Fresh holiday snow

We spent the better part of the holidays visiting friends and family. It was definitely time well spent but it also meant that we had to do a fair bit of driving in some less than ideal conditions. Luckily we had four new winter tires and four new iPod Touches to help see us through the ice and snow. Thank you Santa.

Every year I load the van with our skis alongside the Christmas presents and extra layers of winter clothing. This year my intention was to revisit the trails in the Kawarthas, trails I haven't skied in 15 years, but once again the weather took a turn for the worst. Rain, rain, and freezing rain kept the skis buried in the van until we returned to Ottawa where we were welcomed with a fresh snowfall making for a winter wonderland.

After a day of rest and tidying up in Ottawa we again hopped back in the van, this time to visit our friends in Burnstown. The deciding factor that convinced me to get back behind the wheel was the lure of some adults only skiing on the local Burnstown trails. It was a great plan. The bough breaking blanket of snow on the trees made for some spectacular winter scenery. After about an hour and a half, we returned to base camp where the kids quickly jumped on their toboggans and zoomed down the hills for the remainder of the afternoon.


Finally just before returning to work and school we managed to squeeze in another family ski on the nearby Greenbelt trails. Though not professionally groomed like the Gatineau trails they are respected by the local hikers and snowshoers and left relatively intact. We had just received a few centimetres of snow the night before so everything was still fluffy fresh with many of the trails still waiting to be broken. It was a great family outing to end the holidays.


Lastly, I leave you all with a photo of our wee friend Maddie and her most awesome sleeping cap. I already have plans to make one for my Gatineau ski adventures. I'm hoping it will help me ski fast fast like a bunny. ;)

Family Fire Tower Trek

After the cancellation of our annual fire tower trek last Monday I tried one last time to rally the troops before the date slipped away into bug season. Again it wasn't proving easy. Mike was heading to Montreal, Dave busy with family and new home stuff, and Kenmore was helping map out the Mother's Day 10k race. Hmmm, I thought, what about my family? (brilliant eh?) Well I made a pitch and BLAMMO! they were hooked. Saturday would be the day and the deal closer would be one family-sized poutine. Yum.

As the date approached and I started to talk start times, Kenmore bellied up and joined the adventure. Personally I think it was the word poutine that nailed it for him too. Either way we were making our annual hike up Luskville Falls and the weather was to be sunny and 26°C. Sweet.

After a parking lot pit stop, we were off and running. Well not really. Only a dozen steps down the trail and Kenmore spotted a garter snake slithering away through the dry leaves. Reason enough for Sara to jump off trail and scoop him up for a little photo shoot. A good start to what would be a great day.



up up up up up up .... and .... down down down




As is always the case, the climb up was a cooker but once we finally broke through into the open air we managed to score a nice breeze. Just the perfect time for a snack break and a refreshing beverage... not to mention front row centre seats overlooking the Ottawa River.



After refueling we strapped the packs back on and made our way towards the fire tower. By now the rain was threatening us with a splash here and there but it never did anything more than cool us down a 1/2 degree.

The rain started up again as we reached the fire tower so we scuttled off under a pine to enjoy the rest of our snacks and beverages. It'd didn't last long if at all.

From the top down there was only one beckoning call. "Poutine." A tasty end to a great day.

Feeding the birdies

Today I took the family out for a late afternoon hike in the Greenbelt. The trails were so icy and compacted that we didn't need snowshoes or skis - in fact they only would have caused problems.

Almost immediately after leaving the parking lot we spotted a pile of bird seed. Perfect. Having forgotten our seed at home I told the kids to stuff some in a pocket and we'll feed the birds later on down the trail. Well you would think the little winged creatures were starving the way they were dive bombing everybody at the slightest sign of food.


Feeding the birdies is always a hit no matter how old you are. And now bird feeding will always remind us of last spring when Mikey was feeding the grey jays using his own personal technique. (no photos on that one folks)



Here's hoping that the spring-like weather is behind us so that we can have more snow and some more quality x-c skiing.