This was taken from deck level of the Chief Commanda II looking out at the ice shacks on Calander Bay. The Chief is in dry dock until May, when it will once again ply the waters of Lake Nipissing.

The government dock at Calander Bay.

Here are some of the ice huts on Calander Bay of Lake Nipissing. On the North shore is the "expensive" subdivision with monster, "over the top" houses that are part of the area around the Osprey Links Golf Course.

The worn ice road leading to the ice huts will get a lot worse over the next week or so as the ice fishing season winds down, and the huts start getting hauled of the lake.

It was a beautiful pre-spring day here yesterday. I took this photo on Calander Bay while I was catching a few rays on the ice while shooting the village of ice shacks that are slowly being returned back to shore.

This past weekend was our annual, the 14th, foray into Kemptville for the Oldtimers Hockey Tournament and our mini reunion. As usual, way too much fun!!!

First Day on the Planet

Our newest member of the family, Emmy Lis, daughter Mair and Ryan's baby, arrived this morning shortly after 2 o'clock. She's beautiful.

And what a haul of gold it was!!! A record number of gold at a winter Olympics! I guess "Own the Podium" meant "Own the Top Tier of the Podium!!!"

I think this photo pretty much sums up the Olympic men's hockey tournament. Go Go Gold, Canada!!

Starting at 12 noon, Pacific Time, all the hockey marbles are up for grabs as the gold medal game between Team USA and Team Canada will get under way. In Canada, you will be hard pressed to find many Canadians anywhere but in front of a TV to watch the match. Following the game there will be great celebrations and wailing and gnashing of teeth regardless of the outcome for one side or the other.

GO FOR GOLD CANADA

Hot on the heels of the Canadian women winning gold in hockey, and gold, in my opinion, for celebrating at center ice after the game - take that idiot IOC directors - it's time for the Canadian men's hockey team to start their march to gold with a semi-final game tonight at 6:30pm Vancouver time against the Slovaks. Game on!!

Not only did Canada record 1 gold medal, 2 silver medals and a bronze medal at the Olympics yesterday, but it thrashed the Russian hockey team in the quarterfinals 7-3 en route to a semi-final match on Friday against Slovakia. Slovakia? Crickey!

The Killer Strawberries Hockey and Gentlemen's Club started the playoffs last night on a winning note by besting the Free Agents 6-1. If we win the next three games, we will repeat as league champions; however, we have our work cut out for us.

I'm sure the "kneeling" prayer area in front of this shrine at the old Mattawa Hospital is pretty well worn out - the old hospital was "kaput" and the new one has been built.

This old log building in Mattawa has certainly seen better days (more photos on Mike de Moree's site - see links on the right). It doesn't look like it's slated to be torn down, yet there also seems to be little effort to maintain it, other than plywood over windows and some blue tarping on the roof. It's got a great view of the Ottawa River and the Quebec highlands.

About halfway down Mattawa's Main Street is a wide lane way that features a very large mural on the walls of the buildings on one side. Here is a portion of that mural. I guess it's always summer time in Mattawa.

Small northern towns aren't noted for their old historic buildings in the center of their towns. They are few and far between. The harshness of the area doesn't lend itself to austere and wealthy displays of architecture. Here is a chip shop and former motel, now apartment units, on the main street of Mattawa. Considering the town's penchant for large wooden sculptures of people, I'm surprised there isn't one in front of this place.

The wait time in Mattawa at Vets Taxi may be awhile (I think they may have a cab), but the view to Quebec over the Ottawa River should make up for the wait; although, it does get a bit cold in the winter. I'm also pretty sure hailing a cab in Mattawa is totally out of the question.

The Moon Cafe in Mattawa

If you ever get to Mattawa, stop in and say hi to Bev and Lorne at the Moon Cafe. Have some refreshments or sample their excellent, somewhat non-traditional, menu items. They host an array of excellent musicians throughout the year including Brock Zeman and Valdy.

The following photos were taken on a "walk-about" around the old Mattawa hospital. I think it's pretty apparent the building has been neglected for some time. I'm guessing the neglect began long before the construction of the new hospital. It's hard to imagine that the old hospital was still being used as recently as 6 or so months ago.

This is a side entrance doorway "patio" to the hospital.

Looking up at the east side of the hospital, complete with old style balcony.

This is a rear view of the hospital complete with shipping and receiving area.

The shipping and receiving area of the old hospital.

The east end of the Mattawa Hospital.

Mike, Bob and I were in Mattawa on Friday afternoon to take some photos of the Mattawa Hospital, photo shown (check out the link to Mike deMoree photos for additional Mattawa Hospital photos). This is now an abandoned building as the town recently built a new hospital. The old one was used as recently as 6 months ago and is in great dis-repair. Some folks would like to see the old building preserved as a heritage site; however, upon closer inspection, photos to follow later, it is pretty obvious there is not much to preserve. It is pretty apparent it will be knocked down, and I bet a condo will re-surface in its "wake," that will have a fabulous view overlooking the junction of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers and the Quebec highlands.

As I was heading out to work yesterday morning I noticed this group of deer walking along the ice in front of our place beyond the pressure crack. They were the same group I almost mowed down last night around midnight as I was returning home from hockey. Lucky for them, and me, I wasn't going fast, and I have anti-lock brakes.

OK, let's go back in time, way back. Who can remember Texaco gas and Fire Chief? Who can remember non-digital readouts of the gas price and volume? Who can remember the little doo-hickey at the top of the pumps that spun around as the gas flowed from the pump into the car's gas tank? If you answered yes to any or all 3 of these "burning" questions, you are a certifiable old-timer.
Oh, by the way, Anonymous, this morning it's -25C, and to me that is crappy as I much prefer the scale on the other side of zero.

It's -17C this morning, and I'm thinking of warm Pacific waters off the coast of Costa Rica.

Shoreline photo of the south side of Trout Lake.

Sunny, hot on the trail of the local deer population.

The Hockey Bench

We'll be using the nets today, and the dock will be the bench for our pond hockey game.

Here is our neighbour's rink. You could put 5 or 6 of these inside ours.

Pressure crack zig zags along the shoreline.

Ice lifting up due to the pressure crack.

In the 12 winters we've lived on the lake we have never had a pressure crack so large dominate the ice surface in front of our place. This one started off as fairly large, so we thought, last weekend, but since the early week cold snap it really expanded. It cracked about 400 feet off shore, and it zigzags along for about 2 km. In places it's 10 feet across and the ice is piled up 3 to 4 feet high in spots. Both Sunny and I refused to cross over it - as we approached it we could hear the ice cracking again. This is a relatively small crack in comparison to ones on Lake Nipissing at this time of the year, but for Trout Lake in our area, it's huge.

Whoa, now here's a "golden oldie!!" Here is the junior team I played with in 1970-1971 in Lahr, Germany. We were called the Lahr Junior Canadians, but probably other names we forget or didn't know about. Can you spot me, or anyone else for that matter?

We rarely get pressure cracks this big in front of our place on the lake. This one is over one kilometer long. Since it formed, it has cracked again and is now about two feet wider and buckled (picture to follow??).

Sunny, doing what she loves to do most, running flat out.

With just a skiff of snow on the ice, the wind sure makes some interesting patterns, and the "Wolf Moon" helps with the lighting. This almost looks like what Neil Armstrong stepped onto when he landed on the moon.

Yesterday afternoon/evening Mr. P. helped me scrape off the ice and give the rink a first flood. The rink measures 110 feet by 100 feet. It took 1 1/2 hours to flood the rink, and we were like popsicles after it was done -> it required two large hot whiskeys each after for us to start to thaw out.

How ccccold is it? -27C this morning. Brrrr. Sort of makes you want to roll over and stay under the covers. What is it with the "western" work ethic that you get up and go to work like everyday is the same, regardless of the weather conditions. I'm hoping the truck starts.

Here is our neighbour's house with the windmill on shore shown in yesterday's post. The windmill's not huge, but most "cruisers" on the lake putt putt slow close to shore, so it is easy to spot.

This is the windmill on the shore of our lake at our neighbour's house. I use it for directions when I talk to folks about how to find our place in the summer via boat. For some reason they rarely figure it out, saying they can't find the windmill. I guess observation and perception do vary greatly in people.

The Killer Strawberries Hockey Club

Here we are last night fresh from another victory. So far this season we've recorded 2 losses and 1 tie, and the rest of the games were wins. The only player absent last night was Warrin' Peace.

Sunny and I went for a walk on the lake on Saturday before I snowblowed the "I hope it works out" skating rink. A couple of kms from our place is an old 1960's type cottage that has since been converted to a full time house. It has, however, retained its 60's look and original siding colour.

Sunset over skating rinks just off our place yesterday evening.

I took Sunny for a run on the lake this afternoon, and the ice conditions suggested to me that it was a good time to start to make a skating rink > afterall, rain is in the forecast for the next day or two, and then a cold snap is coming to settle in. So, clear the snow from the ice for the rink (2 hours of snowblowing) while spending some fab time outside on a beauty day, then wait for the warm spell to arrive, drop some rain and then cold freeze - voila > a rink with a nature provided 1st flood.

Beauty day today on the lake > just above 0C and sunny.