BBQ season is officially over

 

When the BBQ looks like this I always smile. Judy loves a BBQ. Me? Not so much. I see this and have an ah-hah moment. Ah-hah, BBQ season is over!

Deep, oh-so-recently-fallen snow always makes a picture

 

No caption necessary.

Neighbours are important

I'm in my 70s. Everyone knows I have a failing heart. Yesterday my snowblower failed. A failing heart and a failed snowblower. Not a good combination.

 

Last night it snowed. This morning my next door neighbour plowed my drive. It snowed more today. This afternoon my neighbour from down the street plowed my driveway.

 

I love neighbours. Don't believe the stories you read about the coldness of the suburbs in Canada and the States. Trust me, suburbs are not always cold, not even in the winter. My wife and I find our suburb a very warm, and welcoming, place. Even in the winter.

For these boys the threat is sledding and not covid-19.

 

For these five boys, covid-19 was the last thing on their minds. Surviving a long slide down the Byron tobogganing hill took their total concentration. They managed to keep their sleds linked for more than half the distance down the long, somewhat steep slope. 

Watching all these people doing dangerous stuff as they were sliding down the crowded slope, made me recall the movie On The Beach. Out-of-control covid-19 isn't exactly the same as nuclear war but both seem to encourage folk to take chances they previously wouldn't have taken.

Winter scene recalls well-loved paintings

Not quite enough folk to make a modern day Currier and Ives but it still recalls many paintings of people out enjoying winter. 

My neighbourhood hill has never attracted so many folk and on a Tuesday no less. I'm sure it's not only the attraction of the hill but also the promise of a brief escape by families desperate to get out of the house. The province is in shutdown and cabin fever is beginning to take hold.

Bent up demand crowds sledding hill

Up and down the long sloping hill one could see kids with toboggans, sleds, saucers, snowboards and even skis out enjoying the big, snow-covered hill in Byron, London's southwest neighbourhood.

I  estimate that at a very minimum there were 150 kids and adults crowding the hill. It was the busiest I have seen that hill in twenty years. Why so much interest? My guess is covid-19. People are aching for something to do. Almost everything is closed. A simple, hill deep with fresh snow was simply irresistible.

Despite the shutdown, snowmaking continues

 

With one of the three quad chairlifts sitting quiet in the background at the idled Boler Mountain ski hill, a large snowmaking machine continues to pump out snow in anticipation of a February opening. 

If the Boler Mountain snowmaking crews have their way, the slopes will open with one incredibly thick base. The hill is clearly trying to position itself for having the most successful spring skiing season on record. I hope Mother Nature cooperates.