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puzzle pieces

Friday, February 11, 2011

My Canadian Day at the Lake

Before anyone starts thinking...or continues thinking, that Canada is a frozen tundra that never thaws and all we do is hunt caribou and ice fish and live in ice homes.......
we don't.
We do have 4 seasons and actually are able to lay on our sandy beaches for a couple months out of the year and get a tan.
{Although that time isn't now.}

 Trying to make the most of every season we get,
 and as winter seems to be upon us for a tad longer than we'd like-
well....... it's good to defy it any way we possibly know how.

I was able to do something I had never done before the other day.
Ice Fish.

It was a wonderful day and the experience of it all was 
something I could get used to.
~Funny~
I've lived here always and have never gone out and taken advantage of our lakes of ice.
I knew they must be good for something;)

Hauling out our food supplies.


(I always wondered how you dug a hole out of the ice.)

Duke thought his water dish a bit strange.

Had a ton of help putting up the Ice Fishing hut.

And let the fishing begin......
(A look down into a tunnel of ice.....look close enough and you can see the bottom of the lake.
Eerily Awesome.)


Of course Canadian winter sports need to include the Snowmobile,
and the sleds that get pulled behind at top speed:


And of course the typical fare of....

The Polar Bear Drama.....
.....and The Snowball Fight.

Of course, just make sure to obey the signs:
really people......SERIOUSLY????
APRIL?
(ugh)

~Long Live the Canadian Winter~

37 comments:

angela walker jewelry said...

Looks like so much fun Dawn! Your kids are going to have such great memories!
Hugs to you,
Angela

TexWisGirl said...

That's a great outdoor activity for the family! Duke included!! Looks like you were properly outfitted for it, but I bet is was plenty cold... April?! UGH!

Jimmy said...

I can say this is a type of fishing I have never done before, it looks like you had a ball, the extra things going on around the fishing seemed to make it all worthwhile--April huh

Randy said...

What an adventure! I love that last photo Duke looks wiped out after a day of fishing.

Meg said...

Looks like it was a ton of fun! Love the picture of the dog vs. polar bear. :D

Miss Debbie said...

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello! It is always nice to meet someone new. Hope you will visit again! Looks like you all had a great time!

darlin said...

Fantastic post! What fun and I love your Canadian mitts!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

I've always wanted to go ice fishing. It really does look interesting (albeit cold). Very cool, thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

BRRRR...too cold for me but my goodness that does look like an amazingly great time.
Yes I agree with the others, what beautiful memories you all are making.
So hey, did you catch any fish?

Joe said...

I've never tried ice fishing but it looks like fun especially the snowmobile part :).

Nancy said...

Embracing and participating in your winter environment -- love this!

Leah J. Utas said...

I did some ice fishing when I was young. Nothing so elaborate though.

Jack said...

Um, thanks but I think I have a conflicting engagement any time you are going ice fishing . . .

sage said...

I haven't done any ice fishing this year. My general thought is that ice fishing (like bowling) is a poor excuse to drink beer. But if there are walleyes (and I didn't see any on your fire!)... As always with you and your camera, great photos!

Farm Girl said...

I totally would go with you, I have always wanted to go ice fishing and have my own fish shack. It looks like the best day and I would love to go on one of those sleds. gosh what a fun day. I loved all of the pictures!

Out on the prairie said...

What a lot of fun Dawn. I like the fish when they come through that ice even better than when it is warm.I am down to a few trout in the freezer.

floweringmama said...

Looks like a great family activity. Here in the South if it gets below 30 degrees we're freezing, wearing 17 layers of clothing, and turning the heat up to where it runs nonstop!

Inger said...

I know my Samson, the Samoyed pup, would have loved to be on this outing and would have played with your dog until they both fell asleep in a heap in the snow.--Inger

Michelle said...

It does kind of look like fun, but TOO COLD!! I have become such a sissy about winter. I did spend many years growing up in Minot, North Dakota, but have lost my cold weather touch.

Rambling said...

Great post. Duke really does resemble a polar bear ...

LBB said...

So much fun!! Looks like such a great day :)
We go to MN (way up north- 150 miles from Canada )every summer & our friends always tells us how much fun they have on the lake in the winter.
We're planning on heading up to Canada after our stay in Mn this year. I just have to see how beautiful the boundary waters are!

Hope said...

thank for sharing your wonderful day. Great photo's as usual Dawn!

Discovery Street said...

i cannot believe they make clothes warm enough for this kind of activity!

PS...more pics of dogs in the snow...too cute for words!

CountryDreaming said...

Well now, guess my ethnicity of part French Canadian makes some sense given my love of winter! That said, I used to visit Crystal Beach, Ontario in Southern Canada plenty of times during the summer back in the good old days, loved the amusement park as well as the beach. "Laff in the Dark" was the best!

Lynette Jacobs said...

It is wonderful to see that you are making the most of your icy weather. I have never been in snow in real life...it never gets that cold here...our winters are a "chilly" 16 degrees Celcius. I think I will just go and visit somewhere and come back to my sunny home a few days later;-D

Tiggeriffic said...

I used to take my boys ice fishing when we lived in Ohio. They just loved it~! Thanks for the pictures, that was marvelous~! I think that would be fun to ride behind a snowmobile on a sled or inner tube.
Have a tiggeriffic day~! Glad you all stayed warm. The food looked good cooking on the fire. Kum Ba Ya~!
ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Elizabeth Grimes said...

That's great! Looks like so much fun. My goodness, Duke is getting big. :)

Tracy said...

Dawn,
I'm not a cold winter fan but that actually looks like a lot of fun! What an experience to have at least once in your life~
thanks so much for sharing that with us...

Hilary said...

So how much ice did you catch? ;)

Deb said...

now that is some cold fishing...I love your photos...

Rick said...

Great series, Dawn ! And Duke looks totally at home in that environment. The only photo(s) missing were those of the catch - or are you saving those for another post ?

;-)

Brian King said...

How cool! It's obvious you guys had a GREAT time! Love the pictures!

Dawn said...

Wellll...I COULD tell all of you a grand fish Tale.....about the one we caught almost 2 feet long weighing as much as my 9 year old....but no....there was only about 3 that size biting.
But they got away;)

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Oh what a fun time that was!! I've never gone ice fishing so it was quite the eye opener! I love the look on the dogs & thanks for stopping by the Hollow, Spring is coming soon!...:)JP

Barbie said...

How much fun. I have only ever seen stuff like this on the TV - I would love to be a part of it.

Carole Barkett said...

You're right, the only way to get through a winter is to take advantage of the opportunities to ice fish, skidoo etc

Jordanna said...

hahaha... love the ice hut!! I've never seen ice fishing before. So do you sit inside that little hut? Or is that for the fish... :) So glad you got to have a new experience in the midst of your long winter!