Category Archives: George’s Writers Corner

Great Spot to hear about anything and everything concerning writing. Also information on my books, book signings, speaking engagements and events that might be happening in and around our town.

George's Writers Corner, Weather, What's Happening

Notes From a Pen That’s Seen Better Days but Still Writes True

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Morning. Dad liked to remind me, “The world don’t wait for your boots to be tied.” I’ve tested that theory. He was right.

Backwoods Weather Report – Port Loring, Ontario
Sunday, November 16, 2025

Well… the morning didn’t stay quiet for long. When I first looked out, the yard felt kind of paused, like everything was holding its breath. Then that north wind started nudging through, not hard, just enough to move the tops of the pines and let you know the day had changed its mind.

The numbers are the same on our weather station, 31°F (-0.4°C), humidity sitting at 87%, and that barometer low at 28.57 inHg, which, around here, usually hints that the weather might wander a bit.

Wind’s up now, steady enough you notice it walking from the house to my woodworking shop.

Today:
Mostly clouds, maybe a weak bit of light pushing through once in a while. With that breeze, you could see a few flurries drifting in, nothing serious. Temperature will hang right near freezing, just cold enough to bite a little if you stand in the open.

Tonight:
Slips back below freezing. The wind should start to settle down. Could be some patchy snow sliding through after dark, more of a dusting mood than a storm.

Tomorrow:
Looks like another gray day, still close to freezing. Low pressure hanging around without much energy behind it… just that dull November feel we all know too well.

Best Deer Hunting Times:
With the morning wind, they’ll stay tucked in for a bit. Your better window is late morning — around 10:30 to noon. Evening should be decent too, 3:30–5:00 PM, if the wind backs off like it usually does.

Nature’s Signs:
You can see the change out there… the spruce needles shaking loose the frost they held at dawn, the birch tops leaning a touch. A couple crows riding the wind low across the back field, calling like they’re arguing about something. The clouds have stretched thin and long, sliding quicker now… carrying just enough weight to think about snow but not enough to promise it.

On another note, well, the past few days I’ve been working inside the house here. Our electric stove, one of the burners isn’t working, so I took it apart and found where the coil plugs into the porcelain part. It was about shot. So I went online to Amazon and found a part I’m hoping will do the trick. $20.00 is a lot better than coughing up around $700 for a new stove.

Before that, though, since it’s been a touch cool, I decided to light the wood furnace for the first time this season. Once it got going nicely, I have to admit, it felt really good. Got it burning away this morning too. Nothing out there today that can match wood heat, well, hot water heat is nice too.

Highway 522’s been pretty quiet the past couple weeks. Most of the tribe has been back in the bush, trying to scare up a deer or two. Some get lucky, some… well, not so much. You can tell the difference between the old hands around here and the city folks who come up for a weekend. The city folks, bless ’em, show up in brand-new camo and boots that haven’t even smelled dirt yet, wandering around like they’re on a nature walk instead of hunting. The old timers, they know which ridge holds a deer at first light, which maple hides a trail, and they move like it’s second nature, like they’ve been doing it since they were knee-high to a sapling.

So what are you up to today, GW?

Well, today, now that I have this other stuff looked after, I’m planning on getting back to making those flutes I’ve been working on for the past couple months. Got them right where I want them, all set to shape them into looking like a flute. So yeah, that’s what I’m up to today… or should I say, that’s the plan. Have to see how it works out in the hours ahead.

With that, I’m off for a bowl of organic oatmeal, which we used to call porridge, that my lovely wife is making for me. After that, I’ll enjoy a cup of tea for a change, and then I’ll head out to the woodworking shop. Should be warm out there by then, since I started the shop stove earlier this morning before daylight.

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


All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

George's Writers Corner, My Opinion Only, What’s Really Going On

Canada’s Fighter Choice: Time We Finally Stood On Our Own Feet

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Only on The Walters Post

You look at what’s going on with these jets, and it’s hard not to shake your head a little. For years, we’ve talked tough about sovereignty, jobs, and doing things our own way, and then, when the big decisions roll in… well, Canada tends to hand the keys to someone else and hope for the best. It’s never quite made sense to me.

Now this Gripen deal from Sweden — that looks like the first time in a long while someone’s offering us something that actually lines up with what we’ve said we wanted all along. Build the planes here. Train our own people. Keep the knowledge, the parts, and the work inside the country instead of waiting for a crate to arrive from halfway around the world, hoping we’re still high enough on somebody’s priority list to get what we’ve paid for.

Because that’s the real problem with the F-35s. Not the plane — the plane is whatever: high-tech, stealthy, fancy. But when push comes to shove, and a war breaks out or a crisis hits, who do you think gets first pick of the spare parts? It won’t be us. We’d be standing in line with our hat in our hands, and that’s no way to run a country’s defense.

And on top of that, the upkeep on those things… well, you almost need a winning lottery ticket just to keep them in the air. Meanwhile, the Gripen might not be the shiniest toy on the playground, but it does the job, and it does it without bleeding the bank dry. And if we can build them ourselves — hire our own trades, engineers, welders, machinists — we could probably double the size of our air force, instead of scraping along with a handful of planes that cost more to maintain than they’re worth.

To me, that’s what really hits home: Jobs here. Skills here. Control here. No waiting on another country to “approve” what we can and can’t do with our own equipment. It’s what we should have done a long time ago, but we kept trusting others to look out for us, and that’s turned out to be a pretty expensive lesson.

The only snag — and it’s a big one — is whether the folks running the show in Ottawa actually follow through. They’re good at announcements, good at big talk, good at making it sound like the future’s about to arrive tomorrow morning. But when it comes time to put pen to paper, the whole thing has a habit of falling into a file drawer somewhere, never to be seen again. That’s the part that bothers me. Not the planes. Not the plan. Just the people in charge of pulling the trigger on it.

Still… if they can get their act together, the Gripen deal just feels like the right road. More control, more jobs, more long-term sense. Not perfect, but better suited to who we are and what we actually need — not what somebody else needs us to buy.

We’ll see if they have the nerve to do it.

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

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

George's Writers Corner, Weather, What's Happening

Notes From a Life That’s Learned to Listen

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Backwoods Weather Report – Port Loring, Ontario
Monday, November 10, 2025

Good Morning:
It’s a cold start today with temperatures sitting at 20°F (–6.6°C) and the air feeling heavy, thanks to 83% humidity. The barometer remains low at 29.17 in-Hg indicating little change in the weather. Winds are calm from the north-northeast, barely a whisper, leaving the woods still and quiet, as if they are holding their breath. The first snow of the season has arrived, about half an inch settled overnight. It’s just enough to dust the trails and branches, making everything look refreshed and ready for winter.

Today’s Forecast:
Expect mostly cloudy skies and heavy, with not much wind. The high will reach around 28°F (–2°C), keeping a cold bite throughout the day. A stray flurry or two may pass, but nothing significant is expected beyond the morning’s light snowfall.

Tonight:
The sky stays overcast with temperatures dropping to about 14°F (–10°C). Fog may settle in low areas, and frost will coat the morning snow, making the trails crisp underfoot. Winds remain calm from the north-northeast, and the quiet makes the woods feel larger and even more peaceful.

Tomorrow (Tuesday):
The morning begins near 19°F (–7°C), rising to about 28°F (–2°C) by afternoon. Clouds may break slightly, allowing for glimpses of weak sunlight. Light winds from the north could ruffle the frosted branches, and if the snow firms up overnight, conditions will be ideal for tracking.

Best Deer Hunting Times:
Deer are moving slowly in this cold. The best windows today are early from 7:00 to 9:00 AM and again late in the afternoon from 4:00 to 5:30 PM before dusk. With calm winds, your scent will linger, so move slowly and carefully. Tomorrow, mid-morning could be more promising as the light strengthens and deer resume browsing.

Signs from Nature:
Gray clouds hang low over the hills, frost sparkles in the pale sunlight, and the first snow crunches beneath your boots. Branches remain still in the calm air, and every so often, you can see a bird or squirrel moving about, but mostly, it’s the snow, the frost, and the stillness that tell the story. Winter has arrived folks, leaving its first quiet mark of the year, and you can feel its presence if you pause and take it all in.

With that I am off for my breakfast my lovely wife has made for me and will then head on out to the old woodworking shop and get to working on them flutes I have on the go. Should be warm enough out there by then… as i lit the shop stove earlier.

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

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

George's Writers Corner, Weather

A Northern Winter’s Approach

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Lately, I’ve felt that familiar change in the air… the kind you notice before the first snow even falls. Mornings now have a sharper edge, a chill sneaking in under the shop door before the stove has a chance to wake up. Out back, I catch the distant echoes of wolves—not close, just far enough that their calls drift through the trees, as if they’re checking in before winter claims the land. Even the deer have changed their ways, sticking to the tree lines and moving carefully where cover is thin.

It’s funny how you can start to feel winter coming even before the snow hits. The mornings have that extra bite, and the light in the late afternoons falls differently on the hills—softer somehow, like it’s settling in for the season. Lately, I’ve been spending more evenings by the shop door, just watching the sky and the clouds move before heading inside. You notice little things out there—the clouds stretching out in long gray strips, moving east slowly, not really rushing anywhere. Sometimes it feels like they’re just hanging around, testing the air before committing.

Forecasters are saying the Pacific is restless again, storms stacking up, off the coast and preparing to march inland. Here in the north, that usually means we’ll soon get our share… the kind of snow that settles in and doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

If I had to guess, December will start off mild, with cold mornings and gentler afternoons. There may be a few light snows, just enough to make you think winter is easing in. Don’t be fooled, though. as that’s simply winter testing the waters. By Christmas, the ground will be frozen solid, blanketed in white, and perhaps the lake will groan under its first brittle layer of ice.

January is when winter shows its true colors. The cold settles in, layer by layer, each snap sharper than the last. You’ll be checking your heavy blankets before turning in. Storms will roll through as well, bringing heavy, wet snow that clings to spruce branches and makes the power lines hum. There might even be one of those blizzards that hushes the world for a day or two. By that time, it’s best to have your firewood close and dry, because no one wants to be out splitting kindling in that kind of cold.

February is always a wildcard. Some years, it brings a break—a thaw, a whisper of melt-water beneath the eaves. Other years, it tightens its grip, dropping another foot of snow just when you thought the shovels might get a rest. My guess is we’ll get both—a warm spell to muddy up the back roads, then a hard freeze to lock everything up again. That’s the way it is in this country.

By March, everyone’s ready for a change, tired of white, tired of scraping boots at the door. The snow will begin to slump away from the shed walls, the crows will grow louder, and the sun will remember how to shine. There might still be a storm or two, trying to remind you winter’s not quite finished, but by then, the worst will be behind us.

Anyway, that’s the way I see it—a true northern winter. Cold enough to bite, snowy enough to earn your rest, and stubborn enough to test your patience. Nothing comes easy, but nothing is beyond your reach, either. And, as always, nothing in life is set in stone.

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

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]

George's Writers Corner, My Opinion Only, What’s Really Going On

People, Power, and What We Don’t See

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Only On The Walters Post

Funny how politics is like an old truck I used to own. I swear that thing had a mind of its own. You’d hit the starter a dozen times—it would cough, sputter, then finally roar to life, and you’d think, “Well, that was worth it, I guess.” Politics feels like that to me sometimes.

Take Chris d’Entremont, Nova Scotia MP, jumping from the Conservatives to the Liberals. He said the leadership was pushing and yelling, calling him a snake. Can’t say I blame him. I’d probably pack up my desk too if someone barged in, yelling and calling me names. Kinda reminds me of that old rooster I had back on the farm—crowing at all hours, everyone thinking it was warning of something serious, but really it was just crowing because it felt like it. Like politicians sometimes: loud, chaotic—not always a sign of danger, usually just noise.

And us, the people… we vote for these folks. Well, not me, as, truth be told, I don’t have much use for any of them, so why vote for people I don’t like? Then again, some folks do, and then they complain. Some of it’s fair. Some of it… I dunno, just grumbling. Like a friend of mine years ago, trying to fry a turkey in the backyard, complaining the fire’s too hot—not realizing he put gasoline in the pan.

And then there are these demonstrations, protests… I wouldn’t hesitate to bet half the people there don’t know the first thing about the laws or the leaders or the mess behind the headlines. Reminds me of another friend of mine once that went to a rally thinking it was a barbecue. He came back three hours later with a flag he didn’t even like.

Chris also said the Conservatives felt more like a frat house than a serious party. That made me laugh, because I’ve known a few frat houses—loud, messy, beer on the floor, and someone always upset about not getting the corner room. Sure, leadership style matters, but sometimes it’s just the culture that takes over, no matter who’s in charge. People get tired, they fold, they walk away or switch sides. It’s not just politics; you see it everywhere—on baseball teams, in church choirs. I remember my aunt, always switching pews like it was a chess game. Nobody really noticed, but it made her feel better.

And the powers that be… well, they are damn good at what they do. Like a fox in a hen-house that knows every hiding spot, every weak little wall. They nudge thoughts, steer minds, get people moving without them even noticing. And most folks follow the cues, repeat the lines, cheer the loudest, all while thinking they’re thinking for themselves. Funny how that happens. My old shop cat does the same thing—stalking shadows, thinking it’s hunting, but mostly just moving around because it can.

Anyway… people complain, politicians yell, floor crossings happen. And somewhere, the creek is running a little higher than usual and, well… life goes on.

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

All my books are available on my Amazon Author Page.

If you purchase a book, a brief Amazon review really helps new readers discover my work—it means a lot.

Support my writing: Support My Writing

In Closing, I Would Like to Wish You Well!

George Walters | [email protected]