Winter at Bayfield Mews

Now that we have been at our new home in Bayfield Mews for 6 months or more, we thought it was time for an update even though we're not travelling very far. I was going to just do one post for the 6 months, but too many pictures for that. So there will be 3 posts, one each for winter, spring and early summer. This post will be the intro, although some of the winter activity was covered in the  previous 2 (February) posts.

Since we were later than expected moving in to the new place, we had decided to not head south to Arizona this winter. We did intend to head south in late winter or spring though, maybe along the US Atlantic coast to the Carolinas or so. However the virus laid those plans to rest, as it has for the plans of many others. That's been our major disappointment in our new digs; now that we have the freedom to lock the door and travel, we can't. Not really complaining though, we know we have things so much better than some.

It was a mild winter here, but still "real winter". There were few major storms though, and local travel was generally no problem.

The Lake Huron shores are only a 15 minute walk from our home, so we walked there quite often and watched the lake freeze and thaw over time:

Even though it was a mild winter, we did get some snow and drifting:

Looking at a drift out our back door

We don't get snow removal service at the back

I kept the patio clear, so we could use the door if needed

In March we took a short day trip to a beach in Kincardine, which is also on Lake Huron:

Ice pack on the summer beach

Looking back at the shoreline

Also in March we went to a nearby area that is host to migrating waterfowl, mainly Tundra Swans. This is near the Lambton Heritage Museum, off Hwy 21 near the Pinery Provincial Park. We found lots of swans:

Two of the many hundreds of swans

A very windy day, the windmills in the background were really going

As mentioned earlier, we saw many freeze/thaw cycles in the lake on our walks. As March wore on, the lake opened up:

Looking at the Bayfield River mouth and pier from Pioneer Park

We also got for another walk at the Bannockburn Conservation Area, much less snow than in February: