed some trails, today we skied them.

Snowtime!

While the local lake has yet to freeze over completely, the fact that there so much beautiful snow lying about totally un-used has me off the water, perhaps for the winter. The photo above gives an idea of what I'm writing about. There is so much snow, cross-country skiing has been set aside for the moment and snow-shoeing has taken over. My tracks lead up the hill above the barn and the horses. I'm heading for the hills...

Winter Video Fun

For a while now, I've been experimenting with various video sharing sites other than Youtube. While I have shamelessly used YouTube for all my videos, I continue to be disappointed with how severely the site compresses videos when switching them into the Flash format we view when we download the videos. I have recently begun using Vimeo. These people use a bit lighter approach when converting video to Flash and they also allow HD video formating, although I have yet to use it. To make matters even more useful, it is easy to share videos on other sites like FaceBook and so on with a single mouse click. I love simplicity like that!

This video shows off the latest family activity, yet another winter sport to keep away the winter blues. I have no intention of getting into it, but it's certainly fun to watch both people and dogs enjoying themselves!

Kayaking? What's Kayaking?

Kayaking? I never mentioned kayaking... When the snow's this fresh, this white and sparkly, the day this blue, the dog this keen, who's thinking about kayaking!

Willow, Moss's younger sister, now nine months old and eager to run wherever!


Tracks by the hay bail on the way back home for hot chocolate.

Solid State Kayaking

Most people are familiar with kayaking in the summer when water is in its liquid state , but how many of you are familiar with winter's 'solid state' version? Here are a few photos taken this morning which illustrate the main differences and similarities for the un-initiated. Pay close attention and you too will soon be enjoying this new form of paddling!








One of the first things to recognize is the wake of a solid-state kayaker. In the photo on the left, you can see the wake of the typical twin hull design as it progresses through solid-state water. On either side of the hull are the paddle swirls which also show the clean entry and exit impressions, the sign of a good paddler.











In this next shot, the hull wake is still clearly evident long after the paddler has passed by. Note how this paddler has mastered the difficult standing paddling position, which can be so tricky in the liquid state, yet, in winter, is easily accomplished. Here, the paddler, seen in the distance, has just crested a large solid state swell and is about to surf down its face! Another paddler has just curled off the wave to the right, no doubt to set up for another wave coming in behind the photographer.


This paddler - my daughter, actually and an solid state excellent paddler - has just recovered from a roll. You can see she has attracted the attention of two solid state water animals which are licking barnacles off her hull and one of her paddles. These animals will play along side one's boat for hours in the wintertime providing the paddler with loads of fun and enjoyment.


In this final photo, one can see a coastal scene full of typical solid state tree-stacks, and a solid state surf tossed tree-garden (note: a helmet is recommended in these experts only conditions!). This is just one of the many coastal features which make solid-state kayaking so much fun during the winter months.

If you get the chance, get out there for a winter paddle!

Winter's Hump

Skiing yesterday - Groundhog Day - was a pleasure for several reasons. Obviously the day was a good one for skiing, not too cold, sunny after a bit of snow the previous night, no wind, and good company. But, Groundhog Day - or perhaps you call it Candlemas or is it La Chandeleur? - marks the half-way point in the sun's path. That is, we've crossed the mid point between the Winter Solstice just before Consumer Fest and the Spring Equinox. We're now in the downhill slide to warmer weather, open waters and the start of new paddling adventures. Why it has anything to do with groundhogs is anyone's guess. The native people who used to hunt and fish in this area watched for bears not groundhogs on this day, the ancient Celts and many other northern peoples also celebrated this event as well. Perhaps we're all just party animals and any excuse will do.

So I watch the sun as it sets behind the ridge of hills to the west of me. I track it's progression southward each day in summer and fall, watch it pause at the solstice and then see it head back northward in winter and spring, where, once again it will pause and turn. It's yet another advantage of living out in the open countryside where Nature is always close by, showing off it's stuff, drawing me out, teaching me it's cycle of daily lessons.

Skiing with Google

The fuzzy looking map above is Google's impression of my backyard. After skiing yesterday, I had a go at plotting the route I had taken with my wife, daughter and brother. Moss acted as scout, ranging far ahead of us, racing around like good hunting dogs do! I know it is not very accurate, but it suggests we tallied about 3.75 km in the hour or so we were out. With our new snow and -12°C temperatures, conditions were perfect.


Just above is a picture from the route we took through forest and fields up on the ridge east of our house. We don't own most of this property, but enjoy the very best of neighbours who, ever since our arrival about 30 years ago, have generously let us use their lands as if it were ours. You don't get better people than that!


Kayaking? Maybe, this weekend if the temperature warms up from our present -24°C to around 0°C. It's been over a week since I've paddled, so I'm getting the itch to get out there again.