Falls Lake Winter Weekend

By mid-January, 2014, we had had enough of winter. This year was particularly brutal, and the entire east coast of Canada and the U.S. seemed to be getting bogged down, tired of being stuck indoors, and coming down with a serious case of cabin fever.

How better to cure cabin fever? Rent a cabin!

We headed back to Falls Lake again, only this time, it was a family affair. Three cabins, two days, ten people, and this guy:

Just what the doctor ordered!

We had planned on doing some coasting, maybe a snowball fight or a bit of skating, but there was a bit of a reprieve in the weather that week, and we were left with this:

Though those plans fell through, this crowd was not to be deterred, and there was no shortage of entertainment.

There was also no shortage of this:

to bring everyone a little closer together.

 Brother and sister:

and... well, NOT brother and sister.

 The weather on our first night was relatively mild, and quite beautiful.

Outside the cabin there was some fun with sparklers and fireworks

and some music and marshmallows around the campfire.

On Saturday there was a full course breakfast, a walk to the end of the lake, and some target practice!

Pellet gun:

Slingshot:

and designer targets!

There was also the discovery of this creepiness just outside one of our doors. Is it just me, or does this tree have a hand...

There was a bit more ridiculousness while we waited for turkey dinner.

and a lot more ridiculousness after turkey dinner.

That night it was a bit colder, but we lit up another campfire....

...and then something breathtaking happened.

It started to snow.

and snow.

and snow.

This didn't put a freeze on any of the outdoor shenanigans. 

In fact, it brought me back outside at one o'clock in the morning, camera and tripod in hand, because there was no way I was missing this:

or letting them miss this!

 The next morning, the whole place was transformed. The mild temperature made the snow stick to the trees like something out of an old-fashion Christmas movie, and there I was, at a cabin, on a lake, in the woods.

With my camera.

 

 In case you missed it:

                                            Saturday                                 vs                         Sunday

  It also gave our girl from Australia the all-Canadian photo op she had been hoping for:

 The drive home was quite treacherous, but everyone made it safe and sound. I took about a hundred more shots that morning, and it was still hard for me to leave with the lake looking like this:

and a heart full of gratefulness for memories of people that all too often look like this:

Rise and Shine

Every once in a while I witness something that makes me grateful I have to get out of bed and make my way downtown to work on a cold, dark January morning...