Make it stop!!!!!

I just got back in from shovelling - again! I still think Parry Sound is beautiful in the winter - but about now, only when the sun shines!!!! Having a B&B means that keeping the walkways and stairs clear is imperative; and that means a lot of shovelling!!!!
Looking for a reason to visit Parry Sound in the winter? The scenery is just as spectacular as it is in the summer - and sometimes, even more so!

This picture shows a rock cut on the north side of the road that is covered in ice "water-falls". These falls occur when the sun heats up the rock and melts some of snow; the snow on the top acts like insulation, so that the water runs out and then freezes when it hits the previous ice falls and the outside air. You can't really see the different colours in the ice, but depending on what type of rock the water flows over can cause the ice falls along the same rock cut to have different colours!

Chef Simon does exist!

For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to meet Chef Simon, here's a picture of him hard at work in the 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast kitchen. This picture was taken as he taught me how to prepare this summer's new wonderful breakfast recipe - Eggs Benedict on Rosti Potatoes. It's a wonder that I ever made it for guests - with all the warnings I got about how the hollandaise sauce could go wrong, I certainly found it a stressful dish to make. Of course, the first time I made it, it was using new potatoes, which was a big mistake! I didn't get enough of the moisture out of the potatoes, so had a terrible time getting them to bind and form the rosti. When breakfast was finally served, guests had a giggle as I was covered in flour (an attempt to make the potato shreds stick together!) and quite red in the face...., but pleased to report that the hollandaise sauce was a work of art! I am now spending the winter trying to learn how to make roses from tomato skins cut off the tomato in one long piece.....

Birdwatching in Parry Sound

Parry Sound has a lot to offer the birdwatcher. This afternoon as I walked along the Fitness Trail, I saw a downy woodpecker and a male bluejay.

Our local Nature Club has a bird count over the Christmas holidays, and 31 different species and 1,239 individual birds were spotted this year. The club speculates that sightings are down because of the cold temperatures that day, the amount of snow we received in the month of December, and the inshore ice formations on Georgian Bay, which discourages waterfowl.

Bald eagles are making a strong comeback, indicating the species appears to be recovering, and the number of wild turkeys is growing. Parry Sound area isn't limited to the growth; my brother counted 7 on the front lawn of our cottage in the Haliburton area last year!

Cross Country Skiing at it's best!

Georgian Nordic Ski Club reports that 11 of the 12 trails are groomed and five are in good shape as of January 3rd. Yesterday we received over 10 cm of snow, and we are expecting some every day this week. So, I expect that many of them will be upgraded as the season gets into full swing.

40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast is a 10 minute drive from the ski club. Skiers can bring their own skis or rent from the club (Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and weekends 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). White Squall (the local outfitters) rents snowshoes and for the less adventourous, kick-sleds.

For more pictures please visit Georgian Nordics web site at www.georgiannordic.com.

Snow, snow and more snow!

Parry Sound's average snowfall in December is 79 cm.; by the time the month was over, we had received over 180 cm.! Luckily (sort of!) we had our annual end of the month thaw, that saw temperatures of almost 10 degrees celsius and two days of heavy rains, which took most of the snow away, and packed down the little bit that is left.

Why do I say we were lucky? By the time I went to Toronto to celebrate Christmas Day with my family, out by the back door of 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast, I couldn't throw the snow high enough to stay on the pile! The man that plows the parking at the back was telling me it was getting to the point that I might have to arrange to have some of the snow from that area taken away by a dump truck!

As I wrote back to one of my many new B&B friends, it might be beautiful when it first comes, but it sure loses it's attraction when you're out shovelling two or three times a day to keep up with it!