The news of the Russian invasion, the brutal slaughter and disregard for human life is overwhelming. Other than donating money to the Red Cross there seems to be little that I can do to support or help the Ukrainian people. So a week ago I planted some sunflower seeds and most of the seeds sprouted in only 6 days.
Sometime yesterday afternoon Frosty arrived on our street for a visit with some neighbours. We meet late last night and walked back this morning for a closser look. My dog is well socialized and likes meeting new people; but she isn’t prepared to get close or trust Frosty.
Serious problems need serious actions. In the last month there is more than enough national issues in the news to stress out any Canadian.
So here is my solution guaranteed to solve a sticky mess that bothers most of us. Our regular kitchen knives have handles that fit perfectly into my rechargeable drill and I recommend very slow speed. Natural almond and peanut butter, although a healthy food, isn’t homogenized and doesn’t stay creamy and spreadable. Just how does one mix up the near solid mess at the bottom?
Today my Toller turns six years old. She is a wonderful companion always ready to take me outdoors in any kind of weather and play fetch with her frisbee. She is a relentless retriever, equally excited to jump off a dock into water and being double coated happy to plunge through deep snowdrifts in sub-zero temperatures. Always wanting to carry her red Kong rubber frisbee when we walk, she is entertainment for most of our neighbors. Daily she privides some amusement and activity in this otherwise bleak hermit-like covid lifestyle.
Overnight winter has returned to Ontario. Enough of the freezing cold temperatures and icy conditions that were good for nothing but slipping and falling. At least it looks like winter now. My dog loves it and I’ve been outside to play with her twice already today, she will fetch but won’t shovel. This view from my garage shows drifted snow and unplowed roads; I doubt that even my Subie could travel anywhere today.
Winter isn’t supposed to be just frozen and dull grey and icy. It can be a winter wonderland, and yesterday I went looking for it to photograph. Yes winter is often cold, damp and uncomfortable in Kingston but the sparkle of sun and fresh snow can produce some great pictures. I hoped that the Great Cataraqui River might offer a winter scene but I found it to be bleak and frozen with the sky overcast. So this picture of the frozen river is the best I could do. Shortly before I took this picture I slipped on an icy patch of grass that had been dusted over with a scuff of snow and I wiped out, but luckily didn’t get hurt. This morning our thermometer on the deck showed -21 C and wasn’t inspiration, but my dog seems oblivious to the weather so we went out anyways.
In an attempt to keep my wife and I upright we now both have tungsten carbide Icetrax traction aids on our warm winter bog boots. The rubber traction aids fit securely on the rubber bog boots and I highly recommend wearing them for anyone who walks a dog. We have friends who have recently broken their arms or wrists while out walking their dogs.
There’s no reason just to wait for this year to be much different than the last crazy covid year. I need a new outlook so will try to photograph something worth posting each week. This morning winter has brought us a fresh clean white blanket. Just what my Subaru is equipted to play in, the Hakkapelitra Nokian tires combined with Subaru’s unique all wheel drive and manual transmission is perfect for Canadian winter driving.
Larry and I met up in Haliburton for a few days of adventure. After a long day for us both (580km for me) we arrived safe and sound in Parry Sound. West on 518 west of Sprecedale the road is closed at Bear Lake. OMG what a quagmire of difdicult backroads to get rerouted. Having lived here in 1980’s I knew that the local custom in to go to the salt dock and watch the sun set.
Saturday we rode to through Sudbury to Elliot Lake
and north on #108 and westerly on 546, mostly gravel, ending up in Thessalon for the night.
Five days or riding was our longest trip since the covid pandemic began, adding 2,419km to my odometer.
Homebound we chose to go to Manitoulin Island for a couple of days. OMG what a disaster … completely booked … nowhere to stay … and the ferry reservations full for two days! Can’t stay on the Island and can’t get off. Covid rules limits the passenger on the ferry. Fortunately I pleaded our situation to a very helpful customer service representative and she got us onto the ferry that evening. Trying to book a motel for the night on the mainland with limited cell and no internet proved to be a frustrating SNAFU and I managed to reach my wife by phone to solve our dilemma.
One of the highlights was riding on hwy#129 northbound from Thessalon towards Chapleau along through the scenic Mississagi River valley.
Wow, #129 ia a twisted paved road with a posted speed at 80kph with the lots of technical curves and hills. Not much traffic but watch out for limited sight lines!
About 1/3 of the way we split off onto gravel #556 towards Ranger Lake, Searchmont and Heyden which is north of Sault St Marie.
I spend the last 3 days exploring some gravel backroads and forest access roads and my favourite paved twisties in the Highlands. Larry and I stayed 2 nights in Barrys Bay at the Ash Gove Inn; I highly recommend it, the outdoor patio food is excellent. Don’t expect to just show up without a reservation, they are busy. Perfect staff.
My bike is running well and the odometer turned over 220,000km while homebound. Vstroms are big machines and not the best for exploring the grave roads and historic abandoned places in the Highland forests, but can sure eat up the pavement in the connecting roads.
Look closely and see the sawdust burner below the old sawmill is at the outlet of Constant Creek, a tributary of the Madawaska River. One of the last working water-powered sawmills. (I did see the water-powered Bellrock mill in operation, making cedar shingles, by the owner Richard Tosswill, in about 2000).
We spend a long time at Rockingham Church, all the volunteers have done a wonderful job to preserve local Opeongo history https://rockinghamchurch.org/
Splitting the distance between Midland and Kingston gives us both a good ride. Respecting social distracting precautions we had an outside picnic lunch in Burleigh Falls. Both of us benefit greatly from conversation, a bit of fishing, and of course the ride. I consider that the 430 km on my odometer all adds up to improving our sanity in this crazy covid world. We stopped in Havelock for a picture.
windtogo 
