What we’d call a snow day
In Asheville, snow shuts down the city. We call snow days for school and local government if there’s more than a couple of inches of snow (although to be fair, we usually have ice along with the package).
Here in Quebec (we’re near the village of Le Bic, in about the farthest reaches of the city of Rimouski on this side of the incorporated city, in Bas St. Laurent, at the base of the Gaspe Peninsula), a snowstorm means business as usual. The nearby highway, the major route along the St. Lawrence River, was traveled all day (at about a quarter of the volume in the summer season!)
The daily freight train, on the nearby tracks, came through once today, loaded down with wood chips, constructed silos, and stacked truck containers — this line goes, now on restored track, all the way through to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We ventured out along our road with our short ski/snowshoe hybrids in the fresh snow — great fun. Tomorrow, we’ll head over to the park to one of our favorite biking trails for a skiing excursion.
Otherwise, it was a snow day for us, keeping the fire going in the vintage Belanger wood stove (it’s amazingly efficient) and baking fresh whole-grain bread, as I’ve done for decades and cooking a chicken in broth to eat with potatoes and sautéed veggies.
The “oven” in the Belanger stove keeps temperatures of 350° F quite easily; I’ll have to try baking bread in it! The space is a lot larger than I remembered. And of course, the stove top is ideal for cast iron cooking, too. An entire new venture!
These photos from skiing this morning tell it all -- getting ready near the "solarium" at the front of the house and then the red cheeks from the brisk wind coming back.
Here in Quebec (we’re near the village of Le Bic, in about the farthest reaches of the city of Rimouski on this side of the incorporated city, in Bas St. Laurent, at the base of the Gaspe Peninsula), a snowstorm means business as usual. The nearby highway, the major route along the St. Lawrence River, was traveled all day (at about a quarter of the volume in the summer season!)
The daily freight train, on the nearby tracks, came through once today, loaded down with wood chips, constructed silos, and stacked truck containers — this line goes, now on restored track, all the way through to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We ventured out along our road with our short ski/snowshoe hybrids in the fresh snow — great fun. Tomorrow, we’ll head over to the park to one of our favorite biking trails for a skiing excursion.
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| My gardening companion tending the Belanger fire box |
Otherwise, it was a snow day for us, keeping the fire going in the vintage Belanger wood stove (it’s amazingly efficient) and baking fresh whole-grain bread, as I’ve done for decades and cooking a chicken in broth to eat with potatoes and sautéed veggies.
The “oven” in the Belanger stove keeps temperatures of 350° F quite easily; I’ll have to try baking bread in it! The space is a lot larger than I remembered. And of course, the stove top is ideal for cast iron cooking, too. An entire new venture!
These photos from skiing this morning tell it all -- getting ready near the "solarium" at the front of the house and then the red cheeks from the brisk wind coming back.
Yummy looking bread. You have great adventures.
ReplyDeleteWhole-wheat flour with raisins, dried cranberries, and walnuts. The flour I bought here seemed very robust -- nice.
DeleteYep, that looks like serious snow. We are frozen but snowless here.
ReplyDelete