WINTER PICNIC, DECEMBER 2020

Usually, in our ‘neck o’ the woods’ by the time December rolls around the temperature hovers around -14 and stays there.

But these last three weeks have been so nice for us with temperatures staying in the +2 to +5 range and today was a delightful +10 at one point. So, knowing that the day was supposed to be beautiful we took a break from our Christmas preparations and decided to find a park for a winter picnic.

It is always amazing to me to discover a ‘new’ place for us after we have lived here for over 20 years but Covid has given me time to check out different areas of the city. Today we discovered Dawson Park which is about 10 minutes away from our house! We ‘Googled” to find parks that had washrooms and fire pits and were rewarded with this lovely park nestled inside one of our favourite neighbourhoods near the downtown but closer to the river valley below.(I can’t believe we’ve never been there before!)

The river looked so beautiful covered in chunky ice floes. The sky was cerulean blue with wispy clouds and the sun beamed its smiling face upon us as we pulled our wagon full of supplies up to a picnic table that was remarkably free of snow. The nearby walking path was also a constant stream of folks walking every manner of dog.

We brought our favourite game (Tile Rummy) just incase but we both thought we would be eating our picnic balanced on our laps while we sat in our lawn (snow)chairs. But with the clear table top we decided to enjoy the homemade chicken/vegetable soup I prepared, the (always better when cooked over a fire)hotdogs, and then play the game. It was even score after two games and that was all the cold we could handle after a pretty impressive two hours outside.

It felt so good to get out of the house for a couple of hours. I have some mobility issues so walking on the snow and ice is a little dicey for me. But the table was fairly close to the car and the sun felt so good on my back. I highly recommend a winter picnic for a change of pace. It’s fun!