The Travels of the Agnew Family

Until the snow is gone I think I'll start my blog with a photo of the front of our house and a melting snow report. I cannot tell you how good it feels to see grass in a few places around town and be able to wear shoes if you are going to another building (i.e. shopping, the pool, etc) and don't plan on walking further than the parking a lot --- it sounds silly but getting out of boots even if only for a small amount time is wonderful.


The snow banks still feel as high as they ever were, but the roof definitely has less snow on it.




Ed is hard at work on the night stands for our bedroom --- can't wait to get rid of the temporary plastic ones I've been using for 6 and a half years. Ed had a lot of sanding to do so he decided to pull out the super duper air mask and filter. It's good to see his toys .... oops tools getting used.


One of the night stands biscuited and glued. Just a few clamps holding it together.


Waiting somewhat patiently for supper to be served.


The three of us went for a walk down by the river. Parts of the river are still frozen and snow covered but more and more of it is clear. The current is running fast.




In the trees there is still lots of snow --- probably 2 feet deep.

I guess this is typical March weather, spring one day, winter the next .... just colder than average. Last Wednesday we had rain followed by snow overnight. Made for a heavy wet mess to clean off the driveways. Saturday brought six inches of snow .... again heavy but not as wet as Thursday's snow.


I think the net result is more snow has melted in the last couple of weeks then has fallen but it still looks like a winter wonderland. Kind of gets you thinking about next Christmas.


Ed took a photo of a neighbours driveway before it was plowed to show the amount of snow that fell.


Most of the river is covered in snow except for the part below the dam. It's moving fast enough here that it takes a lot for it to freeze.

Zaph has picked up a new hobby. He'll ask to go into the backyard so he can eat snow. It started as licking snow but has progressed to actually taking bites of the snow. I've seen other dogs eat ice cubes but not Zaph, so I'm not sure where the snow eating has come from. Yes, he does have a bowl full of water in the house.

oh, and me too! Yup same day, just six years apart.

I had a really nice day --- lots of birthday greetings, played pickleball, snowshoed with Ed and Victor, was spoiled with an amazing seafood dinner cooked by my friend Anne and on the way home Ed and I saw a meteorite entering the earth's atmosphere. It was fairly large and had a bright tail for the approximately two seconds it lasted.


Victor and a friend of Victor's own adjoining farm properties that have a woods and a creek. This gave us lots of places to snowshoe.


Spring is trying to come. The last time we snowshoed at Victors the creek was frozen solid. There's been enough warm days that the ice is starting to crack and in some places break up.


Some wild turkeys discovered Anne's bird feeder a few weeks ago. Two turkeys have decided that it's a good thing and keep coming back.


Anne, Victor and Ed were nice to me and only lit one candle. I thought that was plenty plus it was easier to blow out.

I drove down to Burlington today and was happy to see that the further south I went the more the snow had melted. In fact there's lots of grass visible in the Burlington area. My mom has a bit of grass showing on both her front and back lawns. There's also over a foot of snow on other places on the lawn and piles over three feet tall. Spring is definitely on it's way.

When Zaph comes in from a walk, he gets put into the bathtub to wash his feet and belly. Unfortunately, he is still licking and chewing his paws. Years ago we bought boots for Zaph to wear down south when there's a lot of sand burs. At the time he really disliked the boots so they were put in a cupboard. The other day I noticed that Zaph was limping when we walk, so Ed decided it was time to find the boots and try them out.


Zaph wasn't happy at first but adjusted quickly to the boots. Now he makes a fashion statement when he goes for a walk. Now we need to figure out a way to protect his belly.

at least every now and then. We've actually had a few nice days where the temperature has reached a few degrees above freezing and the snow is starting to melt. Winter isn't ready to totally give up, as we've also had a few really cold days with snow and winds.

Ed and I are trying out a relatively new sport --- Pickleball. This game was invented for "seniors", though all ages play it. It's based on tennis, can be played indoors, uses a paddle and a plastic ball with holes in it and it's a lot of fun.





Ed has also been busy in the workshop.


Our neighbours have a cottage and last summer they decided it was time to make some changes to the kitchen. The old stove top and built in oven were pulled out and a new stove put it. Then there was lots of discussion about new cupboards. Ed volunteered to make three new cupboards for them. This is the cupboard that will go beside the stove. It has two pots and pans drawers and one cutlery drawer. The cupboard still needs to be finished but as Rob is a wiz at finishing furniture that's his job.

We haven't ventured far from home but did manage to take a trip down to Kitchener. Jack and Lori invited us down for lunch. Jack also told me a story about Lori coming home from the store with a raspberry pie because she was thinking about my raspberry pies. I woke early and decided I had time to make a raspberry pie, so I did.


As it was ten days before my birthday I wasn't expecting a birthday celebration, so I was surprised when Jack and Lori had birthday cake for me. We ate the cake and the pie!

The cold weather isn't releasing it's hold on Ontario. This past Thursday, Bruce County once again closed all of it's roads and several neighboring counties also closed many of their roads. This time it wasn't due to snow but due to extreme cold and blowing snow. In the matter of a second the visibility could go from good to non-existent. 96 drivers who were involved in a huge accident on highway 400 can attest to that.

The part of winter that I'm having the hardest time with isn't the massive amount of snow or the bitterly cold temperatures, though I'm not enjoying either of these, is the time it takes to get ready to go outside and come back inside. I think I change my clothes at least three times every day --- I have indoor clothes, I have going in the car "outdoor" clothes, I have walking the dog "outdoor" clothes, I have shoveling snow "outdoor" clothes. Then when I come in, if I'm lucky I just have to hang the clothes up, but if it's been snowing I have to find places to hang it to dry. Then there's Zaph. The road salt is bothering Zaph, so we have come up with a plan. Either I take him for a walk somewhere there is no salt or his feet and belly get rinsed off after the walk. Zaph, dislikes baths but a couple of cookies placed in the tub sure makes it a lot easier to convince him to hop in. A quick blast with the hand shower some blow drying and he's on his way.

Ed was convinced to try ice skating again. He told me that if he fell he would sell the skates. Luckily, he managed just fine --- I was the one that fell (caught a pick and slid across the ice on my stomach). Ed still has a long way to go but he's making progress.

One of Ed's projects this winter is to build a couple of kitchen cabinets for our neighbors cottage. He has finally started the cupboards. Ed's job is to build the cupboards and Rob's job is to finish them to match the existing cupboards. Maybe I still have a chance to get nightstands and a headboard for our bedroom.