I made another trip back to Ontario to spend some time with Dad and the rest of the family. I arrived to unseasonably warm temperatures that sadly did not last - byt the time I left I was feeling very much in the festive spirit as the snow had moved in and winter had truly arrived. I actually didn’t take a lot of pictures over the course of the week, but Mom’s bird feeders were very busy and I couldn’t help myself.
The finished products of a big decorating day.
Shawn picked me up at the airport, and we went to watch Lane play hockey in Orangeville. After that, we headed back to Mom and Dad’s and there was “work” to do - decorating gingerbread!
Shortly after I arrived, the weather turned cold. I was working from Alton, trying to keep up with work while spending time with everyone. I try and stay somewhat active and get out for a walk (or more) every day, and so I did get out and do a few walks around the Grange
A map of my first walk. The little detour onto the golf course was to take some pictures.
This walk was a quite a bit longer, and involved me getting turned around a couple of times.
A few days later we got a real blast of winter and the first real snow of the year. It’s hard to say if it will last or not, but it feels like we might be in for a real winter. And of course, I waited to help Mom put up the Christmas decorations after the snow came. Why make it too easy?
Towards the end of my visit, I took Lane out for his birthday. I’ve been trying to do that when I can, instead of gifts for the kids. Being hockey-crazy, I took him to a hockey game. I was hoping to do the Marlies, but that didn’t work out logistically, and so ended up with the Guelph Storm.
I managed to score us great seats for the game - first row behind the benches.
They have a cool arena inside the old Eaton’s Center in downtown Guelph. A bit confusing to get to, but a great atmosphere. LAmost a sold out crowd, which is impressive for Junior hockey. We started the evening with dinner at the Keg, then headed to the game. We were a tad late (for a variety of reasons), and the home team was already down 2-0. They “stormed” back and won comfortably in the end, and it was a fun game.
Lane opening his birthday presents.
And finally, all the bird pics. I spent a fair bit of time trying to get some decent photos of all the birds hanging around Mom’s feeders. Sadly, most are taken through the windows, so not so great. But still, some are OK. I thought I;d do something different and organize by species into little galleries.
