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Good morning. My dad used to say, “Start your day before it starts you.” Took me years to really get what he meant.

He wasn’t just talking about getting up early, all though that was part of it. What he meant was, if you don’t decide what your day’s going to look like, someone else will. The phone rings, the tractor breaks, the neighbor shows up needing help, and before you know it, it’s dark out and you never got to the thing you actually needed to do.

He’d be up before dawn. Not rushing, just kind of… purposeful, you know? He already knew what needed doing with is mind already set. Sure, the day would always throw things at him—and it always did—but he’d started it on his terms.

When I was younger, I didn’t get it. Figured he just meant starting early. But now I see it. If you wake up and just react to whatever comes at you, you’re not running your day, truth told… your day’s running you.

Anyway, that’s what he meant.

Backwoods Weather Report – Port Loring, Ontario
Monday, November 3, 2025

Well, it just goes to show you … the weather has a mind of its own. Yesterday we talked about a rising pressure and a drier, a more settled Monday ahead. Instead, we woke up to gray skies and steady rain. That’s fall in the backwoods for you. Systems can hang back or move quicker than expected, and this one decided to stick around a little longer than the forecast hinted.

As of 8:33 a.m., my station here in Port Loring shows a barometer at (28.92 inches) and 83% humidity, which tells us we’re still under the pull of that low-pressure system. The temperature’s holding near 6.5°C (43.7°F), and there’s a light west-southwest breeze around 11 km/h (7 mph) carrying that damp air through the trees.

If that pressure starts to climb later today, we might see the rain let up and maybe even a short peek of sun before nightfall. But for now, best keep the jacket close and the woodpile covered. Cooler, clearer weather still looks possible by midweek — once this system finally drifts off to the east.

Tonight:
Clouds will likely hang around through the evening with a few lingering showers. Winds will stay light from the southwest, shifting more westerly overnight. Temperatures should dip down close to 2°C (35°F), cool enough for a bit of patchy frost toward morning if the skies manage to clear for a spell.

Tomorrow (Tuesday):
Pressure should begin to rise slowly, which will help dry things out. Expect a mix of sun and cloud, maybe more sun later in the day if we’re lucky. Daytime highs near 7°C (45°F), feeling cool but fair. Winds light and steady out of the west. A decent November day shaping up once the damp clears away.

Nature’s Signs:
You can smell the wet pine this morning, that sharp scent that comes when the needles are soaked through. The deer will be on the move now that their season’s open, and this kind of damp weather keeps their scent close to the ground. That helps hunters too, since their own scent won’t carry as far in the heavy air. It’s the sort of morning where patience pays off — no need for much calling or moving about, just find a good spot out of the wind and let the bush settle around you.

So yesterday, once again, I headed out to the old woodworking shop. But, like a lot of days lately, I didn’t end up working on those flutes I’m making.

What happened was, my wife and I got to talking… well, we’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and we finally decided that come spring, we’re going to reopen our old store. It used to be a store, but when COVID hit and nobody knew what was going to happen, we turned it into a place for family and friends to gather. Now that all that’s behind us, we figured it’s time to bring the store back to life.

You’d think it’d be just a day’s work turning it back, but there’s still a lot to do to get it the way we want. But, we’ve got a few months, to get things in order.

So folks... come spring, if you want to see some real craftsmanship, you ought to stop by. I’ll have my flutes there, and I’m working on a whole lineup of new pieces as well. But honestly, what you really don’t want to miss are my wife’s creations. Her paintings, her hand-painted designs... she just has a way of bringing color and life to everything she touches. Always has.

There’s this attention to detail, this sense of beauty in her work that’s… well, it’s hard to put into words, you know? But you’ll see what I mean the second you step through the door.

Everything in that store will be made by our own hands. You really do have to see it to believe it.

At any rate…. by the end of the day yesterday, I was just about worn out. And when I finally crawled into bed, I’ll tell you, that old bed of mine felt damn good.

So what are you up to today GW?

Well, today I am going to try real hard to get back to making them flutes. I lit the shop stove earlier to take out the dampness, which should have warmed things up by the time I finish my breakfast that my lovely wife has made for me. So being that it is sitting here ready, I had better go and enjoy it.

Until the next time, keep your minds open and your stories alive. GW