Winter comes to North-Eastern Ontario

 We have been on the land for 6 months now. We are where we want to be but not where we thought we would be. Expected to  be working in our home over the winter. We are where we want to be, in the bush on our land, living life the way we choose.

For Remembrance Day we had snow. A decent amount of snow. Then we had a warm spell and a lot more wet than desired. Adjusting to the different climate from 800 km south has been interesting. Tricia had not seen snow on the ground before her birthday, November 19^th, in Southern Ontario. Rarely some blowing around in the air but never an accumulation. I was born and raised in Ottawa so am more used to winter weather but moved to Southern Ontario when I was 18 so can’t recall when it set in there.

Once we knew we were not going to have the shell of our home built this year and we turned our attention to preparing our shelter for the winter it was non-stop working. Procuring 10+ cords of cut wood and getting it here and stacked was a big job. Getting the woodstove refinished and hooked up in the trailer was a big job. Having an entry built over the stairs into the trailer was another big job. Thankfully a well-timed visit from our good friends from Muskoka, Dave our builder friend and his wife, Janine (a long-time friend of Tricia’s) made the stove and entry projects a breeze. As always we are thankful. Trying to get all the other projects done before the snowfall was daunting. We kept our heads down and chipped away at them. The skirting around the trailer was finished after the snow started. There just never seems to be time to get everything done and as the months roll on and we approach the shortest days of the year the loss of daylight is a big factor.

But it is all worth it to be here, 5 km to our closest resident neighbours. I stand on the roof of the trailer brushing the snow from our solar panel. It lives on the roof mounted to a neat tracker that I rigged up and connects directly to our GoalZero Yeti 400 power pack inside. From up there I get a different perspective, of our clearing, the forest around us, and of life itself. I hated my job and life in Southern Ontario. I was passionate in my disgust, despair and self-loathing. 6 months in and I can’t even really remember how bad it was. I listen to the Chickadees all around while I shovel some snow. Follow rabbit, fox, lynx and moose tracks through the snow… then shovel some more. I stand on the road at the end of our driveway on a moon-lit night, brighter than any night in Hamilton under streetlights. It’s in the -20’s and my breath billows up slowly above me the air still for once. I listen to the loud cracks and pops around me, the trees protesting the cold. The glowing moon so beautiful. So many stars.

 When I go inside it’s so warm and dry, the fire crackling away. And there is my partner in crime, my soul-mate, my lover, my friend. “How about making a coffee with Carolans Irish Cream” she says…

Life is GOOD!

                                                                                                                                                                   EH

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