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Good morning. They liked to say, “Cold coffee’s fine, long as the work’s done.” Funny how that line aged better than my back.

Backwoods Weather Report – Port Loring, Ontario Saturday, November 22, 2025

My station’s showing it cold and frosty this morning… 24.8 F (-4 C), humidity 84 percent, barometer 29.12 inches, and no real wind to speak of.

Today:
Sunny but it’s not warming much. Might creep a touch toward freezing for a bit in the afternoon, but that’s about it.

Tonight:
Clear and dropping hard. Teens in Fahrenheit… well below zero in Celsius.

Tomorrow:
Clouds moving in through the morning. Could see a few light flurries later on. Still cold, sitting somewhere around 26 to 30 F (-3 to -1 C).

This morning I fired up my old shop stove and the wood furnace in the house. Felt cold enough that burning wood made more sense than switching on the oil. The price of oil and propane these days is ridiculous, especially when we’ve got good wood right in our own yard.

If it’s well-dried hardwood in a solid stove or furnace, it isn’t hurting anything. Folks have kept warm this way for generations. Most of the rules about wood smoke are aimed at wet wood, open fires, or old stoves that belch out smoke all day long.

The way I do it—dry wood, proper burn—it’s clean heat and it makes sense. And one hell of a lot cheaper than oil or propane, which is what a lot of folks are using these days. Electric? Well, forget it… a feller would have to mortgage his home to pay for a year’s worth. But if you’ve got the money to spare, it is a good, clean heat, I’ll grant you that.

On another note: I’ve been spending my time split between the woodworking shop and the house these days. Yesterday I was working on them flutes I’ve got going… made some good headway, got a couple pieces closer to where they need to be. But partway through the day I came back inside to help my lovely wife with some things on her computer. She’s getting her studio set up properly, new monitor and all, and you know how that goes… there’s always something that needs figuring out.

She’s also got a painting in the works right now, actually. Nature scene. She’s been working on it in between everything else she’s got going on, and I’ll tell you… it’s something to watch her work. After all these years, she’s finally painting what she wants to paint, not what other folks are asking for. And the difference shows.

My wife’s been a professional artist for… well, for many years now. Thousands of paintings and that’s not bragging just fact. She’s worked in pretty well every medium known to man, tried every style, painted what the market wanted, what galleries told her would sell. But now, finally, she’s doing her own thing. And I have to tell you… she’s one hell of an artist. I haven’t seen better, and I’ve been around long enough to see a fair bit. Not knocking anyone else, mind you, but some of these paintings you see out there today, the ones going for big money... they look like a kid painted them. And that’s what gets me. The prices folks are charging.

I don’t understand it, truth be told. Makes me think maybe I should give up making flutes/woodworking and start painting myself. I could probably run off three or four a day if I went for that style.

But that’s not the point, I suppose. The point is… come spring, if things go according to plan, she’ll have a good assortment of work ready. Her paintings, my flutes and other one-of-a-kind pieces we make, and we’re setting up a new store space where folks can come see everything. You’ll just have to drop by and have a look for yourself.

It’s taken a long time to get here, to this place where she’s painting what matters to her. But watching her work now, seeing what comes out when an artist finally trusts their own vision… well, it’s worth the wait.

So with that, I’m off to enjoy the breakfast my lovely artist made for me. After that I’ll have a nice cup of tea, maybe with a bit of sugar or perhaps some honey, and then I’ll head out to the woodworking shop. Have a great day.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW