There are several ways to reconcile oneself with the reality of January in Atlantic Canada. In many ways a recoiling and full retreat to indoors, or fleeing south, make perfect sense. Temperature variation, precipitation in all forms, shuddering Nor’ Easters and the driveway waltz that glides with the to and fro of the “Env Canada weather radar rhythms” are order of the month. Indeed, there has been a lot of snow shifted around the yard this winter!
We, however, started the New Year with noses directly into the wind and sub-zero temperatures. Ms L and I opted for a winter camp weekend, answering downright frigid conditions under the strobe of a Wolf Moon to muster two productive overnighters in Upper Whitehead. Hearty meals, fresh air, chore-based exercise and superb, well deserved sleeping were core to the trip. Great start to the 2026 “camp season”.
And, of course, no January seems complete without what’s become an annual gathering for a Rankin’s Winter Warmer. We get to hang with the Chittys and the rest of the Stanfest family as well as connect with the kids / their friends. They include us in the weekend festivities like a favorite sweater that belongs to your Dad❤️. Music, food, and laughter ruled a fun Halifax weekend… privileged to be part of it all! Our rainy day “Big Brunch” at the Bluenose before home seems to be a real hit as we maxed out some seating for our group of eight (see pic).
What else 🤔? Ah… we organized another late month session with guitar, grub and Guinness to round out the “bring it” theme. The lads were in great form and although I’m super rusty, it’s always great fun to share a tune or add something complementary for another. Good for the soul… and hopefully a healing moment for the ills we carry. Some “tech” at this session… a few microphones set up, boys sharing pedal options, and we tracked the majority of songs sung so Troy could build a nifty Spotify playlist (now we could all snag a piece of the fun whenever there was a bunch of downtime). A very solid session! As Troy said post ditty, “My cup is full”!
Whoa… and a super “whomp” of snow in the last week of January where we missed two days of school. It was a very different storm. We are used to getting big snowfalls when the temperatures are close to 0°C, but this was an arctic snowfall with double digit below zero temps and light, fluffy snow. Made clean up easier on both myself and the gear. Janie ended up with an interrupted exam week and gotta say my merry gang were a bit out of sync as well. But hey… we go years without many snow days at all so we’re okay with the broken routine.
As for camp… we snuck in one more visit at the end of month when ice safety returned. It takes lots of extra work this time of year… from shovelling a parking spot / around camp to lugging wood and clamouring about with snowshoes. Camp Lumsden is so photogenic with freshly fallen snow and, in our case, full moons on our first and last visits of the month. Excellent challenge… with a lot calories burned up and fresh air in the lungs. So worth all the effort though, and when Janie and I return we’re dragging our butts! Great way to end a month of chilly temps, nestled in the confines of Smelt Lake.