Snow Belt? More like the Show Belt!
Who in their right mind would want to live in an area called the “Snow Belt”? I would, that’s who. And you might, too, if you find ever-changing scenery attractive and enjoy meeting inspiring people.
Hi, my name is John Fearnall and I am a local educator, photographer, writer, and podcaster. And I am honoured to have been asked by Wanda to share this space with you. So, to begin, I thought I would share a little about me and how I ended up being lucky enough to call this area home.
After moving around Canada for my first years of life, my family returned to my father’s home town of Owen Sound when I was eight years old. I lived there until I was eighteen and then I was back and forth from school and traveling until I was 23, when I returned full-time to start teaching at the O.S.C.V.I., the school I graduated from.
Just before my first daughter was born, my wife, Stacey, and I decided to leave the metropolis of Owen Sound and move north. We ended up exactly 10 minutes north, on the remains of the Leith Golf Course, where we have lived for the last twenty years.
The Meaford glacier of 2018. A little snow in the atmosphere can change the landscapes dramatically. Early morning hoar frost makes everything sparkle. Taken around the corner from my place. A morning visitor to our backyard earlier this winter.
Having spent those years as both a student and an educator, I have witnessed many people move away from the area and almost as many move back. When I ask “why?”, I often get a similar answer – because it is a beautiful area with so much close by.
I agree completely. There are few places like this in the world and its beauty is what first inspired me to pick up a camera – something that I have continued to do for almost as long as I have lived in Leith. Even in the depths of winter, there is always an opportunity to see new beauty as the scenery changes every night.
As an added bonus and, perhaps, more importantly, I have met so many amazingly talented people living in this area. Whether it is through music, plays, food, drink, gardening, wisdom, guidance, talent, knowledge – the list is endless – they inspire me on a daily basis.
Just as Wanda and her team have done. I thank them for this opportunity and I look forward to sharing more about our home with you in the near future.
John Fearnall
Good Noise
All images are property of John Fearnall/Good Noise
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