Fall into Winter

A week and a half ago, we enjoyed a beautiful late-fall weekend. The shining sun and mild temperature demanded a walk in the forest. Ponygirl dropped by with Remy, and we took the dogs down to the woods.

Ponygirl and Diva joined us.

A week later, the temperature dropped abruptly to -12C. The river was sealed by ice overnight.

On Tuesday night, a winter storm moved in and we awoke to a world dressed in white.

With the temperature just below freezing, the wet snow was a heavy burden weighing down tree branches and there were a few casualties.

Winter has arrived.

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First Snow Blanket 2012

I woke up on Monday morning to a blanket of snow glistening in the sun. It took me by surprise, probably because I dozed through the evening weather report the night before. It was also a bit surprising because, up until the weekend, we had been enjoying a stretch of beautiful mild days, Indian Summer.

The corgis were quite delighted with the change in the landscape, and set about galloping to and fro. Remy and Pookie (whose name has been officially upgraded to the less sissified Macy) are the grandogs, visiting for the week. They’re sturdy little dogs, really more big dogs on short legs, and their thick coats keep them warm regardless of how cold the weather is.

We went down to the barn together to feed the horses. Well, me and Remy went down to the barn. Pookie takes a dim view of these large creatures and prefers to wait at the house. Teddy was glad to see us. Like any strapping young fellow, he loves his food and if patient waiting fails to bring me, he calls to me in his mournful donkey voice, “I’m hungry! Come feed me!”

Older and more rotund, Louis isn’t as concerned about breakfast but once it arrives, he joins the others.

Here’s Czarina, with the morning sun lighting up the red highlights in her chestnut coat.

Once the horses were fed, the dogs and I took a little stroll down the laneway. Just on Sunday, the snowplowing contractor stopped by to mount orange marker posts along the roadway. I don’t know if he is paid by the job or by the season. If the former, I imagine he is hoping for a snowy winter. I’m hoping for enough snow to protect my garden from temperature shifts.

Here’s the cornfield nest door, looking like a choppy sea of white waves. The sun felt warm and the air was still and quiet, but the thermometer read -5 C and the snow didn’t melt away.

And here’s the car. Winter means snowbrushes and ice scrapers for northern drivers but this little dusting of snow was easily brushed away. Hopefully, it will be a few weeks before we have anything more bothersome to contend with.

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Walking the Puparazzi

Although we have no dogs of our own, we’ve had lots of canine visitors over the past few weeks. The weekend before last, we looked after Seabrooke’s dogs for her while she was involved with a wedding. Here are Raven and Jack enjoying the sun with RailGuy. Unfortunately, it was cold, cold, cold on the days that Jack and Raven were here. Raven is pretty tough but Jack, with his beautiful glossy fine coat, is not built for -20 degree C temperatures. Here he is, all bundled up to go outside.

I’m pretty sure he’s looking forward to spring! This weekend just past, we played host to the corgis, Remy and Pookie. They live more close by, so are used to visiting and settle in easily. The corgis are little powerhouses. Weighing in at about 45 pounds and decked out in dense coats, the pair are indefatigable hikers, no matter what the weather brings. Today was their last day at Willow House, and I took them out for a walk in the woods.

Pookie looks back to see what’s keeping me. What a slowpoke I am! Fortunately, their noses bring them interesting information that they have to stop to investigate, so I easily keep up.

The woods are quiet at this time of year, with just the occasional chickadee breaking the calm. There’s always something to see though. In the photo above is a neat tree stump that has been receiving some attention from a pileated woodpecker.

And here are some mystery tracks in the snow. I have my own personal nature consultant, The Marvelous in Nature writer, my daughter Seabrooke. We conferred on this and other photos. She leaned towards a fox as the mystery passer-by, while I thought it might have been a skunk, called out of hibernation on one of the mild days we’ve had.

And check out the shredded, peeled bark on this branch, evidence of a red squirrel at work.

It wasn’t very cold, minus 5 C or so, but there was a cold breeze and by the time we got back to the house, I was chilled. Not so Remy. When he saw I was headed back inside, he sat down by the birdfeeder and pretended he couldn’t hear my pleas for him to come inside. He sat there for about 10 minutes before he finally concluded I couldn’t be coaxed back outside and relented.

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