Much to my content this year there were no frozen or burst pipes once the cottage defrosted. After a few hours with the woodstove blazing away we were very cozy indeed. It is surprising just how much firewood we used up in a week - but then as our only source of heat the fire was never allowed to die out 24/7 for the duration.
Our time was spent enjoying the wonders of the season - snow shoeing, x country skiing, hiking, tobogganing and of course shoveling!
We have established a holiday ritual of visiting with the neighbors to provide a bit of holiday cheer via chocolates and with a dozen people to see this usually takes us a few days to accomplish. It is a great way to connect with the other cottagers and locals.
We had Matthews' friend Luca and his father James up for a night and we enjoyed sharing the winter spirit with them.
Last year Matthew attempted cross country skiing for a few minutes before bailing on the concept as he couldn't seem to get his legs! This year he spent a good chunk of each day skiing around the property on the trail he made with Nicholas his neighborhood friend and also tackled the most demanding hills on the road and driveways in the hood!
Waking early on several frosty mornings, I overcame the intense desire to crawl back under the covers and instead respected the creative spirit I am trying to cultivate and nurture when at the cottage. Being surrounded by nature calls to me and I intend to seek out the light and beauty and capture it through my lens. Going out early on several mornings I was able to shoot a variety of winter scenes in the beautiful morning light. New Years morning in particular the snow lay fresh and heavy on all the trees and provided a truly magical winter wonderland, hopefully an omen for the year ahead!
We thought we would settle in for a quiet new years eve at the cottage when the phone rang and Dave (our cottage road maven) informed us that a neighbor Pete had cleared his pond and the "traditional" cottagers new years eve shinny game was scheduled! We couldn't of dreamt of a finer more "Canadian" way to spend the evening! We headed down with our skates to find a mild evening with light snow falling. The pond was lit by two spotlights on ladders at either side, Pete brought down his new snowblower AKA "Zambonie" and cleared the ice as we laced up on a freshly installed bench at the ponds edge. Deb brought some wine and chocolate to provide additional holiday cheer to those sitting around watching the game. Matthew played with a vigor rarely exhibited at his team games in the city. Maybe it was the magical setting, maybe the spirit of the company - he skated his little heart out and we all really enjoyed a wonderful new years eve of camaraderie in our small corner of the the world. A new years eve that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
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