Winter is an amazing season for those of us lucky enough to experience it in full force. Snow, rain, wind, freezing rain, ice, slush and mud underfoot. But the beauty is undeniable. 

The crisp white, the sparkling snow, the glistening of the ice-covered branches, and even the patterns left by the wind in drifts and designs across an open field. We are left with a choice…enjoy winter or stay inside and be miserable for 3+ months! 

Snowshoeing is a very accessible activity for most. If you are steady on your feet, you can snowshoe. And, you can do it almost anywhere: in a local park, down an old deserted road, on a hiking trail, or if you are lucky like me, to live on a farm, through the open fields. Many recreation departments have snowshoes for rent or loan if you would like to try them before buying. Many people use poles (ski poles) to help keep them steady. I usually choose not to, because I often have my camera too, but I also occasionally fall on my face! Falling rarely hurts with snowshoeing, but getting up can be a challenge, leaving you giggling, even if you’re by yourself!

Ice skating/pick-up hockey – nothing beats a good skate on an outdoor pond. In many communities, there are outdoor rinks to enjoy, or you may have access to an oval, such as Halifax has. Many rinks also have public skating times or even times for adult skates or parent and tots. In most places, helmets are now mandatory. If you are planning to skate on an outdoor pond or lake, please check the ice and refer to a reliable source as to the thickness required to skate outside. We are blessed with beautiful ice some seasons on our pond, but often it is unusable.  Some people have shallow ponds that freeze quickly and provide limited risk if the ice were to break, but ours is deep!

Skiing/snowboarding – many places have a local ski hill, even if you don’t live in a hilly or mountainous location. Take advantage of the opportunity to give skiing or snowboarding a try. If you get hooked, it will change your perspective on winter! Both of these sports are quite expensive to get into, but once you have the gear, if you choose to get a season pass, you can enjoy the winter quite economically!

Cross-country skiing is something I haven’t tried in many years, but it was a sport that I enjoyed when I was younger, and have considered reinvesting in the gear. Again, I know our local recreation department is able to provide loaners for the gear, so if you haven’t tried it, you should. My problem with cross-country skiing was getting the wax right on the skis, but I assume things have been developed to help with this in the past 30 years!

Snow creations – what is more fun than building a snowman?  Maybe building a snow unicorn or a snow castle? Let your imagination run wild as you create, simple or elaborate. The best time to do this is after a snowfall that is a bit warmer, when the snow easily packs together. 

Snow tunnels and holes – digging through the banks of snow to make tunnels and dig holes is lots of fun. Make sure you don’t do this near a road and make sure that you are not digging too deep that snow could collapse on you. There are hours of fun to be had making tunnels and playing In them, for sure. Your children, or the child in you, can build their dreams.

All it takes is some squirt bottles, a little food colouring and some water and you have an artist’s palette at your fingertips, producing beautiful snow art. Children will have hours of fun, creating beautiful art on the blank canvases, or decorating the sculptures that they created. And don’t let the kids have all the fun. If you are artistically inclined you can make some beautiful art, but even if you aren’t, don’t be left out of the fun!  In our family we call it “abstract art” when you can’t tell what it was supposed to be!

Coasting, sledding, tobogganing are part of living in the country.  We have our own coasting hills, but there are a lot of public places to coast as well. A crazy carpet is an inexpensive way to get started and boy, can they go! We were able to purchase a hand made toboggan, by Canoe Shelburne made with local Ash and Oak. Even the rope used is manufactured in Nova Scotia. If you live in Atlantic Canada, you may want to check them out! http://www.canoeshelburne.com/Toboggan.html

Hot chocolate is a necessity when you come in from outside, or even outside in a thermal cup. Sometimes we have a hot dog roast around the fire, after pond skating, and enjoy some hot chocolate from a carafe. I highly recommend making hot chocolate with milk rather than water. No comparison…

If you are like me, with a camera stuck to your hand, a simple walk after a fresh snow produces a ton of beautiful sights.  Enjoying the beauty is certainly an important part of the season, and capturing that beauty can bring hours of winter adventure and fun.

If it’s just too cold to venture out, use the time to bake up some special treats. What could be  better than some home baking to warm the heart on a cold winter day.

So, the choice is yours…enjoy the beautiful gift of winter and have tons of fun as the winter flies by, or be unhappy and the winter is sure to creep very slowly toward spring. I hope you choose to enjoy!