Yesterday it was minus 2 Celsius but felt like minus 10 with the wind. The very large and pleasant bay a few minutes walk from my home, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, is still completely frozen over. Today however there may be a flurry of activity around the dozen or so ice fishing huts on the bay as the temperatures are forecast to rise to 10 degrees, with rain, so the long-time residents who ice fish will be wondering how much longer their huts can remain, and when they need to get out with their snowmobiles or vehicles to tow them back in to shore. Otherwise, they lose their hut - typically one a year ends up on the bottom of the bay, but it's been a while since anyone lost a pickup truck!
In the winter the 200 or so swans that live on the bay migrate just 80 kilometers west to open water on Lake Ontario warmed by the outfall from a nuclear power plant. This nesting pair however don't like the bay, or maybe just value their privacy, and for many years have lived by the storm drainage pond in our community. Like them we've migrated most of the last few winters so I'm not sure if this is their normal pattern, or something new, but this year they have flown back 'home' every time there is a hint of warm weather to check out their place. I'm not sure if this time they are back for good - I suspect not, because if it gets cold again in a few days and the pond starts to freeze over they will fly back to the nuke plant. Once they do return for good we'll soon see a nest on the shore in the tall rushes, and eventually, some cygnets!
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