I love winter. I really do. But this winter… this winter has finally done me in.

Every year we go out and do stuff, photography, hiking, road trips… but this winter has been a real doozey. With -30C days and worse, even my walk to work has become sort of a trial that I need to get out of the way rather than something I enjoy. It’s literally been too cold to do stuff.

So this weekend Tito and I decided that, cold or no, we would get out of the apartment with the cameras. We found, randomly, a maple syrup festival about 45 minutes out of Toronto.

We got to see how the trees were tapped, eat the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life, and see the process of boiling down the sap (it takes 40 buckets of sap to make one bucket of syrup!).

We also bought genuine Ontario Maple Syrup (of course) and a box of cookies that shall be the death of me this weekend. We didn’t stay very long, even pony rides and wagon tours couldn’t keep us out there for long. There was a petting zoo, though.

And he was like, screw this, it’s cold.

And there was this wood pecker that was pretty obliging to the camera.

But on the whole it still felt a bit glum.

I like to enjoy things while they’re happening. I hate the mentality of spending precious time waiting for something to be over. There’s always something to photograph, something to make, even something new to learn while you’re holed up in the house avoiding the weather, but I just can’t get my mojo going and it’s driving me nuts. We even tried to go aurora hunting a few days ago and were turned back by a severe snowstorm. This winter has got me beat!

And the only answer is, despite how many WIP’s you’ve got going, to cast on something bright and tropical.

Pattern: Magratha by Martina Behm
Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts OOAK colourway

It’s bright and happy and definitely helping :)