New Years Eve at the Lake

For the 1st time, we welcomed in the new year from the cottage. With the forecast for temperatures in the -10 to -20°C over night it seemed quite manageable from a heating and temperature perspective so we headed out around noon on the 31st for a nice sunny drive to the lake. Once at the cottage, the 1st priority was getting the heating systems turned on to the max. The fireplace was set and the kerosene heater was fuelled an in place so they were quick to start.  The electric furnace took a little bit more persuasion to get operational. When it was turned on you could hear the motor trying to spin the fan. Rrrr, Rrrr, Rrrr, “click” as the motor protector shut it down because it was too cold to get the motor spinning fast enough. No big deal, I’d experienced and solved this problem before. By running an interior car warmer inside the furnace for about 10-15 minutes, it warmed up the electric motor enough so it could get up to full speed. It took from about 3pm to 10:30 pm to bring the cottage from -12°C to +20°C.

During the warm up time we unloaded the car,  chopped/drilled a hole in the 12″ lake ice to bring up some water, enjoyed some snacks, and had a wonderful rack of lamb dinner and a few movies. Across the bay someone even put on a very professional 15 minute fireworks display for our enjoyment as well.

From the main foot bridge at Rushing River Provincianl Park, Ontario, Canada

On New Years Day, after a leisurely bacon and eggs breakfast and tidying up the dishes we headed over to Rushing River for another first, a winter hike along the lower river trail.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and while there was a light wind, in the shelter of the trail it was fairly warm. I took quite a few photos, and enjoyed the outing, as did Shirley.

Down the river trail, close to the bridge, the snow and ice flanks the faster moving water.

Back at the cottage it was time for some late lunch and then cozying up in front of the fireplace with  good book for a lazy afternoon. Dinner and some movies, and another day is done.

January 2nd is a bit colder outside and after a few cups of coffee, some reading and breakfast, we’re packing up and getting ready to head back to the city. With a stop at Ye Old Chip truck in Kenora, we’re on our way. It was a very nice, peaceful and quiet getaway before returning back to the normal routines after the holiday break.