Good Morning. Well … starting things off, it is a very cold morning waking up here in Port Loring, Ontario, Canada. I had to put a few extra pieces of firewood in our wood furnace last night to keep us warm. I took the outside temperatures throughout the night, since I had to get up to feed the furnace, which went like this.

-26.5 C | -15.7 F 12:56 AM
-29.3 C | -20.74 F 3:31 AM
-29.6 C | -21.28 F 5:38 AM
-26.5 C | -15.7 F 9:01 AM

On the bright side of the coin, it is sunny outside, which, if nothing else, makes it look nice. Highway 522 is mostly snow covered, with a lot of icy sections throughout. Care will have to be taken if out and about.

It should be also noted that today things will remain cold, and tonight things get to where a feller wouldn’t want to be outside at all. As it is going to be the coldest night of the year, with the temperature tonight dropping down to minus -38C/-36F. It could drop even lower in our area. So knowing that, a feller might want to add an extra blanket on the bed tonight. Also, you might want to bring your pet inside or to a place that is warm. I feel real bad for the homeless here in Canada.

On another note, yesterday, my wife and I went to North Bay to pick up some groceries and things. The stores weren’t all that busy, but busy enough. With the way the virus is, we order everything online these days. Then all we have to do, is drive up in front of the store, give them a call, and they bring it out to us … and load it into our car. We don’t even have to get out. What could be better than that. No need to go inside and subject yourself to the elements. And along with that, it also protects you from the colds and flu that are going around at the moment. Caused by folks not distancing themselves, or wearing their mask. But you all knew that. Right? While there we dropped by our sons’ apartment said hello in his parking lot, then headed on home. The roads were bad going in but nice coming home, and with the sunshine, all in all, it was a very nice day. I am glad we did go yesterday, being as cold as it is today.

But getting back to the homeless, while we were sitting outside waiting, I noticed this girl sitting on a box in front of a store fidgeting away with things. It then struck me, she was cold trying to warm her fingers, hands and feet. I have to tell you it sure bothered me. So, seeing that, I walked over and gave her a few dollars to buy herself a coffee. She looked up at me with her sad eyes, thanked me and headed on off to the coffee shop. Oh, I know there are a lot out there that are just trying to make money without working, but there are, a lot that are having some really hard times.

The thing that gets me, is that we have so many empty buildings that are being heated here in Canada with no one in them. The main one is churches. There are so many of them, all nice and warm, standing empty. For the life of me, I can’t see why they wouldn’t open all their doors so that these poor folks could get in out of the cold. Doesn’t make sense to me one bit. Now in saying that, I am sure there are a few that are helping out a wee bit, in reality not many.

In my mind, there is no reason why these folks should be suffering here in Canada. We have the resources to fix that problem easily, one would be to stop giving money to these other countries and organizations without meaning, and look after our own. There is so much being wasted when it could be doing so much good right here at home.

On another note. After we got home yesterday while my lovely wife put things away I started up my snowblower and cleaned out our driveway. I have to say, that even with my snowmobile suit on, I was still a bit chilly. It felt good to get back inside when all said and done. But with the temperatures the way they are now, I am glad I did. Again, when I finished, my mind went back to that girl that was trying to keep warm.

Today, my wife and I are going to take things a bit easy. So with that, you all take care and have a great day. And maybe … if you happen to see a homeless person fidgeting, trying to keep warm … maybe walk over and buy them a coffee and donut. It’s not much, but it’s better than a lot are doing. It also makes you feel a bit nice inside, knowing that potentially you helped out a wee bit. GW