It's a mild day in mid-winter at the farmette. Only 0C, which is waayyy warmer than it has been recently. Yesterday, after a serious couple of hours shopping for discounted winter clothes at the local MacGregor's store (great deals!), my sister and I went on a hike along the Saugeen, which happens to meander pretty close to the farmette. She wanted to check out the route I take about four or five days a week, since I started this whole 'getting healthy' kick.
The weather was warm, the sun was out, there was no wind (which, at times, can cut your eyes out) and the river was really splendiferous. As a result, we went much further than I normally do. The trail, like the river, goes right into the heart of Durham. The access is just behind the Northern Credit Union parking lot.
There's a walking bridge that connects the two halves of the town. Highway Four also actually goes over the Saugeen as it dipsy doodles through some of our streets and emerges on the west side to continue on to Hanover.
Yesterday, because of the melt, the water was running really fast, which meant the ice formations were amazing. All along the sides were these lacey wedding-cakey tiers where the water had splashed up and frozen. They also kind of looked like bony skeleton fingers, if that's where your brain wanders. Which is where ours did.
Apparently, the Saugeen provides pretty well in the fishing department - in the right season. Brook, brown and rainbow trout, pike, bass, perch and even the odd salmon make their way along the winding stretch through Grey and Bruce counties to where it dumps into Lake Huron at Southampton.
Have to see if we can get out and catch some of those in the spring. Can you imagine? Fresh trout for dinner. YUM! The Conservation Authority says it's also a pretty good ride if you're a canoeist. There are fast-flowing bits and leisurely slow bits and the scenery is spectacular. But maybe I'm biased.
Of course we had to stop along the way to take the requisite selfie. Still can't really friggin' get the hang of it...look at the flat line of my mouth while I tried NOT to hit the wrong button for the third time.
Anyhow. All in all, it was a great leg-stretcher, and we got to catch up on all the goings-on in our respective and very busy lives. Living near the river - especially since I've been visiting pretty much every day - is fantastic. Sharing it with my sister was even better. Until next week.
