A pleasant, peaceful late afternoon skate ski. There were about 10 cars when I arrived and about the same number when I left. The parkways featured many pale yellow lines, some hollow sounding icy sections where water was creeping under the trail, gray ice, thick wet snow and some bare spots. It was quite skiable though, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Ridge was slower than the parkway, having not been groomed as recently and I opted to walk some of the dirtier sections under the fir trees. I spent a few minutes sitting with the critters at Shilly Shally. The seed is emply now, presumably because the bears are back in town, but the birds, squirrels and chipmunk are busy sifting through the piles of spent seed. The Champlain parkway below Huron did not require portaging, but the snow is going fast. Perhaps one more ski tomorrow?