January 30, 2012

Mother nature is making a fool of me. Friday morning the conditions were disastrous. Friday mid day, everything changed. Snow fell and the weekend became a winter wonderland. I think between Friday and Saturday night we probably got about 10 - 12 cm of snow and many people took advantage of it.

Thanks Bill and Leanne for this amazing shot!

So now that we have snow and ice, it's time to discuss the upcoming events.
Sunday, Feb 5 - Super Bowl Party
Join us at the marina to watch the Super Bowl game. Lots of food, friends and fun is the only way to take in the game.

Tuesday, Feb 14 - Valentines Dinner
This year we have Chef Colin Wraight from Take Home Gourmet to cater a scrumptious 5 course palette pleaser. Book your reservation before Feb 8th to ensure your seat at a table. See the menu

Feb 18 and 19 - Family Day Weekend Activities
Once again this year we will be having a weekend of fun. Some of the activities include snow golf, curling on the lake, ice sculpting and flag/frisbee football. Plan now - get your teams or family together to win prizes.

January 27, 2012

Roads are impassable. Unless you really have to come up today or if the weather changes, I recommend you not try to come up this weekend. (as much as I hate to say that!)
This morning when I took Zascha for her morning walk, she slipped and fell multiple times - even with her long nails. Going up the hill, she looked like she was doing the Michael Jackson moon walk. Luckily I had my cleats on so I was able to help her. So... if Zascha can't walk on the roads, I can only imagine what the driving might be like.

January 24, 2012

Well, last weekend was spectacular. We had a great dumping of snow on Thursday and then the snow stayed until Monday.
What a difference a day makes. It poured rain most of the day yesterday and then got cold. The roads up here were impassable. Several people who live on 93 had to park here last night and walk across the ice to get home. There were a lot of cars in the ditch too.
The sanders have since been out and things are returning to normal but there are still slipery roads and when I came home tonight we were having more freezing rain.

We lost a lot of snow in these last 2 days unfortunately. I haven't been out since last week, but from what I see, I think the trails might be in trouble. Having said that, they did stake Stoney Lake on Sunday.

Our lake is a complete skating rink. I think I'll get my skates on tomorrow. I think there is still enough ice but I'll check before I go too far.

January 12, 2012

I love it when the ice comes in. Unfortunately, this year the ice doesn't seem to be as good as other years. People are riding the lake with sleds and four wheelers, but they are finding big slushy spots - which no one wants to test. I don't blame them. I haven't even been out on my sled yet. Not just because of the ice but also because of the lack of snow.
But because of this morning, I think that will change soon. We had a nice dumping of snow through the night. Not a lot but enough to give some traction. It's wet, heavy snow and only about 5 cm but it's a start and it's still snowing. Yippee!

Yesterday was the first day of curling and, like last year, the men dutifully came, swept the rink and then had an enjoyable game. They were shy one person so they invited me to play. You know, my team was winning until I was pulled away to deal with something else. Then they proceeded to lose by quite a margin. I wonder what that means? Ha!

Friday night dinners started again last week and we had quite a turnout. Thanks to all of you who support this little marina. My staff and I really do appreciate it.
On Saturday night we also hosted a special private function which was really well attended. Happy Birthday Chuck and thanks to Donna for organizing such a fun event.

Hope to see you all this weekend with smiley, happy winter faces.

January 4, 2012

Ice update
Just heard from Les and Verna. The ice is not good in Portage Bay. Two inches of good ice and then water and then slush and white ice on top.
Also heard reports that there is open water by Pine Island.
So, before going out on the ice, please check that your path is safe.

January 3, 2012

Happy New Year

Isn't this a nice cold snap?
We certainly needed it!

Yesterday, Ken and Sam came over to drill a hole in front of the marina so we could measure the ice. At that time we had 3 inches of black ice and 4 inches of slush on top.
Today, Jordan, Dean and Eric walked across the channel from the peninsula near the dam to the marina and chopped holes on their way. The slush had turned to ice overnight.
As it stands now, at minus 18 C, we have 3 inches of black ice and about 3 to 4 inches of white ice. As I type this, I'm hearing ice booming.
By the weekend, we are expecting a little warmer weather and according to the weather man, only plus 2 so I hope we're good.

It's been a slow start to this season but I think we're on the way to our winter wonderland.