Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Morning Coffee At Steve’s Country #10.
Good morning to everyone on this cloudy but mild Thursday! We had some rain overnight which changed to snow, but there wasn’t much snow at all. It was only about half an inch (1cm) of snow, much less than what was forecast for us, which is fine with me. Well, coffee is ready everyone! We have had a couple of very nice days this week, but that is about to change with the temp dropping throughout the day. Then it’s back to winter temps for awhile. But we are actually doing quite well this winter, hard to believe it’s already been with us for 7 weeks now. On Tuesday I tried to walk down to the river but only made it about 2/3 of the way, it’s rather hard walking through soft snow on those hills. Yesterday I went back down since it was nice and sunny.
I made it all the way to my usual spot and it was just beautiful down there. Hardly looked like winter as I was sitting on “my” bench. The river was so calm. There was a lot of chickadees around, and blue jays, nuthatches and some white-winged crossbills. Those crossbills are cool birds and there is a lot of them around this winter. Unfortunately it is very hard to attract them to bird feeders. Maybe as winter gets colder and their food supply becomes less, then perhaps they will come. It would be nice. I would love to get a picture of them. There was also a couple bald eagles down there soaring around, too far away for pictures though. The only ice on the river was in a couple small bays, but that ice certainly wouldn’t be strong enough to walk on.
No matter how cold it is or how good the river ice looks, I would never walk on it. Lake ice is fine, I will walk on that, but not river ice. Up here we have roads on our lake during the winter, once the ice is thick enough and people drive on those roads all the time. I have done it too. Well, look at that, the clouds are breaking up, lots of blue sky showing. Looks like we will get some more sunshine today. Baxter is on a branch opening a peanut but dropped the contents down into the snow. He swooped down to get it, but Jasper came running over and chased Baxter away and found the peanut himself. Jasper wins this time! He’s alone this morning I see. I do hope you enjoyed your coffee this morning, have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
How can you tell when the ice is thick enough to be on.?
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Basically just wait for some good cold weather for a couple weeks, then it’s usually safe for walking. Driving is different, then it takes about 6 weeks of cold weather, the town sends someone out on a snowmobile to drill through the ice and see how thick it is. If it’s okay they send a plow out to clear of all the roads, then it really starts to get thick quickly. A foot of ice is usually safe for a car. More for larger vehicles like gravel trucks.
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Looks lovely
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Thanks Sheree, it really was nice down there yesterday.
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Love the incident with Baxter and jasper peanut searching. Have a blessed morning Steve ! ☕🦊
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Thanks Suni! I enjoyed watching that! Jasper usually loses to the blue jays so nice to see him win one for a change! Have a wonderful day/evening Suni!😀😺🌞☕☕
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Here , in Lebanon , we have snow starting from altitudes close to 2000 meters . Skiing resorts could start to open soon …
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Yes, normally we would have 30 to 50 cm of snow on the ground now, but some years we don’t get much before Christmas. Have a nice evening Wael!
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finally, a win for Jasper. I can’t imagine ever driving my car on a frozen lake…
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Yep, it was nice to see Jasper win for a change! It is an odd feeling until you get used to it. But a person’s insurance stops once that car is on the lake! Though it is possible to get special insurance coverage for it. Every year vehicles fall through the ice too. Normally people leaving the ice roads.
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And are the people OK whose cars go through the ice?
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People always seem to escape, at least no one has died in recent years. But it’s advisable to drive with windows open for quick escape and never wear seat belts. But that water is cold, so someone needs to find you quickly. Snowmobiles go through the ice even more than cars because they tend to take chances on the thin ice thinking they can go fast enough. And most of the time that works, but sometimes it doesn’t.
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I’d be hesitant to even walk a couple feet off shore…
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Yep, one year driving across the ice road I noticed open water only about 100 feet away. That was a bit close, but people assured me it was completely safe. The ice can be 2 to 3 feet thick where the ice roads are.
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that does seem to be a bit close…
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Especially since a week later someone went through the ice. I didn’t bother trying it again.😳
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seems like a wise decision. 🙂
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Most definitely!
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The pics are lovely ! I won’t walk on any lake and certainly would not drive on it ! As a kid I did walk on the ice, but with great fear ! One sound of a crack and I high-tailed it to the shore ! ☕️☕️🎄
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Thanks! A crack is a good sound, means the ice is solid.😀😺🌙☕☕
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A beautiful cold but sunny day ☀️
Don’t walk on any water ice…never know what can happen 🧊
Happy weekend to both of you! 😻😻
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It is true, ice is unpredictable, but walking on ice is a normal thing up here in the north.😬🚶♂️🧊 I wouldn’t walk on river ice though, and even our big lake isn’t safe in many spots. But some areas are perfectly safe. 🙂😾I haven’t actually been on the ice for quite a few years now and I doubt I ever will try it again.🤔😾 I’m not as adventurous as I used to be! I should write about some of my ice adventures.🤔🙄😳🙀 Have a great weekend Ribana!😀😺🌞☕☕
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Very Good Morning Steve, Jasper wins this time 😍😁Yay!!! ?How is the walk? Hope you were wearing thick boots 😁🤔 Stay warm and be careful while walking. How was your sunshiny thursday 😊 Have a lovely day 🤗🤗🤗
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Hi Simon! It was such a beautiful winter day at the river!😃🌞📷 These are good boots for walking in snow, but they won’t work in the really cold weather, I will need something warmer.🙄🥾 However, when it gets that cold I may not want to go walking anyway!😂😹 Not long walks anyway. Have a wonderful evening Simon!😁🌙
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That’s good, a short walk is still a good walk. Like you said avoid walking out when the cold is heavy. 😁 People might use us to build snow man 😜 Have a Good day 💝
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Yep, a short walk is best when it’s cold.🥶 I did get a nice walk today, but it’s very icy out there now,🧊🧊 I slipped a couple of times,😲😲 didn’t get hurt though.😬 Have a nice Saturday Simon!😁🌞☕
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Short walks are always good 🤗 and be careful with slippery, hope you have that stick to balance 🤔 enjoy the walk, and watch the slippery ice 😉🤗
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Yep, always carry that stick with me, helps a lot when it’s slippery! Don’t forget to eat your breakfast!😁😉😋
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Yes, carry that stick 😉🙏 and I’m on it, cooking out breakfast 😁
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