Snowy Speculations

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If I could paint, I would have tried to replicate the landscape very early this morning. Illuminated by the faintest hints of light and hours before sunrise, the cold, stark landscape lay completely still in its snowy blanket. Naked trees stood proudly and quietly against this backdrop, this palate of pure white an unforgiving place for any creature, big or small, to attempt to cross without drawing attention to its existence at this time. Even our ancient tire swing looked sleepy and droopy, suspended precariously close to the ground, as if the effort of hanging from a tree limb was too much for it. To the east, the only rays of light visible were the ones coming from the across the river, and even those seem hushed and muffled, like a child tired and murmuring not to wake them up just yet.  The young families down the road have gone all out with Christmas lights this year. Bright colours adorn the night skies and my neighbours even have a Christmas Cat and a Christmas Dinosaur that i
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Hawks and Owls and Ice Rinks, Oh My!

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Hawks and Owls and Ice Rinks, Oh My!


I often talk about our youngest daughter, who is a senior skater at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Skating Club. With the lockdown and closing of the local arenas, she found herself unable to skate for the first time in twelve years. So my husband decided to make a rink the old-fashioned way, without a plastic base or boards. This is risky as Niagara-on-the-Lake generally enjoys milder winters compared to surrounding cities because of our proximity to Lake Ontario which regulates our temperatures. Nevertheless he was determined. And so it began. 

After compacting the snow into a rink formation, he spent the next several weeks getting up every few hours and flooding. After coming home from full days at work, he would rush out before the last of the daylight disappeared and flood until his hands froze, come in, and then do it again. Two red spotlights left over from Christmas illuminated his shape every night as he lugged the hose outside to the rink, only to lug it back in hours after. 

But that's what we do for our kids. Our daughter has been going out on the rink several times a day, each and every day. The joy in seeing her getting her jumps and spins back to where they were prior to lockdown have been worth it. I can genuinely say this process of building, layering ice upon layer of ice and the continued maintenance of the rink has been a labour of love for my husband. I have shivered on the sidelines watching her, listening to the slice of her blades cutting  into the cold surface at sunrise or dusk, listening to the hollow crack and echo as the ice shifts from the impact of her jumps and am reminded time and time again how fortunate we have been to have a property to accommodate such a rink!

Early mornings, when I let the two older dogs out and attempt to train our newest puppy to go out in the frigid cold, my footsteps crunch in the icy snow under my feet and I can't help but laugh as our little Pomeranian bounces and runs enjoying the fresh winter's morning through the eyes of a newborn. Some mornings I have stopped in my tracks, mesmerized by an owl's haunting call in the forest behind me, all the while keeping an eye on the red-tailed hawk perched in the trees, watching us. He whistles quietly, enough for me to go on alert and to stand guard over this tiny puppy. Despite the calls of nature around me, there is a serenity in the solitude that encompasses me and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. That is until a gust of wind bites at my face and swirls up my legs. Then I can't wait to be inside and enjoy a hot cup of tea!

So once again on this quiet morning, I stand in awe at the simplicity and purity of the snow-covered landscape all around us. Heavy grey clouds paint the sky with one solid stroke. Swirling flakes dance and float haphazardly landing where they may. It is my muse and my peace. And I will never take it for granted. 

Lolita Schimann Hale





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