I had a sort of transcendent day today.
I needed to get a long run done in the morning; today's forecast was for the nicest weather we've seen in weeks. Compared to last Saturday's driving snow and cold wind, this morning's sunshine and -14 to start were a treat. There was beautiful hoarfrost on the trees, and specks of ice were floating down from the branches. The sun came out and it began to warm up slowly. There was very little traffic on the road, and in my three hours of running I heard nothing but a few bird calls deep in the woods, and the crackling of the odd branch unloading its snow. 
After I got home, I decided to venture out and take pictures, something I haven't done for months. I *do* photograph the dogs every day, but that has become formulaic, snapping pictures of them playing in the snow at the park. 
Yesterday, I had gone to Bracebridge, 40km away, to get groceries, and halfway there I passed through a small hamlet by the name of Raymond. Years ago, someone had appended ''Everybody loves'' to the town sign,in a humorous nod to the popular TV show. Raymond, such as it is, sits in a valley, and a couple of centuries ago some tenacious farmers, immigrants from Europe and the U.K., were lured over by the promise of a new beginning in Canada, and free land to farmstead. What they were not told was that this land was made up of granite covered in poor soil and deep forest. Very few of these immigrants were able to clear the land and make a living, but in this little valley of Raymond, persistence paid off, and the forest opens up to fields and a handful of farms. The granite outcrops and trees frame and protect the fields.
Yesterday, I'd noticed that the bare trees were casting really interesting shadows on the cliff faces, and I decided today to go back with my camera and try to capture some of that magic. A messy storm of freezing rain, rain and snow is on its way tonight, heralding the beginning of spring. The snowpack is soon going to disappear.
One of the things that I love about this region is how untamed and relatively untouched it remains. Yes, there are McMansions on the big lakes, but much if not most of Muskoka remains wild and free. The snow lays like a pristine blanket across the fields and forests, broken only by shadows and the tracks of deer or foxes.
When you get out of the car and walk, run or ride, you get a completely different perspective on the land, and you notice so many more details than when you are flying along at 80 to 100 kilometres an hour. These photos are what came from my short wander along the highway in Raymond today.