The New View

[AndyC]

Thought I'd share the current view behind my house. You saw the winter view when we moved in.

The ice finally left yesterday, as temperatures hit the low 20s (low 70s for you Americans). The snow has been pretty much gone for a couple of weeks. Having never watched a lake thaw, it was interesting. It gradually melted back from the shore, and darkened as it got thinner, but progress appeared very gradual right up to the end. Over the last few days, it shrank more noticeably, and started to drift around more, but there was still a coating of ice over most of the lake. Then, in the space of a few hours, it just broke apart and was gone. It looked pretty solid, but I guess it had thinned right out to the point where it could just disappear.

Anyway, here's the current view. No leaves yet, but otherwise, it's quite pleasant outside. A nice change from a winter of icy roads, bitter cold and snow up to my ass. Can't wait to get my boat out there. And I'm committed to swimming by Victoria Day (about a week before the American Memorial Day), even if the water is still pretty cold by that time.

[Ash]

Looks nice!

Any fish in there?

[AndyC]

Still trying to get some idea of what people fish for in this lake. The Ministry of Natural Resources lists quite a few species, but from what I've heard, Pickerel is the big one. There were plenty of huts out on the ice from about January to March, so the fishing must be decent. Now, I believe most sport fish are out of season here until early summer. Got to let them spawn, I guess.

Which reminds me, I have to get a licence. I haven't had a hunting or fishing licence in years, since the ministry complicated the process. Never had much opportunity to fish anyway. I grew up in farm country, where there might be two rivers of any size nearby, and people pay to swim in flood control reservoirs where the conservation authority was nice enough to dump a couple of truckloads of sand on one side. There just weren't any natural bodies of water. I used to have to drive at least a couple of hours to find a real beach or a real lake.

About the only time I ever got anywhere near here (four hours from my hometown) was on vacation. That's the cool thing. I live in a place where people go on vacation.

Now that the weather is nice, the sights and sounds and smells are bringing back some old memories, and it's starting to feel like a vacation. I wonder how long that feeling will last.

[ulthar]

Wah wah wah...snow this ice that.  At least you HAVE a winter!  :)

I miss winters.  Here it has already been in the 90's, and from about May - September, it will be very unusual to drop below mid-80's.  And it's humid - upwards of 95% RH on many days.

We are considering moving back to Colorado, so one day I hope to have a view to rival yours!

(Congrats, btw, that is an awesome spot).

[Scott]

Looks nice AndyC. You'll have to get a boat.

[AndyC]

Got a little 12-foot aluminum boat with an outboard motor. Kind of inherited it from my Dad when he stopped using it (he's more of a river fisherman). Just got a trailer hitch installed on the van this week, so I can go down and pick it up. Can't wait.

[The Burgomaster]

If you squint, I think you can see my house about 1,000 miles in the distance.

[Scott]

I like those little hills in the background.

[trekgeezer]

All I can say is, man that is one gorgeous view. You're a lucky man Andy.

[Ash]

I wonder if Nessie migrates up to that lake and spends his summers there?

[ulthar]

AndyC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just got a trailer hitch installed on
> the van this week, so I can go down and pick it
> up. Can't wait.
>

Ah yes, well, you know what they say:  The second happiest day in a man's life is the day he gets a boat.  The happiest is the day he sells it.

(Just kidding, I absolutely LOVE boats - have two right now).

B.O.A.T.:  Bring Out Another Thousand

[AndyC]

Well, it's really been my boat since the early 90s, although I had to leave it with my Dad when we moved. It was winter, we already had enough belongings to transport, and the new van had no hitch. Now that it's spring, the old man is almost as eager to get it out of his yard as I am to pick it up. Where it will go in my yard is a question that remains to be answered.

[AndyC]

From what they tell me, it's not a very deep lake, so Nessie might have a hard time hiding. But, if he can swim the Atlantic and the St. Lawrence River, then hitch a ride up the highway to get here, I'm sure he can manage :)

Thinking of Scott's comment about the hills, that is one of the nice things about this part of Canada. The Canadian Shield is, geologically speaking, a very old part of the continent that was once (hundreds of millions of years ago) volcanically active. What little soil there is overlies well-worn granite that often shows through. Lots of lakes rocks and hills (eroded mountains really) and forest. The highways are blasted right through the granite, where necessary, so motorists periodically pass between jagged walls of pink and grey rock. It's really beautiful.

[Scott]

Even Nessie needs a vacation.

[LilCerberus]

That reminds me; I need to get my ol' '74 riceburner cleaned up before it gets too hot.

It's been a few years since I did an ironbutt.