snow

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That Fabulous Snow

Hail Brave Hearts

It’s an awesome day in wonderland.  The winter snow is fresh and soft, calling us to our great outdoors.  Adventure again, into the wilderness, for a day or two of winter play, winter fun and the joy of the playground of white.  Sliding skis push us past the open potholes of water.  We squeeze along narrow snow bridges that keep us out of the drink.  Along, along to a fine destination of winter backcountry fun in an isolated, remote chalet, ours for a couple of days.

The pristine great wild, in it’s outstanding winter splendor, welcomes us to fresh snow and warm winter temperatures.   A balmy -5 in mid January is a bit too warm for this time of year, but we welcome the change from the deep chill.  It’s selfish though.  Those days of -30 kill off overwintering bugs and larvae that ruin the forest and the forest itself is part of this great adventure.

We have the good fortune of seeing a female moose and her calf, three ptarmigan in winter white plumage and dippers flying under the snow bridges along the river.  We feel blessed.  Blessed for a Canadian holiday in one of our wild, protected places and blessed for the foresight of mountain pioneers who loved to roam the snowy slopes and who placed a fine chalet in it’s midst for our safety and enjoyment.  This is rare and the historical archives serve us well, in keeping these small huts open.

The day is warm and sunny and sun tanning in snow pits is an eternal joy.  The fabulous white blanket  covers the land and we happily try our best ski moves in this fun filled adventure.  Never too old, never too tired.  Die hards are we, and we relish the good fortune of years of practice for these special moments in these special places. Luckily, someone else has the responsibility for the maintenance of these isolated huts.  Tucked away in hard to find places, obscure locations that are hard to find, the upkeep is a chore but the reward for us is fantastic!

We meet other enthusiasts, heading up into the high powder bowls for a day of ski touring   Perfection!  Winter at it’s best.

This is the winter that we long for, the winter that we crave.  So many sports, so much activity, so many ways to enjoy a beautiful winter’s day.  The bright, shiny, clean snow.  The marvelous wildlife, the fun filled sports and enthusiastic company of humans who live to enjoy this annual promise of snow.   But with this unusual warm spell, brings another environmental concern, global warming.  It’s only -5 today in January.  An unheard of mild winter warm spell that lets us play for hours outdoors is also an unfortunate detriment to our winter wonderland.  The play is fabulous, but the winter won’t last during warm temperatures like this and rain will arrive sooner to wash it all away.

What is Climate Change? Crash Course Geography #14 – YouTube

Take the precautions to save us, oh great human.  There is still time.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

 

Staycation
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Staycation

Hail Brave Hearts

In our time of isolation and loneliness, the great adventure alludes us.  Where will our dreams take us on our earthly mission of journey and exploration.  Hail Brave Hearts, the adventure is here.

We seek the joy of holidays and vacation time, the sun and sand, the culture and cuisine, the history and the marvels of modern man.  We journey frequently to lands abroad, to seek the fulfillment of international travel.  We find enormous pleasure in speaking other languages, engaging in their conversation, frolicking in the fun of their tourist attractions.  We miss this immensely.  Cancelled flights, cancelled holidays, cancelled time away from all of the stress and routine.  Time for a change.  Time to break free of it all and escape to the holiday dream world of other lands.  We saved for this, planned for this.  This is our refuge and our right.  For those of us with home ownership in foreign lands, this pandemic is an outrageous atrocity, forcibly confining us to our homeland.

Here at home we stay.  Here at home we play!

As usual, the welcome winter spreads her cloak of magnificent snow all around the ground.  As usual, we pull on our best winter attire and most fun sporting gear and head for the great outdoors.  The winter has been mild and magnificent.  So much snow!  So many ice rinks and lakes to skate on, so many back country trails to glide along, so many downhill ski resorts to ski on, so much hockey to play.

The winter birds chirp and cheer us along as we smoothly sail through the forest.  The wildlife stare.  Our frustration with our confinement and solitude evaporates into the warm sunshine.  Fresh air and snow, warm winter breezes, sunscreen and winter fun.  Life is good.  It can’t get any better than this.  A back country ski lodge at the end of pleasant winter’s ski day.  Canadian gourmet to rave about.  Excellent snow conditions, fabulous scenery, family, friends, companions.  The twinkling starry night in the heavens above.  This is what Canada offers.  It’s thrilling!  So much so, that this kind of wilderness experience is sought after by many.  It’s a unique privilege, to cast your worries away and venture into a remote location, accessed by only those few who know about  it. One of those secrets that keep us healthy and happy and searching for more.  This kind of holiday is as good as it gets.  Canadian culture at it’s finest.

Now we head home, for more opportunity, leisure and fun.  Our sporting days in the great Canadian wild are never over.  We will never be done.  Just one more day, in this fabulous vacation land, to ski our day away.

Yet another perfect day.  The snow is soft and the ski runs are long.  The scenery is the majestic Rocky Mountains.  The views are incredible.  Due to pandemic bliss, the ski hill is full of people, but not as busy as it would otherwise be.  The lift lines are short.  There’s seating in the chalet.  There’s room at the Inn.

https://www.skibanff.com/play/events-calendar

Spending our time and money in our homeland, has been a good business practise for us.  Help stimulate the economy,  keep your neighbors employed,  enjoy the adventure of your own country.  It’s been a pleasure.  So much so, that I wonder if we’ll miss these no fuss days, without a line up anywhere, no traffic on the highway, endless vacant trails.  ,The bliss of having it all to ourselves.  This too shall end.

Hurray for the vaccine!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

March 17, 2021

Winter Horse Races
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Winter Horse Races

Hail Brave hearts

Enjoy the best, the wilds of winter put us to the test.  It’s dog sledding and snow shoes, skis and skates.  It’s winter camping and bonfires, with marshmallows and  hot chocolate.  It’s fireside in the cabin, cozy and warm, it’s darkness and quiet and wild winter storms.  The winter, at it’s best is the season of chill, with ice, frost, snow and wild winter storms to combat.  The fireside beckons, it calls us to be warm, come into this fine cabin to avoid the winter’s storm.  The cold winter’s icy blast, it makes our hearts sing, to have another snowfall, we’re blessed with these fun things.

Another invention, of horses and riders, take us back to our history of early colonial times.  A Quebec invention, horses, they say, becomes a competition of horse races in the winter.  Ride, you awesome champions, skilled and daring, mount your fine steeds for a flight along the icy river.  A unique experience in horsemanship and breeding, the new stock of racehorse was a special adaptation that kept it’s footing on the ice of the river.  A gaming day, to enjoy the sport, pull up your chair in minus temperatures and spend the day outside enjoying the show.

It’s early colonial times in Quebec, but this is Canada, after all.  Making the most of what life gives us, chilly cold, snow, ice and fun and the adventure of it all.

To be in a colony, so far away, from a homeland so remote, it lives in yesterday.  The future is dependent on the survival skills of all, fight off the loneliness, the questions, the gloom of despair.  Come out of your lodging, bring your chair.  Have fun in the winter, dress warmly and with layers.  Come out and enjoy this, we love it this way, with horses and snow and ice and sleigh.  Come sing, with high spirits, chase off the dark.  Enjoy this day of racing, gaming, and fun in the winter.

http://www.walkerswest.com/History/CanadianPacer.htm

The cold, the isolation, the small numbers of people, but tireless energy and determination to survive, to win at the odds of feeling cast aside.  Gather together, all you peoples, in community and spirit, chase away the dangers of illness and fear.  The numbers are still small, but we’re getting used to our lives, of hardship, deprivation, thrift and careful counting.  Make sure your larder will last until the next harvest.

Inventions are a must,  stretch your minds.  Think of something new, to make us better people.  We’re changing out here in a colony so rustic.  We’re becoming a people of our own.

Don’t look back, look forward, prepare and plan.  Become the genius we all know you can.  Invent the horse, play games anyway, invent your recipes, plan your stay.  The colony is forever, we can’t give it up, so make the most of it, live well, drink from this cup.  It’s a warm winter’s day, time for some fun, head off to the river to enjoy the race.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 21, 2018

Heavenly New Year
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Heavenly New Year

Hail Brave hearts

Joy to you, in this awesome new year.  A year of hopes and dreams to fill.  Good luck to you with all of your plans, resolutions and pursuits.  The new year is upon us and it is with smiles that we carry on.  A warm winters day, a fun filled way to adventure.  Skating and skiing and joy in participation.  The easy relaxation of family and friends, social gatherings,  companionship and fellowship.  A new day, a new year, everything hopeful, bright with cheer.  In like a lamb, the new year is pleasing, warm and sunny, not bone chilling and freezing.  It’s wintertime, snowy and dark, but for us, this is outstanding.  Just cold enough to  keep the bears in hibernation, they sleep in their dens, and pass this season away.

The deep chill of Christmastime designed to keep you cooking, is now followed by the joy of the new year.  Smugly we skate, the ice is superb, tobogganing later is just what we need.  We fill our thermos with tea or soup and spend glorious hours in sun soaked snow pits.  A winter tan, sun screen is a must, the slopes call us to linger at the top of a mountain, enjoying a view that’s quite a climb in the summer.  We glide effortlessly out to the middle of a lake, to take the photos that we rarely see in the summer.  It’s a joy, this winter of blowing, biting snow.  We love it this way, winter wonderland don’t go.  Not yet.

https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/canada/articles/the-most-romantic-honeymoon-destinations-in-canada/

Not yet, in this dead time of winters darkest nights, with dazzling bright stars to guide us at night.  Don’t pass yet, as we wander with snowshoes in hand, to take on a river, impossible at other times.  The snow, the ice, the cold all help us, to explore the great wild at a time when the animals are less dangerous.  They lay and watch us, but no one is mating, the call of a championship duel is no longer heard.  Silenced are the males, their courtship has ended and now quiet in winter with snow softly falling, we strap on our snowshoes to tackle the trail.  The endless white beauty, of the soft winter snow, the clear, chilly air, that makes it all possible.  At the best of times it’s nothing but play and we know that when the storms come, they send snow our way.

It’s joy to us, we sing the praises of this season.  Smiles, hot chocolate, winter gear and cold.  It’s just what we wanted.  Go up to the skihill for a day of fresh air.  The northern lights are streaming, they fill up the sky, with a wonder so stunning, it captures our eyes.  Brilliant displays of colors in heaven, so fascinating and captivating.   The stars shine brightly, the moon is full, put on your headlamps and go out for an evening skate.  The temperatures are mild, only -10 and the hour of exercise is relaxing and pleasant.  Surprisingly, we had company that night, families with children in sleighs and on skates.  The fire was burning, a warm place to rest.  It’s wintertime and it’s warm out, this is the best.

written by Dr. Louse Hayes

January 3, 2018

A Man’s Best Friend
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A Man’s Best Friend

Hail brave hearts.

Your company is here!  Fast and furry, friendly and happy, this is your very best friend.  Your dog is your companion for life.  Easy to care for, easy to please, all they want is a warm home, to be fed, and to be included in all of your life.  We have nurtured the companionship of dogs for a long, long time.

A trainable friend, a fiercely loyal companion, a lovable pet, your dog is a strongly supportive part of your life and your family.  Train him to do whatever he can, fetch a ball, play with sticks, swim in the lake, take a walk, guard the premises, guard you, pull your sleigh, be your business, own the  company, take him wherever you can.  This is not just a pet, this is a big part of the family.  This is the pet that can be your eyes, alert you to danger, pull you to safety.  This is the pet that can be trained to be a working dog, taking care of the disabled, protecting the property, protecting the people.  This is the pet that lives for you, you are all of his life and it can be a wonderfully fulfilling time of mutual companionship.  Take the dog for a walk, to play in the park, to stroll down the street, to meet your friends.  This is an important part of his day.  A little fresh air, some exercise, the walk will do  both of you some good.

Dogs are with us in history, helping us to build a nation.  Sled dogs carrying people and supplies, opening trade and transportation routes, bringing people together in a sparsely populated country, where no roads had gone before.  Great explorers like David Thompson, used the sled dog to carry him across the country,  adventuring and exploring along the way.

 

 

Train the dog to be a part of a team, pulling the sled, running for joy.  Most dogs welcome the activity of a good run and the dog team is a companion sport, dogs and humans in the cold winter time, speeding across the countryside together in a sleigh.  It’s an age old sport of Canadian history.  Run the dog team to an adventure, to exploration, to connect to one another.  It’s an unusual and clever idea, to hitch a dog to the sleigh, run him over to the neighbors farm, over hill and over dale, running through the snow.  The fast, light dogs enjoy this too.  They can run for hours through the snow.  Winter coats and hats, boots and pants, pull on your warm attire.  The season of winter fun is here.

This is a sport that you might want to try, just to experience the historical culture of the nation.  Imagine being the master of a dog team, sliding along in the wintry chill, sled piled high with trading goods, to sell at your next stop.  How far will it be today?  20 kilometers only, or maybe an all day stint, rushing through the forest, sliding across the lake, the trade routes are open, come out all of you, to experience the skills  that a life like this  would take.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

December 17, 2017

The Great White Mountains
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The Great White Mountains

Hail Bravehearts

It is with great pleasure that this winter is warm and snowy, and that it brings us sport.  Fabulous pleasure, a great day for a ski.  Downhill skiing is the easiest sport in the world.

The balmy mountain weather hovers above -10.  A warm, sunny February, brings us out of our snug homes, to smile and greet yet another sunny day.  Stay home this winter, no need to travel south.  As the snow birds fly away each year, to sunny summer climates, in the warm tropics, those hearty winter lovers, stay home, for the delightful winters time.  Peace to us all.  This is a great one.

The drive to find snow, this year, has made this an easy, more carefree year.  The pussy willows are out, a sapling in a warm spot has started to bud,  the snow melts on the sidewalks, energy bills plummet.  Global warming is a nuisance. It brings too much cold in the East and fabulous, warm, sunny skies in the West.

A day on the slopes, warm enough to stay out all day!  Our weekly snowshoe day has taken us on excursions to find that soft fluffy snow. We lather on sunscreen and snowshoe in our shirts.  Too warm for winter coats.  The birds sing to us as we pass and flocks gather in the trees.

It’s beautiful and warm and a day on the ski hill is just so easy.  No frostbite, no frozen cheeks, no frost beards, or icicle eyelashes.  No chalet skiing, from days too cold to stay outside.  No complaints of frozen toes and frozen fingers, too long in food lines and too long drinking hot chocolate.  The warm winter weather gives us a boost of excitement. We can play outside in the snow!

I push off from my spot at the top of the mountain and fly down my usual terrain.  Easy, easy, it’s just so exhilarating. After thirty years of this, skiing is easier than walking.  The mountain is so familiar, I know these runs well. Perfectly groomed, all the holes have been patched and we compliment the groomers on yet another year of snow moving, that makes the mountain more enjoyable and less dangerous.  No slipping over rocks and crashing down the hill.  No entanglements with saplings as they catch your skis.  No snow monsters or snow snakes, tripping you on your way.  No, this is just perfect.  It’s a perfect day for a ski.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilRI4zKoBPo  extreme skiing

Global warming has it’s drawbacks, we gloat to one another, as the snow is starting to fall.  Our winter wonderland of fluffy white stuff is now a drive away.  Smiles and nods as the weather is co-operative.  The roads are open. Tourists flock to us and fill our town.  Trapped.

I know that the joy of today, is the doom of tomorrow, as our glaciers are slipping away.  As yet another natural wonder crashes off the mountain, and our water supply is threatened. That harsh reality will rear it’s head again this summer.  But for now, push off that mountain and glide your way along those dreamy snow covered slopes.  Fill your mind with winter.  Winter fun and winter play and how much we still adore it.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

March 2, 2016

Own The Game
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Own The Game

Hail, all you brave ones.

The time is near.  Your path is chosen.  Your team is ready.  Skills and knowledge, trust and harmony, experience and expertise.  The team is everything.  Team building is a skill and a goal in itself.  A strong, directed team, with knowledgeable leadership can achieve insurmountable tasks.  Focus and dedication, building those skills, training and development, nurture and care.  The inexperienced can learn, their energy and enthusiasm helps to drive the team forward.  Push yourselves, the goal is in sight.

That small step of a minor achievement, when the course was finished and a new skill achieved.  Now this!  On to that path.  The goal of your dreams, the impossible dream.  That single, small step, to earth moving potential and striving for success.  Concentrate on the goal.  Step by step, follow that path. Don’t give it up.  This is the adventure of your life.

Choose well, oh brave ones, there are many paths.  The straight, the narrow, the high, the low, each with challenges, obstacles and pitfalls.  Clues to success glitter in the corner of your eye.  Whisperings of sweetness echos in your ears. The chalk on the board draws your attention.  Learn your lessons well. The time spent on nurturing a fine aptitude gives you the knowledge you need for your life.  Don’t let this pass.  You must achieve it.  The road becomes narrow, there are dead ends, circles and confusion.  Time passes, it doesn’t stand still and your aptitude must be nourished for it to flourish.

Your fortitude is with your comrades.  Strength to you.  A trusted system of mutual support and life skills, building knowledge, courage and your team. A trusted team of mutual respect, connectivity and sharing.  Educate and learn, trial and error, practice, practice, practice, you will get it right.  Devotion to your cause and focus.

The game has already started, it’s been playing out forever.  Mentors line the walls to help.  Each with skills  and wisdom to impart.  Nothing changes, this is the game.

Climb on board, you winning team, handpicked for your expertise.  It is your time, your armour shines, the spotlight sees you, the crowds cheer.  Achieve it, oh almighty ones!  To victory, to eternity.  This is your day, your hour, your second.  All of your life’s work comes down to this moment.  The moment that you dream for, that you risked it all for, that you dared for.

Now, in that imperceptible moment, when your mind is sharp and the world stands still, quietly waiting for you.  Now we know who you are, your name and your game.  All that you’ve trained for, all that you’ve worked for, all that you have ever been.  Now you, and the merit of your team, will be counted.

written by Dr, Louise Hayes

February 2, 2016

This Darkest Day
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This Darkest Day

 

Hail, oh you awesome ones.

The winter solstice is upon us, the shortest day of the year.  The longest night, the darkest day.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2015/12/20/winter-solstice-first-day-of-winter/77667242/  The Winter Solstice

A multitude of shiny lights, shine a path of glittery colours as we walk through the town.  Christmas lights, Christmas joy, the night will fade and pass as we cover our homes with bright lights and dazzling displays of colour, to greet you.  The longest night becomes the most brilliant night as we pass along the streets, admiring the creativity and the view.

The sleepy Earth covers her head with a soft blanket of snow and we, on the surface rise to the grandeur of the holiday season.  It is with great joy, that we welcome this darkest night, and we sing the praises of the divine.  It is with great joy that we welcome this holiday season and sing the praises of the creator.  This most awesome dark night, this most awesome short day, will start a holiday time of peace, sharing and goodwill.  This most awesome winter solstice, will mark the start of a journey to celebration of joy most high.  The joy of the great divine.  The joy of song, of merriment, of laughter, of togetherness.

Hail, all you brave ones.  The journey to peace and happiness starts with your courage to pursue it, your unrelenting devotion to it. Hail all you brave ones, this shortest of days is a praiseworthy day.  A day to sing, to turn on the Christmas lights, to light the way for others.  This is the great, high holiday season, full of light, brightness and joy.  It starts with the shortest day, the longest night, the most dark and the most joyous, festive season.  This is a good day. No, a great day.  This day is a blessing to us.

Shine your lights, oh joyous merrimakers.  Sing and play and rejoice!  The holiday season is upon us. Fill your day with grateful praises, fill your lives with love and sharing, fill your homes with warmth and friendship.  These long, dark days of winter are a wonderful time of celebration.

Bright lights, sparking streets, festive  homes, good cheer, good will, joy!  This is the season of joy!

Snow, you dark and blizzardy sky, bring us the storms of winters night.  We step out into the cold and smile.  The winter.  A fabulously special time of year, with fun, celebration, holiday, good cheer and snow.

Inside each warm and comfortable home, stockings hang by the fire.  A tree is erected with lights and ornaments, bright and cheerful, festive and fun.   The home smells of baking and holiday making, the fire lights our path.  We sing with praises and gladness.  This dark, long night, gives us a great gift.  It gives us winter!  It starts with a holiday, so immense that the whole world sings.  It gives us praises to the great divine and praises to the one on high.  We, the world of mortal beings, rise in song and celebration.  Hail, you most brilliant being, light our world on this dark day and rise to sing and dance with us. For joy and celebration is upon us and we rejoice in it.  Blessed winter, blessed holiday, blessed  holy one.

Sing, all you wonderful ones, for on this short and dark day, we are given a gift of great tidings.  We are given a holiday, a celebration and a miracle.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

December 21, 2015

The Wonderful Winter
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The Wonderful Winter

Hail, all you awesome ones!

The temperatures fall.  It’s cold outside.  Time to pull out the woollies, change to thermals and warm, specialized fabrics.  Time to pull out the sleighs, toboggans, skates, skis, snowboards, snowmobiles and snowshoes.  Time for winter!  Time for that specialized season of cold!

The sidewalk is bare from constant shoveling, drifts pile high and the car won’t start.  The giddiness of the festive season is upon us.  Bright lights, holiday cheers, warm welcomes, smiles and gifts.  A fabulous start to the quiet of winter, as we spend our money, plan our holidays and wish each other well, as winter’s nasty colds poke their way in. The headiness of a bustling summer is behind us.  Time to take a break and relax by the fire, bake up a storm and be happy.  Happy to relax, to watch our favourite sport, to sing holiday carols and to play in the fantastic snow!  Our economic wonder, snow!  A blessing that we don’t pay for, brought to you by the great planet.  Enjoy your winter!

We head off to ice caves, ice water falls, frozen rivers and slippery surfaces.  We head off to natural wonder, to awesome delight in the planetary change.  We are tourists in our own town, visiting the sites, bragging about the awesome wonder of the scenery, drinking the local brew and listening to the home grown bands.  We know everyone. Every face is familiar.  Each store has it’s unique specialty and the restaurants offer discounts to us starving hoards, who savor the goodness of every bite.  Laughing and playing, we love this season.  It gives us time to visit.

As wonderful as life is in the carefree summer, winter brings it’s own delight.  For those of us here in this tiny, multicultural town, winter brings us time.  Time to refresh, time to enjoy, time to stay awhile, to visit and to reunite with each other.

The festive season is starting, preparations are being made.  Holiday parties, good friends, family and cheer.  The warmth of the season, when the cold is put at bay.  A change in season is good for us.  It lets us rejoice in a whole new splendor.  Indoor coziness, outdoor frigidness, harmony, balance and avoiding frostbite.  We love this cold winter weather, when the great outdoors turns on the lights early, and we can view the splendor of the stars, planets, even the northern lights in an early, after dinner hour show.

The moon shines a path of white and the glistening snow sparkles and shines our way.  The sun sets early and rises late and the dark is upon us.  We rise in the dark, go home in the dark, and are thankful for the blessings that inventors make.

Hot chocolate and ginger snaps, sweets and treats, this is the time of year to be happy.  A blessing to share, carols to sing, a jingling of jingle bells, rings and rings.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 29, 2015

Still it Snows
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Still it Snows

Hail Bravehearts!

Awesome!  The wonder of life in a new land.  Brilliant and courageous, the spirit soars.  Life in a new land.  All unchartered, all unknown, all mysterious with secrets to reveal.

The sound of the wind as a storm blows in.  Batten down the hatches, close the shutters, stock up the wood supply, fill the larder.  The soft quiet  of winter is blowing in with the storm.  Swirling, dainty flakes of white, fill the air and the temperatures have plunged to zero. ” Let it snow!”  we sing.  “Let it snow!”  For us the first snowfall fills our lives with the changing season and brings joy to our world.  Joy to the world, the winter has come!

Mother Earth sends her children off to a deep winters sleep in hibernation.  The migrating birds have called to each other to flee the snowbound north and fly to warm destinations in the south.   The rest seek shelter in the depths of the forest, where thickets protect them and the shelter of the trees hide them from the elements and the cold.

Winter.  The Earth wraps it’s sleepy head in a soft blanket of snow and sleeps.

The snow falls, it’s quiet intrusion freezes the ground and the lakes and now the water sleeps.  Deep change with the deep freeze and winter storms and icy blasts greet us for the next few months.  Snow!  It piles high.  Higher and higher.  A few inches, a few feet, higher and higher.  While those snug in their warm homes watch in anticipation of the changing season, the snow comes.  Beautiful and white,  dazzling in the sun.  The spectacular change is a gorgeous site.  Still it snows!  It snows relentlessly.  It snows, and snows and snows.

http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/Canada/snowiest.php  Snowiest places in Canada

The animals vanish and the world is changed.  Higher and higher the snow piles in deep feet of snow.  The weather persists.  Winter storms rage in.  A tiny colony of stalwart humans, set in for the long winters’ sleep.  The larder is full, the woodpile stocked high, prepared for the winter and ready for anything, the tiny colony waits out the deep chill.  And it snows!

Our greatest passions are winter fun, winter play and winter sports, but for us, survival is expected.  We are secure now, in our grand and special place.   A place of sport and hospitality, of snowmen and snow angels.  We learn at an early age to enjoy the spectacular change in season and the joy and privilege that it brings.  A breed of sportsmen, playing and laughing, thrilled for the joy that winter brings.

But a small colony of people, out in the lonely wild, of eastern Canada, did not enjoy the snowbound world so much. In the early 1600’s our great joy of winter, was their peril.  The sleepy, quiet snow, lulled the great planet to sleep.  It nodded it’s great head in slumber and the world slept.  In darkness and cold, the colony sank into slumber as well. The tragedy of the cold, snowy, winter, taking its toll of human life, as temperatures plunged, as the snow fell, as food rations were depleated and disease set in and many lives were lost.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

November 23, 2015