On Thin Ice: Lake Ice Safety, Climate Signals, and Why It Matters for Muskoka

Aerial drone view of a frozen lake at sunset, illustrating the expansive ice cover and the safety risks associated with changing winter patterns.

        Some environmental changes creep in quietly. Lake ice doesn’t. In Episode 1 of How Lakes Work, Dr. Sapna Sharma (York University) laid out a reality that’s both simple and unsettling: winter is still here – but the rules that made ice predictable are breaking down. This isn’t just about skating season … Read more

Lake Muskoka ice is gone!

Quick Update: We are having some crazy weather here – like many other places. Strong winds with above-seasonal temperatures overnight. At 7:00 am this morning it was 16C, the expected high tomorrow only 1C.  It was all enough to make the ice on Lake Muskoka disappear! Look at the two images below; essentially the same … Read more

Spring in Muskoka? Nice, but still waiting.

It got up to 8 degrees C today, and really quite lovely, but we have some work to do to get all this ice and snow out of here. Other than today, our high temps have been -2 or so with night temperatures 10 degrees below that.  Lake Muskoka is still totally ice-covered, so the … Read more

Walking the Dogs

There is a way to tell that it is spring in Muskoka. It is subtle, but encouraging because, you may know that we still have lots of snow here in Muskoka and we need encouragement. But we have light, more light, and I love light! Steve and I walk the dogs late every afternoon. Until … Read more

Spring at the Cottage in Muskoka … not here, not yet.

Many times in the past, at work in Toronto, Chicago, Orlando, or Boston, I’d hear about spring equinox (night and day of approximately equal length) and begin to wonder how conditions were at our Muskoka cottage. In case you are at work planning for spring at the cottage, I have an update for you. Depending … Read more