Icy Weekend!

That was another storm! This time we had the ice rain. The rain poured and stuck to everything.  The poor bird feeders. I could hear the birds wake up as dawn shone a light on everything. 

Note to self: next time shovel the back deck next time. All I did was the path to the rain gauge on Saturday. Sunday, the cylinder was coated in ice.

Sunday morning, I went at it. (There's the green tub that leaks!) 

I began shoveling the deck in order to make room, should I have to pull the BBQ out. You can see the top layer of ice. It's a little shelf.

I measured the ice accretion: 0.5 cm or 5mm. It is awful.

I was up early on Sunday, what me worry? 

   

Around Georgian Bay:

First job, check power outages. They spread across the province, creeping across the path of the ice rain. I've often complained that we are, as Joe says, 'the rock in the river' with precipitation going around us. I am happy for that this weekend. 

Central Ontario Hydro Outages

My friends in Muskoka, as well as the city of Peterborough, have massive downed trees and power lines. 

 This is the Gravenhurst Opera House. We've been many times. 

Gravenhurst, Muskoka

I like their website, as Kingston shows when repairs have been done.

Kingston Power Outages

It just kept on raining. The trees began drooping. This tree branch is our 'canary in the coal mine' as we know there is ice accretion when it touches the ground. We have had a terrible time with our white pine trees and snow or ice accumulation in past years. It has cost us thousands of dollars to have it all cleaned up.

Monday morning they predicted a Colorado Low bringing 15 ℃ temperatures and a grand melt. After that it gets colder. I'll have to remember to empty the water barrels or the water will freeze and split them.

This poor tree! This morning, the ice accretion has been melting, you can hear the drip drip, and crashing of ice chards.

By the afternoon, it was above zero: 1 ℃, and it kept raining on and off. The sidewalk, covered in 5mm ice, melted. The driveway drained away. All my preparations went well. 

My Bala friends tell me they might not have power for a few days. Schools will be closed in lots of districts. They won't get back up on the grid, my friend told us, until Wednesday! 😖

I woke at 5 mm, and heard the ice falling off the roof onto the back deck. I am so happy I knew what it was. We have had a lot of rain this month.

By bedtime last night, lots more without power. This morning that is down slightly. 

Poor Muskoka: snomageddon

UPDATE: Many are without power since Thursday night, this is now Sunday. Some aren't expected to be back on grid until Dec. 3rd.

 Muskoka, in Central Ontario, east of Georgian Bay, has had a dump of snow and power outages. The friends I left behind there are digging out. This missed us, somehow. I woke at midnight and checked. Nada.

Then, there are the power outages!

This was in Dec., 2009 in Bala, Muskoka!

Lake Effect Snow, it just keeps rolling over cottage country, picking up moisture from the warm Great Lakes.

This is a metre/yardstick! It was epic, and we called it Snomageddon, 2009. It was the year before we moved here to Lanark County.

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Dec. 2007

Back to the present. My friends, Erica and Jennifer, tells me they had a foot of snow Friday, two more feet overnight, as well as a power outage. Small town Bala, with 2649 without power. Many have generators, as this is a common happening. They had a snow day, with everything cancelled or closed. 

As I watched the hydro outages, they kept increasing!

This morning, it was even worse. When we lived in Muskoka we had a seamless generator. It was fabulous. It didn't run everything, but you choose certain things, like appliances. Many people have a fireplace or stove, as well. The numbers just keep rising. 

  

Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, etc., get power from Elexicon Energy. 

My friends in Muskoka are still without power Sunday morning. Winter is here!

Highway 11 was closed. Vehicles just plain stuck!

The OPP posted these photos from Nov. 30th, 2024! 

Here? Nothing! Jut a few flakes. 

Sunny day!

 That was a day! The power went out, twice. It came back on. Happy dance! I've been watching the CNN coverage of the trial. Such drama! I found out later it was a planned outage to replace hydro poles.

It was a good day for flying!

The two Freds are doing well. Still nest building, and eating! 

fred 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Lots of weeding, and checking in on the garden. I picked up another tick. 

There was lots of sunshine, in between lots of clouds! I took a moment to record this tulip. I just love it. All alone. A bright pop of colour in the garden.

There are some others that are similar, but a little yellow.

Walking down to fetch the mail, I spotted the flicker flying to the tree. I watched it for a moment. The leaves are nearly out. They are nesting in the dead elm nearby, bless their little hearts. I present an archived photo.. It was a lousy photo of him in the tree!

 

I sent Joseph Brian to the store. He brought home two goldfish. I liked the first photo, with the weird googly eyes, but there are just two. 

We were tired by the end of the day. We finished rewatching Unforgotten, Season 4. Hooray for old age. We'd lost the plot! Cinnamon enjoyed it.