November 3^rd, 2002:

It was warmer this morning, only about –4°, but overcast and windy. It likely feels colder than some of the days earlier in the week when the temperature was –17° but the sun was shining, and very little wind. I guess we are getting used to winter when we greet our neighbors with “Lovely day, eh?” when the temperature is ten degrees below normal!

There are some sure signs of winter around the Park - the odd snowmobile track, traffic signs for snowmobiles in the Park, and Dennis and Janet Szafron working on the Kelvington snowmobile trail. Dennis said there have already been a lot of man-days spent on it, clearing deadfall, and now they are working on shrubs and saplings that were bent over by the early snow and are in the way of the groomer. If we believe the weatherman on the radio, November is supposed to be warm and dry, something to do with El Niño. Maybe that crop will come off yet!

Bitter cold on Wednesday; there was still a dark streak where the geese hang out, about a couple hundred yards north of the Marina, but I couldn’t tell if there was any open water or not. On Thursday, I could see a definite strip of open water, so the geese must take turns keeping it open. A bunch will fly off to feed, but there are always some by that open water. I walked on the ice from the marina home and it was quite firm. Mind you, I didn’t walk too far from shore, and I certainly didn’t walk out to where the geese were.

That was an interesting walk. There was a set of coyote tracks across the unblemished snow into a reed bed. I got a different slant on the vacant benches along the beach. There is a lovely birch on shore east of our cottage; so far, the beavers have left it alone. There were two boats pulled up on shore barely above the water line - owned, no doubt, by two optimists (if they expect to use them again this year) or pessimists (if they think the water won’t rise enough in the spring to float their boats away) or maybe one of each.

Speaking of beavers, they have been active on Norgrove Island in the Marina. They got all the poplars long ago, and what birch I could see have been ringed so will die. Now they are crossing the road and cutting trees and brush on the hillside in front of the log cabins. Luckily, some forward-thinking soul planted spruce on the Island when it was built, and the beavers don’t touch them.

Hallowe’en is over for another year. When the kids were small, I always got to carve the jack o’ lantern; this year I decided to try it again. Doreen’s pumpkin plants grew lots of pretty flowers but no pumpkins, so she bought a nice one. Personally, I think I did a pretty good job. We had only three kids around for treats, and they all came together. There just aren’t too many kids of “Trick or Treat” age around here, and those few likely prefer to go to one of the towns where the pickings are better.

Lorna Soll phoned me Thursday evening; she had just heard from Lenny McKenzie that Don Moore had a massive heart attack and died that morning. He was 53. Don and Colette Moore owned the Cove until early 2001 and are known to everyone that visited the Cove. They now live in Rimby, Alberta. Lenny worked for them for years as a waitress. Sincere condolences to the Moore family, and thanks to Lenny and Lorna for letting us know.

George Renneberg told me he is getting anxious to start fishing again.  He dragged his fishing shack down by the water and drilled a hole - the ice was about 2½ inches thick. That was off the Uskatik peninsula. He went back again after a day or two and the ice was only one inch thick, so he decided to leave his shack on shore for the time being. It sounds as if just because the ice is firm today it doesn’t necessarily mean it will still be firm tomorrow. The less thickness of ice there is, the more impact currents, etc., will have on it.