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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No Campground Reservation Needed!

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 No Campground Reservation Needed!


Our neighbours host an annual "camp-out" for a local rugby team. Every civic long weekend, the tents start popping up on the Saturday afternoon, a plethora of various colours against the background of the green, lush forest behind and the vehicles fill their driveway. This year they have upped the ante and even rented a Porta Potty, proudly displayed for all to see. But this is one of the perks that comes with living in a rural setting. Not the Porta Potty, but the ability and the space to host campouts whenever you'd like. No reservations needed here! Their campfire burned all night and this morning someone was cooking up a delicious smelling breakfast for the hungry masses. 

I remember our son hosting a few friends after graduation years ago. They set up tents and hung around the fire all night.  Since there is no high school in Niagara-on-the-Lake (besides a small international school), these St. Catharines teens had no idea that "camping" was possible so close to home. That is to say that they were thrilled until the birds starting singing their hearts out at the crack of dawn. When I got up around six that morning, the tents had all been taken down and the cars were gone. I was told that it had been too loud for them to sleep...

The unseasonal coolness of this last week brings to mind waking up somewhere up north, be it in a tent or rustic cabin. It's chilly enough in the early mornings and evenings to need a sweater to ward off the damp, cool air. Where we are, there is the ever present smell of wood smoke in the air from several neighbours keeping the home fires burning, reminiscent of the consistent smell of a campground.

In these pandemic times, it's been nice to see people out and about, using the outside spaces to see family and friends. Fear of Covid has forced us into thinking outside of conventional boxes and even going back to the way people entertained for centuries. I've always been an advocate of dining al fresco and have enjoyed my best moments of clarity spending hours in nature. 

So kudos to my neighbours and to all those families sitting outside this weekend, hosting barbeques, sleeping in tents or trailers and enjoying the beautiful landscape all around us! This is Canadian summer living at its best and before long, we will be pining for these days as the seasons turn colder.

Lolita Schimann Hale


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Image
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