From winter...


The groundhog got it wrong. On 2 February – Groundhog Day – Ontario’s own Wiarton Willie headed out of his burrow. Legend says that if he sees his shadow he’ll rush back in, heralding at least six more weeks of winter; if he doesn’t, an early spring is on its way. This year, he stayed out – but the snow kept falling until the last days of April. (Will this cause Ontarians to lose faith in Willie? We suspect not. Such is the groundhog’s renown that when his predecessor moved to the great burrow in the sky, his casket was given a ceremonial funeral and paraded through the town.)


Fortunately, there is plenty to do here during a long winter. In March we enjoyed spectacular views of Niagara Falls – far less crowed than in the summer, and even more striking in flurries of snow. Boats can’t travel through the frozen plunge pool but we enjoyed our ‘journey behind the falls’ to see the icy cascade, and it was fun to pop over Rainbow Bridge for lunch in the USA.


Back in Toronto, it’s usually only dog-walkers who venture out in the snow. The woods and deserted paths of High Park were like a scene from Narnia, its muffled ravines stark and beautiful. By the lake, the Tommy Thompson nature reserve was much quieter without its usual feathered inhabitants, but locals made their way around on skis and snowshoes. It all seemed like a totally different world from the spring that would eventually follow....


Comments

  1. Love the photos of Niagra Falls in the snow and with ice - beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful photos- very atmospheric! Think I will limit my trips to summer and autumn though!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Canadian coffee culture

Partying and puppets

Algonquin