Sudbury Winter

North America » Canada » Ontario » Sudbury
January 19th 2007

Published: January 21st 2007

19 January 2007, Sudbury

This is the place that one of the travel books suggested you pass right by ..... but..... give th place a chance! The Laurentian Shield is evident beneath a thin cover of lichen, moss and fern growth that has decomposed over the centuries into a thin layer of rich black topsoil .... the rocks are truly beautiful and one encounters a geology lesson at every turn. An art gallery, a university, a science centre, the nutrino centre, a myriad of lakes and rivers for fishing, hiking and skiiing trails, great snowmobiling when there is snow, great potato growing country, and the largest freshwater lake contained in city limits. Google Sudbury and read all about the greatness of the place.

Went to school here ....have always loved the rocks. .... built my retirement home on three acres by a lake .... garden and pick blueberries in summer and in winter snowshoe and chop wood and watch television with the aid of my dish!

Escape for an extended adventure at least once a year. Escape to the big city more often. Do not like to shop so could care less about the big box stores that have found a foothold in the bedrock of Sudbury. One Starbucks and one Chapters store have a certain appeal but having bought a milk frother at Williams and Sanoma, miss only the large selection of magazines on offer.

Winter has finally made an appearance … not wildly as predicted for Toronto but softly and whitely and gently.

Have applied and been accepted to do occasional teaching by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). This will add greatly to the coffers and make my mega-adventure that more less stressful. More details about this assignment once I am more familiar with what is expected of me.

Will stay with my friend Michelle and godson Jairett in their house in Scarborough. It will not be like living at Pape and Danforth! It takes over an hour to get to Queen Street west. I am a downtown Toronto person… living in the burbs is not my idea of city living but one cannot look a gift horse in the mouth. Have a room in the house … although it is not my original room that I once shared with the now deceased Fela (my feline companion of 17yrs). Once I get my sofa-chair into the space it will be a perfect retreat from the rest of the house…. do need to draw back every now and again …have lived too long alone to be always in other’s company. I will buy the groceries and stay with Jairett when Michelle feels the need to departir.

Want to send my bicycle by Purelator to Toronto .. 30 odd dollars … because as the snow now flies it certainly will not last in Toronto and then I can use the bike as part of my training regime …. have yet to address that in earnest! Canadian Tire will give me a packing box... BUT ...have been to the place...box too small ... too much trouble to send the bike...easier to buy a new one and then leave it for Jairett to use.

Upper most in my conversation, thoughts and references is the next big adventure.

Have begun to pack. The tent and sleeping bag are ready. Have not opened the tent yet because of the hot stove… it would be a shame to singe and melt it after it has survived the danger of being gnawed at by mice! The paper tiger is the worst thing to tame!! Have bought maps for the trip. Have a tiny tape recorder and programme that will transcribe the words into text. The Swiss knife is too heavy. The headlamp is going to be OK. Bought a nice red fleece for the occasion will go well with the new grey GThe laptop is still up in the air… the tape recorder is for PC only … buying a Sony will save me the price of Windows although the programme I have .. does crash every now and again….but have become used to it … the Mac is just so full of pretty icons .. do I really need them?

The list of things do to before next Sunday is tremendous have found a “countdown list” …makes me think of a wedding planner ….. will use the idea because I have to do lists coming out of my wazooo and am just a bit scattered …. and then there is the list of what to do during March Break… that will be the final push … have bought my ticket to Anchorage .. departing 15:30 from Toronto Pearson April 30/07. I must stay calm and add to a list the moment I think of a something …. cannot forget a thing…OH the stress Minus 25 this morning, a nice layer of snow and a satisfying crunch underfoot … have put away the holiday decorations , checked out the bike, and am contemplating the clean out of the freezer .. that’s tomorrow’s job. Deciding which cache of wool tro bring to Toronto is hard… will use up the left-overs to knit gloves…. These will be sold at the October Craft sale … thinking ahead here!
…. all the while reading travel books …

.... snowmobilers are racing across the frozen lake night and day .... 11 fish shacks on the ice ... some people stay in the shacks overnight eatring drinking sleeping and .... fishing? Heard from a friend that in North Bay, one and a half hours east on Highway 17, one can rent a rolling fish shack with beds, fridge, stove, heating and surely a hole in the floor for fishing, for the weekend. .... come north, rent the thing, spend the weekend on the lake and hopefully go home with a good catch ... of fish .... don't know about Snowbunnies ... am sure there must be some! Viva Hugh Hefner.

It is now cold enough to arrey the contents of the freezer on the table in the storage porch. Will divide the contents into Eat, Give Away, Feed to the crows. All blueberries go to Toronto!

From -25 the temperature has risen to -3. Still need to feed the fire but it is warm enough to go outside and be comfy in warm clothes. The wind chill factor is another story. Exposed to the wind on the lake makes for an extremely cold experience... not for the fashion diva.... when bundled up we all loook like michellin-men ..... there are no michellin women!

'asta la vista .... poor Arnold has a broken thigh bone that's connected to his ...... He did appear at the Golden Globe Awards and was seen in an orange grove surveying the frost damage...... with crutches.

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