Ontario’s November Weather Surprise

What a weather surprise we’ve experienced in Ontario this weekend! November temperatures are usually cool with grey skies. Days are short with little or no sunshine.

This weekend we had sunny and mild temperatures. What a surprise! We took advantage of this reprieve with a long weekend at the cottage.

How surprising to find that most of our cottage neighbours (except those from Detroit who can’t cross the border) were here for the weekend.  We had a few reunions — at the proper social distance! We heard about new grand children.  A neighbour told us that his family is re-locating to the cottage full-time as he can work from Grand Bend as easily as from his Toronto home.

Everywhere we heard the constant hum of leaf blowers.  After the snowfall last weekend, most of the birch and maple trees have shed their leaves. About 50% of the oak leaves have fallen.  Heaps of leaves are piled in windrows along the roads leading to the beach waiting for pickup when our Association staff can manage the big job.

After 3 days of work, the first round of raking and blowing leaves around our cottage is almost finished.  We’ll have another go at this job in late November when the 13 oak trees on our lot finally lose all their leaves.  It’s been tough on our bodies but fun.  Working outdoors in the bright sunshine while stopping occasionally for a chat with people passing by on their daily walk has felt more like pleasure than a job to be done!

The weekend has not been all about work.  Each day I’ve had time to walk and enjoy a different sort of exercise.

Here’s what I saw on our Lake Huron beach this afternoon:

My neighbour on her paddleboard

This is my neighbour enjoying her paddleboard.  I was surprised to see her launching the board!  Notice that it’s warm enough for her to experience Lake Huron without a wetsuit.  The water is clear and calm.  The water temperature is 10.5C or 50.9F! Too cold for most of us to risk a paddleboard ride but she was determined not to miss a bragging opportunity!

I was also amazed to see several children in their bathing suits playing on the beach. Some of them ventured into the shallow water but most stayed on the sand.  This group enjoyed each other as well as a neighbour’s dog!

Children playing on Sun beach

We know these spring-like conditions won’t last.  Unfortunately, for my husband and me, there is no beach time.  We are determined to use these precious days to finish the raking and clean up while the leaves are dry.

The weather network predicts another day or two of warm temperatures before the high-pressure ridge moves and Ontario returns to dreary November conditions. Meanwhile, we’ll enjoy this respite and the accompanying mental health benefits!

2 Replies to “Ontario’s November Weather Surprise”

  1. Sounds like a wonderful weekend for you! And your cottage escape sounds really nice as well. How lucky to have a place near one of the great lakes. We’ve had unseasonably warm weather here as well. Guess what we did? Same as you – raked up leaves. We enjoyed it as well. A warm, sunny autumn day is a gift I’ll take anytime. I could feel the joy in your post. Enjoy your day!

    1. It’s been a few days of pure delight!

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