New Year Celebrations were
quieter this year and the mild weather of December continued for the most
part until the third week of J anuary
and even then, a few very cold days/nights gave way to mild spells and
well above normal conditions...
...not optimal for making ice for fishing or grooming trails for snowmobiling.
The OPP continued to warn and many did not heed as both trucks and snowmachines got wet. Nearly all water/ice crossings were closed until the last 10 days of January. A lousy start for many.
But the snow came... and then it came again...
By Jan 23rd ice fishing is pretty well in full swing, and from what we hear, the fishing is the best it has been in years, at least out at Perch Alley where large Pickerel/Walleye are also caught. Also by this day the OFSC trails are all open and so are the Ice crossings.
... and again...
... and of course the sunsets continue...
Late January saw our first groups of Snowmobilers and IceFishers. The fishing continues to be the best it has been in years! The trails around town are beat up due to the thaw/mild temps we seem to have every 10 days or so... but most all trails are open.
View from Banner Avenue Jan 26
These groups of ice shacks are out by
Perch Alley about 4km from shore
By early February Snowmobiling finally was in full swing...
In the late evening we see all the traffic coming off the lake, these lights mostly from folk ice fishing out by Perch Alley
Here Kyle Hegedus with Bombardier is cooking up a storm for the group of aircraft modification specialists and test-pilots (Dynamic Aviation) for the SuperBowl Sunday Party... BeerCan Chicken (top rack) and tons of other food... and yes, sure was good!
Sunset Feb 5th
Torbay path to the Lake
That plowtruck in the first pic of this page is still in the ice... it has sunk a little farther down, and apparently Min. of Labour is now involved ... hmmm ... meantime the Speed Run track has been moved adjacent, with the Pond Hockey between it and the shore for the Feb 11/12 weekend.
Monster Pond Hockey Returns Just off the shore of
Lake Nipissing, near Torbay Cottages
Also
North Bay Snowmobile Speed Runs
race season returns
One whole day of fun on Wed Feb 8th Nearly 500 kids, 280 hamburgers, 220 hot dogs, 500 cups of hot chocolate. The 20 rinks cleared on Lake Nipissing for the Monster Pond Hockey Tournament were buzzing with activity Wednesday, with 52 teams from 17 schools taking part in the elementary school tournament.
The events were both well attended in spite of the cold and wind
Somebody is dreaming big numbers here lol
Setting Moon over
Finally the crew-cab truck is removed...
... coming 'home'
... and heading out .....
Through the middle of Feb we had a bit of snow, but overall no large hits and temperatures for the most part continued above the long-term normals
Still, the Lake has near 3ft of good ice, and while trails around town are beat up a bit, good riding is to be had throughout most of the region.
Feb 26th
The weather turned real cold for several days, improving on conditions after 30cm of new snow fell March 2nd. Trails were at their best of the season during the first week of March
However the outlook was/is dismal as we head toward March Break with the forecasts calling well above normal temps and sunshine... perfect Beach weather eh?
Meantime back at the Ranch ... a beautiful morning with frost on the trees!
Feb 28th And here we have the last
sledders of the season @ 7th March
It's Over now... ... and by mid March the weather went from Winter to Summer !
A week of record shattering weather brought temperatures into the low 20's deg. C and the snow just plain disappeared in a hurry. Here the Ice Shacks pile up along the shore with fishing over on the 15th.
The sunsets of course remain
spectacular as viewed from Torbay (this one March 17th - St. Patties Day)
Here is another major project underway... the full replacement of the sewer line on the south side of the property. What a Mess !
Sure signs of Spring,
however way early for these
Weather Records Sunrise Glow over Lake Nipissing March 23rd
Lake Ice is going... going ... BeachCam image from Mar 28
Ice piling high at Sunset Point
It's a bit early for the ice to be off Lake Nipissing, according to records kept by The Nugget for the past 111 years. The lake was declared free of ice Wednesday (April 11) after strong winds Easter weekend pushed what remained onto shorelines, leaving only a few bays with ice for a couple more days.
The earliest date The Nugget declared Nipissing free of ice was April 3, 1945 and the latest was May 19, 1926. Other than two years ago when the ice was off April 8, 2010, all the declarations for the past 25 years have been between April 22 and May 11. Interestingly enough, during the first 25 years of ice-off record keeping, the story appears similar. Other than April 6, 1910 and seven times between April 13 and April 21, most of the declarations 1901 to 1926 were between April 22 and May 19.
Post Script... the official Ice-Off date for 2012 = April 11th
Sunset 07th April =>
Early season Beach-Fun (Belisle family) 21st April
<= April 25th we had new Feathered Guests checking in.... Mom and Dad take turns sitting on two white eggs. The doves are remarkably patient with the comings and goings at our front door and especially of the BBQ activity immediately adjacent...
May 4th =>
For now you can view progress toward the
hatching on the
Here the Poitras mothers/daughters assembly for
Mother's Day 2012...
The Trilliums are out around mid May in these parts...
Sunset May 12th
Columbine
Brandy was actually 'hunting' these Geese and they were very vocal in their objection
Meantime you may have noted
that the Doves now have hatchlings
I have learned that unlike most birds, Doves tend to incubate their eggs continually. Since the male and female look alike, it appears the same bird is incubating the eggs the whole time. Actually, the male does a daytime
shift and the female does the night shift. If you are not around during
the change, Surprisingly, the offspring in this
photo of May 19th (below - right) look quite large already. These birds,
along with Pigeons, produce a food called pigeon milk (not really milk) by
glands in the crop of the adult bird. The mystical Native-American interpretation of the dove "The dove holds the
qualities of home, security and maternal instincts. "Doves hold the
energy of promise. When inner turmoil is cleared from our thoughts, words
and feelings,
I had not mentioned this earlier, however under the front deck, Robins have also nested at about the same time as the Doves, and these too hatched about the same time ... three little ones, however more difficult to get a good pic.
May Two-Four Long Weekend was busy at Torbay as well as sunny and Hot (30C). Here the Finlay family of Mother/Daughters is enjoying a calm early Sunday morning together.
And the fishing season opened ...
The partial solar eclipse viewed from Torbay May 20th
Nature takes it's course and so I
managed two pics of the Dove hatchlings
Such a beautiful sunny and hot weekend
27 May
Clamatus @ Cottage # 4
Cute as they are, the Ducks are a
really messy pain in the
04 June
Makra's Bailey diving in after the ball
DuringMay and June, Torbay has a lot of Friend &
Family re-unions
The Shad Flies are early this year... by at least a full week!
Storm 24 June Sunset also 24 June
June 28
June 27
Raghu & Family
July First 2012
a Greco Sunset July 8th
Poppy @ Cottage 6
Friday the 13th !!
The Seles & Gregor Families enjoying Summer. ===>
We have had a couple of weeks of mainly Sunny, Hot &
Dry
July 19
Nicky & Phil Doucette Family anticipating the sunset
July 26
The McLeod/Pettigrew teams having a game of ladderball on the beach
Sunset July 27
Sunset Aug 02
Sadly, 10 days after arriving home my father had a stroke, was then in hospital for 11 days during which time they also removed a cancerous bladder tumour (the reason for ending his cruising early). So Aug 3rd Dad returned home for the second time, slightly worse for wear with challenges in speech and writing.
Katrina & Melissa (did I get that right Jim?)
The Younis Girls on the eve of their arrival August
4th...
The Hot and Sunny was followed by big thunderstorms and tons of wind - loads of fun in the waves and on the toyz...
Sun and Heat returned August 6th ... and great to see the beach and lake full of activity
Andrea Chadwick with Mathew & Lauren in paddle boat Jim & Lynn Younis, Rayne Leef (in background)
Jim & Lynn with Randy Brokloff (right) The Girlzzz of Torbay
Jim and the ritual Bacon Fry
Part of the Younis and Chadwick families enjoying the lake
Master Brokloff with Barbara and Alex purple Dartura in the garden
The Seance
Barb & Randy - always happy ;-)
Praying Mantis guarding Beatrice's drink on the beach My father's friend Beatrice came to visit for a week from Switzerland
Labour Day 2012 saw Torbay fill up with the Toronto
Bingos
Blue Heron
Hummingbirds were around early September more so than other times this summer
Sunset Sep 4th
Cosmos, Sunflower and others
Flowers at Cottage 5
Sunflower by the shed visited by a bumblebee (below)
Cottage # 6 mid September
Clamatus @ Cottage 4
Sunset Sep 16th
October brought mostly fine weather until late in the month although the remnants of Hurricane Sandy brought little of concern to our region. As I write this early November New Jersey and New York are still in chaos and suffering and we found ourselves grateful once again as we head toward Remembrance Day Fall Colours Oct 2nd
No idea what these are called, but
they showed up
Sunset Oct 27th
Come mid-November Dad decided to set up residency at an apartment at Marina Point Village, a local assisted living facility. He remains independent, making most of his meals etc. Depending on how much recovery he manages with his speech, he may go on another cruise come next summer.
Meantime Torbay continues busy with corporate and business clients through November and into December and we enjoyed a wonderful week of mild weather which ended quite abruptly on the 23rd. Was a nice interlude in what is traditionally the month of least sunshine in our area.
As November turned into December the sand on the beach became snow by Dec 8th and the snow was to stay
By mid December it was like Winter
already and the Christmas Cactus is flowering
We wish for you a
wonderful Christmas Thanks for Visiting !
Check News2011 for 2011 Torbay changes and a-happenings Check News2013 for 2013 Torbay changes and a-happenings
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June 23
at the dock's end
