For many of us, as the daylight grows shorter and shorter, it’s a time to gather with friends and family.

Each of Geoff Dilley’s memory boxes has a unique inlay design, crafted with the types of wood once used to make propellers for World War I aircraft.

Letters published in the Winter 2022 edition of In The Hills magazine.

Lynden Cowan’s highly detailed hyper realistic paintings require “triple-zero brushes by the boxload” to achieve.

Hit the great outdoors, take in a play or concert, and get in the holiday spirit this winter

Looking to bring colour and joy to those grey winter days? Setting up a feeder for our fine feathered friends is a mutually beneficial move.

Do you still think in a weird mix of metric and imperial? Writer Gail Grant finds that 50 years later conversion doesn’t come easily, especially if you’re in a certain age bracket.

Locally grown lavender, handmade pottery, leather beer holders and bold brass earrings will make great gifts to give this season.

Here are some fun challenges to warm up the brain cells this winter! Crack some codes, think outside the circle and spot the misfit letters to solve these new puzzles.

Jade and Roland Skuce’s passion for building from scratch dovetailed with the birth of their daughter and resulted in a remarkable modern farmhouse.

Meet some of the people who bring you these pages.

For this weaver, the warp and weft of life is much more than a metaphor.

When the winter wind blows and the flakes fly, snowplow operator Bruce Crawford is ready to go to work.

Enjoy an amble on the Elora Cataract Trailway, a 47km recreational route that was once the path of the Credit Valley Railway.

Safely navigating the narrow, snow covered hills of Headwaters is no walk in the park, as many long-time residents attest and new arrivals quickly learn.

Big flavours brighten the season! From classic bonbons and tourtière to new beers and café treats, a winter of good taste lies ahead.

During a trip south, naturalist Don Scallen gets a closer look at introduced lizards in Florida and asks questions about our own invasive species in Ontario.

Most of us have the good fortune to raise our families in safe, comfortable houses. Birds want nothing less. 

Rivers in the Headwaters region still flow clean, clear and cool through areas not yet urbanized. This natural heritage is a gift to area residents and well worth protecting.

Male tree crickets – rock stars of the insect realm – sing to attract females, and display other courtship behaviour not so different from ours.

We play municipal seniors’ pickup hockey for the exercise, the banter, the camaraderie and the sheer joy of the game.

What could be more Canadian than lacing up to play on the pond?

A backyard rink is just one of the deft holiday moves NHL linesman Shandor Alphonso and his wife, Jacelyn, make for their young boys at home.

Al Waltho may have replaced two hips and a knee, but he’s not quite ready to hang up his skates.

Over 300 species, totalling billions of birds rely on Canada’s boreal forest as breeding grounds.

This is a special winter for bird watching in the hills.

Birds are drawn to feeders like Saturday morning coffee drinkers to Tim Hortons. The presence of birds in the winter landscape is life-affirming.

The redpoll feeding etiquette is decidedly boorish; they jostle each other rudely for favoured perches on the feeders.

The tea biscuits at The Globe Restaurant are light and flakey with a hint of sweetness.

Local food pros share a few of their favourite holiday recipes, from sugar cookies to Madeleines, to brighten the cookie tray this year.

“Just play with the recipe. Have fun,” says Soulyve’s Phil Dewar of his Caribbean rum cake ingredients.

Serving size depends how big your heart is!