Every once in a while I need to break hibernation-mode and drag my unwilling body outside into the elements.
So it was that I found myself down on Woodbine Beach on a cold, windy Sunday morning.
There’s a reason why it’s called the “winter blues”. The dull grey skies create a blue-grey hue to the world. Although the days are getting noticeably longer, sunshine feels like a rare and precious commodity – especially on a day like this when we are expecting more snow.
Down by the water there was a -18C (0F) windchill and to my surprise, there was a paddle-boarder riding the waves.
I watched incredibly from the top of a 6-foot bank of snow and ice at the edge of the water. He couldn’t be seen from the shore and no one would know if he disappeared under the waves.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t check the battery strength on my camera before I left and in short order, my camera died in the cold. I had to resort to my phone for photos, which meant taking off my gloves.
Invigorated by the cold and stimulated by a brisk stroll along the boardwalk, I went home and promptly spent the rest of the day watching Netflix.
I had earned the right.
I love how they’ve added pops of color! We all could use pops of color during these long, cold gray winter days!
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I share your feelings. I just came home from the grocery store with 2 large bundles of yellow tulips. I have a serious need for colour right now.
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Netflix on cold days is a must. Certainly made me giggle.
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It’s a lifeline on some days! I suspect that you – like me – tend to gravitate towards those shows that might make me laugh 🙂
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Interesting
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As you know I am all for adventure but that paddleboarder looks completely over the top. Not jus the cold but as you say to be there alone seems a bit risky? Just my opinion. As to camera batteries and cold that does annoy me a great deal. My old phone was meant for tropical use only as well. Not such a great thing when one lives in Canada. 🙂
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I’m in agreement with you, Sue. There’s adventure, and then there’s recklessness bordering on stupid. I don’t need much encouragement to keep a healthy distance from that mark 😉
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I really like your title referring to the snow globe, pretty yet surreal. I am reminded how we can be invigorated by the cold. Great photos, Joanne, capturing the “blue-grey” hue of winter.
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Now that you mention it, there is a surreal element to a February landscape.
I remember my cousin telling me a story once about visitors they had from Australia many years ago. They were dumbfounded by the barren landscape at this time of year and likened it to the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. That description has always stuck with me. I guess that’s why we celebrate spring so much.
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You certainly did earn that right, brr! I can’t imagine the bravery and/or stupidity of the paddle-boarder; but that lone bike at the snowy bike rack looked forlorn. – Marty
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What amazed me were the number of people out on that chilly Sunday morning. The winter is long and tends to drag on. Eventually people feel the need to get out – regardless of the cold.
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that outdoor chess set up was pretty awesome.
I wonder if our paddle person had on some high-tech wet suit?
Hope so – but going solo is just not wise – esp in the weather.
and that winter art installation was nice color – what a great idea
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I’ve never seen this chess/checkers set up before down by the waterfront. It was in a lovely spot underneath a big tree that would be a perfect location in the heat of summer. On this particular day … not so much 😏
I do wonder what the little bucket was for though. I’m assuming game pieces?
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Yeah – I would assume game pieces too.
And you know what else had me thinking – have you heard of grounding or earthing?
It is where humans connect with the earth or nature to have physiological balance – the charge from the earth and from nature impacts our ions positively –
And so I wonder if sitting in a seat carved from a tree trunk would help balance the body – hmmm
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I have heard of it and it’s an interesting thought. Certainly sitting near that wonderful old tree would feel good, I’m guessing dead wood wouldn’t have the same effect … except it has to be more ‘grounding’ than a plastic chair.
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Yes – better than plastic and maybe not as much ions or earthing energy as it slowly erodes….
Hm
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Nothing like earning your Netflix!
I have a few IG pals who winter bathe. I … No.
Lovely shots inside the snow globe!
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Winter bathe? What the ….?
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Yes. Swimmers. Every day. In the north sea, English lakes. I don’t know. Not me.
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brrrr. No thanks!
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I applaud you for leaving the warmth of your home and venturing out. Love the bike frozen in the ice. But, that gentleman in the water – now there’s a person that needs a round of applause. Wow – youth. 🙂
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How to make a water sport more challenging? … do it in the winter! 😉
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I’m guessing that guy was going a bit stir crazy too, but the emphasis is on the word CRAZY! I wouldn’t go in that sea!
The path with the bare trees was pretty though.
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Winter does funny things to people – at both ends of the extreme 😏
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Haha Joanne you had us both chuckling about the Netflix after the escapade in the cold. That video made us shudder just to watch that guy out there braving the icy waves. He must be from Norway or Sweden or Siberia where this is normal behavior.
Your post brought back great memories from our years of living in Chicago. We used to go to the lake all the time in the winter with our dogs and even though it was often bitterly cold such as in Toronto, we always loved to see what the lake looked like with frozen icicles, frozen waves sometimes. Once our dog fell in and our son promptly followed, in order to rescue the love of his life. THAT was scary. Thankfully both were okay.
Stay warm.. sending you some sunshine rays from hot and humid Sri Lanka (80 degrees or so… sorrrryyyyyy)
Peta
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O.M.G. He went in?!! That would not be my first instinct. Amazing!
There is a lot of pretty about the winter – it just takes some effort to see it. Thanks for the bit of warmth. Much appreciated on this very chilly day!
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Ahhh! And I posted my first bee yesterday. Do you see how relative everything is in this world? Imagine your worries in comparison with mine. For you taking off your gloves is a severe risk, while I get to choose whether to wear a bra with the coat open, or I suffer in the heat of coat closed and no bra. 😀
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HAHAHAHAHA!!! omg – you made me laugh so hard!! 🤣
Thank you!! … I think I’m going to be giggling for a while after this one … 🤣
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Hihihiih!!
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You would be so much fun to spend time with … I can almost hear the giggling 😆
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So… fricking… cold. You deserve as much Netflix as you want. No need to even think twice about it.
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Thank you. I’m getting my money’s worth lately 🙂
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I actually know this beach!! Well, in the context that we walked to it from the city, thinking that there would be a nice path/boardwalk along the lake. Almost gave up trying to reach the shoreline! Found a boardwalk at the beach and finally enjoyed the walk! We cut back through Kew Garden (which made us smile) and caught a tram back to the centre! Very different then to what it looks like now (hot and humid in August) and we even sat outside and had a beer somewhere on the beach!
The paddleboarder must be crazy. As you say, what if he ran into difficulties.
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That’s so cool! Don’t you love it when you recognize a place you’ve been to a long time ago! btw – that’s a long walk from downtown!
Yes – the beach is very different In the winter. It always surprises me that I can’t actually see the waterline in the winter because of the buildup of ice and snow. It’s much more inviting in the summer 😉
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If we had realised how tricky it was to walk then we may have reconsidered, but by the time we reached Cherry Beach (?) we were so hot and bothered we just kept on walking as we didn’t want to that road back!
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Cherry Beach is right 🙂
I just mapped it and from downtown – say the Eaton Centre – to Kew Beach and it is between 7-9 km depending on the route you took. That would have been quite a walk on a hot and humid August day!
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We were pretty knackered!
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Yowsa! I don’t paddle board if it drops below 70 degrees! 😀
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There are levels of crazy and some days it’s more obvious than others 😉
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BINGO!
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You got some great shots and definitely earned the right to spend the rest of the day in the warmth of your home in front of the TV. 😃
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Thanks! It’s funny how I can justify spending a couple of hours in front of the TV because I spent about an hour outside in the cold 😆
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🤣👍
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Your braveness is commendable, Joanne. But be careful not to become like that surfer, who should be admitted to a psychiatric ward asap…
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Oh – that’s not likely going to happen any time soon. I fell through the ice on a lake once when I was young. Ending up in frigid water is not an experience I want to re-do 🥶
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That must’ve been terribly frightening!
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Good for you for getting out in the cold. Your pictures are terrific. That paddle boarder is completely out of his/her mind! Like you said, if any bad had happened it would be all over. I saw in one of your replies that you are watching The Umbrella Academy too… it is so much fun! Great music too.
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Isn’t The Umbrella Academy addictive?!! We have one more episode to watch and I’m going to be despondent when there aren’t any more. I hope there will be a 2nd season.
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Hard core paddle-boarders know no bounds!
You certainly did earn the right to a warm and cozy Netflix afternoon! 🙂
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I don’t go down to the waterfront in the winter very often, but seeing a paddle-boarder was a first. Definitely hard-core. Too crazy for me!
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As a total temperate-climate sissy, I’d say you not only earned Netflix but hot chocolate, wine, grilled cheese sandwiches, whatever you felt like.
Binge-watching TV is so much more satisfying than trying to find something in real-time. Roll on our winter so I don’t feel bad about not being outside in the evenings.
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Truth is, on very hot days in the summer, I retreat into the AC and binge-watch then too 😉
… and the wine and cheese in front of the fireplace was wonderful 🙂
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Haha… Su is right. I don’t have Netflix, but like nothing more than to curl up with a good book or watch a film I have recorded on a dull afternoon. Feels so naughty somehow when there is housework to be done. Oh, and please check your SPAM folder – I wrote a comment and it disappeared. Of course there is a chance this will too 😦
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Just scrolled back up to the top and my comment is there! Weird! It wasn’t when I wrote this…
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Sometimes I wonder if Netflix is really worth the money, especially since they increased the price considerably, but when we do use it, it’s nice to have 🙂
… and I agree that there is a feeling of decadence, bordering on naughty, about vegging in front of the TV in the middle of the afternoon.
I have seen your 2nd comment that you found your original comment. Strange things seem to be going on lately in the WP world. I did however check my spam folder since I haven’t been there in a while … just the usual.
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😀
Sorry to inconvenience you!
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Nah – it’s always good for a bit of entertainment 😉
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I’ve been doing much the same over the last couple of weeks — but with a bunch of books from the library 😀
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That paddle boarder is NUTS! And yes, I meant the caps. 🙂 I went out this morning after too many mornings of being inside. It was snowing just a tiny bit, so the sun wasn’t out. But it was absolutely glorious! The sun is out now, but to me, there’s something marvelous about being out early when all is silent and beautiful, silent that is except for the ever-present traffic noise in the background. Sometimes I can almost forget it’s there. 🙂
janet
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That’s my favourite time too – especially on Sunday mornings. The city is as quiet as a city can be.
… and I agree on the ‘NUTS, caps and all 🙂
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Wow! Good for you for venturing out!
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It was soooo icy, I was questioning my sanity … but as usual, in the end, worth the outing 🙂
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I used to play adult soccer on Sunday mornings and then couldn’t move the rest of the day. Yes, you earned it!
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hahaha! Story of my life! 😆
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Joanne, you have captured the pathos of the winter blues with these photos: the bicycle frozen into the ice; the cold icy stump chairs. And, of course, the paddleboarder driven into the freezing waves by a bout of cabin fever…
Jude
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Thanks Jude. I think they successfully told the story of how dreary and cold it was outside 🙂
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That paddle boarder is probably a relative of my husband’s, an unrepentant lover of all things winter. Guess I won’t come to Toronto for relief from the the cold, which, like you, I am SO over. Drooling over the Widow Badass’ posts from Barbardos. Everyone I know seems to have escaped a portion of this brutal winter except you and me.
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PS. I binge watched Breaking Bad over 10 days starting in late January. I understand the hibernation desire.
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Don’t you just love it when you find something on Netflix to sink your teeth into! I too did that with Breaking Bad a few years ago.
This time I’m into that new show The Umbrella Academy. There is only one season so far but we are completely hooked. It’s filmed in Toronto and we are having fun playing ‘I know this location!’ 🙂
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Oh, that sounds like a fun series. I’ll give that a try, too.
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It’s different – very different. Exactly what I like 🙂
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I know … and I’m starting to feel bitter about it 😏
This has certainly been a winter for the record books … and you are getting it worse in the Ottawa area. Yikes – all that snow!! At least we are getting snowstorm-melt-snowstorm-melt-repeat otherwise I cringe at the thought of all the snow we’d have.
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I love the frozen bike! I definitely concur with the consensus about the paddle boarder. Off his head!
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The ground was a massive sheet of ice everywhere. It was pretty treacherous walking! … but when I saw that bike, the effort was worth it 🙂
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I hope you managed to stay upright!
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Oh yes – but I heard on the news this evening that some kids went down with their skates and skated on all that ice! Ahhh – youth! 😀
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It was cold on the west coast but that would warm to you; I always say it’s nice to visit snow country but living in it is not something I would like to do. Hope you found some good movies to watch! Stay warm!
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We get extremes in temperatures – very hot in summer to very cold in winter. That’s why we’re always complaining about the weather 😉
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That ice sure does create chaos, doesn’t it? So nice to have a wee bit of sunshine over the past few days & have you noticed the day light hanging around a bit longer?☀️
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The longer days are greatly appreciated – as well as those moments when the sun comes blazing out. I have crystals hanging in my kitchen window and in the winter the sun creates rainbows throughout the room. I love it 🙂
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Wow. That guy was pretty brave! I cannot imagine that cold.
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Brave isn’t the word I would use. Holy Hell, if anything went wrong ….!
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You totally earned your right to Netflix! Next year plan to watch the surfers in Barbados instead 😁🌴🇧🇧🍹🌴
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omg – that sounds perfect 🙂
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You earned an afternoon of Netflix! Ha ha. Yes you did. Good for you for venturing outside in that cold, Joanne. I’ve been in the ocean on Jan 1 in a wetsuit, and it is still COLD. That paddleboarder is insane. 🙂
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To be in water that cold, he had to have been wearing a drysuit …. but still. It was crazy!
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Wow, paddle-boarding at 0F. It’s amazing what you can do in a wetsuit.
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I couldn’t see him very well in that distance, but I’m guessing that at that temperature, he had to be wearing a drysuit. The water was slushy with ice – I can’t imagine that a wetsuit would have cut.
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Oh okay, a “drysuit”. I’ve learned something new.
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What’s a dry suit?
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Apparently, a wet suit is for fools who like to play in cool water, as it keeps them warm. But a dry suit is for extra foolish fools who like to play in frigid water, where the water temperature is so cold a wet suit just won’t quite do the job.
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Described perfectly 😆
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He may have been wearing a wet suit:
Wetsuits are made of rubber neoprene and are designed to keep you warm when wet, but unlike drysuits, they are not waterproof. So, if you have a loose fitting wetsuit you will get cold. Wetsuits that are skin-tight are ideal for cold water surf sports because they allow you to be more athletic than drysuits.
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The problem with a wetsuit is that, well -you get wet. There is a thin layer of water between the skin and the suit. Speaking from experience swimming in water temperatures as cold as 12C (54F), it’s bloody cold even with a wetsuit.
The current water temperatures are hovering just above the freezing mark. I can’t imagine anyone being in a wetsuit in that temperature.
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Sounds great. Now let’s grab our boards and hit the surf!
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Yeaaaaah … no.
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Let’s go surfing now
Everybody’s learning how
Come on freeze your ass off with me!
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HAHAHAHA!!
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Tippy nailed it!!
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My iPhone dies when it’s cold outside even though it’s fully charged. I found this out about Apple. As for the weather, yikes, -18 must feel like colder than Antartica. Yay, Netflix to the rescue with hot drink and popcorn, I hope. Keep Warm!
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Cold weather is brutal on batteries 😕 Next time I’ll know better and carry my second camera as backup.
Netflix with wine and cheese is also very nice 😉
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that bike frozen in the water….!!!
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I cringe whenever I see a bike being abused like this. That one is going to need some serious TLC in the spring.
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Can’t believe that no one was there to spot him out on the water. Brrrrr! I find taking photos in this cold very frustrating. Even my camera phone can’t handle the cold. I can only take a few shots before my battery completely drained.
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My phone came close to dying too. It was dumb on my part to not check the battery before I left.
White watching that guy on the water, it did occur to me that even if people were watching him from shore, how would anyone be able to save him in an emergency?
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I agree, you earned the right to binge for a while. I took the pup for a walk and I felt that that earned me a beer and some TV time. That bike frozen into the ice looks so sad, The paddle board guy is nuts. I’m just going to go on record with that diagnosis – that’s just crazy.
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… and I think virtually everyone, including me, is going to concurrent with your assessment. Crazy indeed!
Some days just lend themselves to a warm fire, a glass (or several) of wine, and some TV entertainment 🙂
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Cannot imagine being in that water!
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Isn’t that just about the craziest?!!
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I think you must return to see if he/she safely got to land.
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There was nothing on the news that night to suggest he didn’t 😉
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Yes, thought of that, too. Much easier.
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