Harbringer

One of the sure signs of spring is a robin. Here's a lovely cheeky fat one. And just to make sure that we didn't get our hopes up, several hours later it started to snow, and it hasn't stopped!

Bad Hair Day

A few more shots from our Sunday walk in the woods. The big rock is probably at least 15' high! The shaggy things beneath the snow layer are ferns, then 2 types of lichen.

Exercise!

This past weekend we spent two days with my brother and his wife at their cottage in the Laurentians. On Sunday we did a 4 hour, 7Km hike up Mount Nixon. Not bad for someone who is used to a 30 minute walk on a flat sidewalk! This was the view from the top where we stopped for lunch. It was a warm, but overcast day, but the forest was still covered in snow. So much so that if you sidestepped off the beaten path you were thigh high in the soft stuff. Below is Mount Tremblant, just the north side. We spent 4 hours skiing there the next day! Fantastic conditions and my brother challenged me to go down harder runs than my usual greens!The streams were running - some were still covered in snow as we unwarily discovered. The sap is running too - perfect weather for good maple syrup. Cold nights, warm days - I think it's going to be a good harvest.
The water that flowed over the rocks at the beginning of winter froze and formed incredible "falls" of blue ice. These are probably 20 feet high.
More pics to follow.

Spring is around the corner

Above is reindeer lichen. Guess we don't have any deer around the cottage this year as this is rather full.
Some fungi on a fallen birch log. The snow has that wet crystalline look which means that it isn't going to be there for long with the warm weather we're having.
It's amazing how these little guys are just ready to go as soon as the snow cover is lifted.

Early Spring

We spent a lovely 4 days at the cottage which is on Lake Memphremagog. We skied at Mount Orford on the way down and on the way back for an hour. With a weekday pass, there is no pressure to ski all day to get our money's worth. And we had the dog in the car waiting for us. Just a different place to sleep for him.The little speck on the ice that you can see is an ice fishing hut. People were still driving out there despite the warm weather (11ºC). I worry about the ice around the shore - it gets pretty soft much earlier. I'll stick to road walking!
The shadows on a sunny day are so dramatic on the snow. About half the snow here had melted by the end of the weekend. I have daffodils planted on this hillside - I can hardly wait to see them emerge.

It didn't bother the dog to go out - he was sniffing something . Our neighbour told us that a fox had spent the winter under our little guest cottage. Hopefully the two don't run into each other.