Michael Winter
@michaelwinternet.bsky.social
I'm a writer from Newfoundland living in Toronto. I admire trees and like to feed people and overhear conversations; I note gestures and read books and draw pictures and listen to old music and there's a dog I walk.
my local thrift store is no longer accepting donations, so I had to smuggle in some old books and a frying pan under my jacket and pretend I was sizing them up as I unloaded
July 5, 2026 at 1:06 PM
my local thrift store is no longer accepting donations, so I had to smuggle in some old books and a frying pan under my jacket and pretend I was sizing them up as I unloaded
dug up an old clothespin while gardening and put it on the line as the old clothespins are much better at grasping.
June 26, 2026 at 1:13 PM
dug up an old clothespin while gardening and put it on the line as the old clothespins are much better at grasping.
some neighbours in trailers with a boom box partying hard, an open fire in a dry season, but they just put on some John Prine and what can you do when you realize they have that spirit in them, but sing along and open a beer and hope for the best
June 16, 2026 at 2:11 PM
some neighbours in trailers with a boom box partying hard, an open fire in a dry season, but they just put on some John Prine and what can you do when you realize they have that spirit in them, but sing along and open a beer and hope for the best
I no longer remove coins from my pockets when I throw clothes in the washing machine -- I just collect it all once the cycle is done, cheers me up
June 13, 2026 at 8:56 PM
I no longer remove coins from my pockets when I throw clothes in the washing machine -- I just collect it all once the cycle is done, cheers me up
bought clothespins but they keep blowing off the line and obliterating into their three separate pieces -- manufacturers should use a beaufort scale ranking for clothespins
May 28, 2026 at 2:57 PM
bought clothespins but they keep blowing off the line and obliterating into their three separate pieces -- manufacturers should use a beaufort scale ranking for clothespins
Most of my dishes are second-hand and English, but a few are Japanese and I just realized I speak differently to these Japanese plates, perhaps a little more seriously, less humour.
May 25, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Most of my dishes are second-hand and English, but a few are Japanese and I just realized I speak differently to these Japanese plates, perhaps a little more seriously, less humour.
annual harvest of bergy bits off the shore -- good for drinks, etc. not sure if it's 10,000 years old, but the ice is hard and crackles
May 20, 2026 at 3:29 PM
annual harvest of bergy bits off the shore -- good for drinks, etc. not sure if it's 10,000 years old, but the ice is hard and crackles
a lot of local tradespeople in this rural place, and they've worked all over the country but returned here -- mainly, I think, because when it's lunchtime they can drive home to eat.
May 12, 2026 at 5:50 PM
a lot of local tradespeople in this rural place, and they've worked all over the country but returned here -- mainly, I think, because when it's lunchtime they can drive home to eat.
occasionally I go out for a meander and I think of myself as an odd duck strolling around but realizing now that's a merganser
May 7, 2026 at 9:14 AM
occasionally I go out for a meander and I think of myself as an odd duck strolling around but realizing now that's a merganser
Noticed a man put a bag of croissants in his cart very quickly without checking the price, hardly looking at the croissants -- the action of experience -- and so I too chose the croissants. I'm a good judge of character but not of food, so it's my way of selecting grocery items: follow the experts.
April 15, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Noticed a man put a bag of croissants in his cart very quickly without checking the price, hardly looking at the croissants -- the action of experience -- and so I too chose the croissants. I'm a good judge of character but not of food, so it's my way of selecting grocery items: follow the experts.
I used a lens restorer kit for my yellowed, sun-damaged car headlights (it works!) the instructions mentioned 5 mins masking, 15 mins for sanding, 3 mins varnishing, but made no allowance for the two hours one has to stop & field questions from passersby who ask what on earth it is you are doing
April 13, 2026 at 8:05 PM
I used a lens restorer kit for my yellowed, sun-damaged car headlights (it works!) the instructions mentioned 5 mins masking, 15 mins for sanding, 3 mins varnishing, but made no allowance for the two hours one has to stop & field questions from passersby who ask what on earth it is you are doing
saw this attractive couple on Dupont carrying in their bare hands a few small grocery items with no tote bag, and the man had a carton of six eggs and the way they were talking you could tell they lived together and I wondered if I've ever in my life bought just 6 eggs even when I've lived on my own
March 7, 2026 at 2:28 PM
saw this attractive couple on Dupont carrying in their bare hands a few small grocery items with no tote bag, and the man had a carton of six eggs and the way they were talking you could tell they lived together and I wondered if I've ever in my life bought just 6 eggs even when I've lived on my own
sometimes when I type in my password wrong and I'm asked to re-enter it, I say out loud, "Don't be obtuse, you know what I meant."
March 6, 2026 at 5:33 PM
sometimes when I type in my password wrong and I'm asked to re-enter it, I say out loud, "Don't be obtuse, you know what I meant."
when you get up in the dark to see the blood moon and stay up and drink coffee and write and then you notice it's dawn and you go around turning off the lamps and you feel like you're in one of those movies where the detectives have been up all night trying to solve a murder
March 3, 2026 at 1:26 PM
when you get up in the dark to see the blood moon and stay up and drink coffee and write and then you notice it's dawn and you go around turning off the lamps and you feel like you're in one of those movies where the detectives have been up all night trying to solve a murder
trying to change the ringtone on my phone because this one sounds like urine splashing over windchimes
March 2, 2026 at 4:58 PM
trying to change the ringtone on my phone because this one sounds like urine splashing over windchimes
years ago, when I first got a macbook, I tripped over the power cord & marvelled at how the cord released itself from its magnetic jack without dragging the laptop onto the floor as I'd feared -- now, though, when I trip on the cord of this new macbook it holds its grip & all hell breaks loose.
February 26, 2026 at 7:50 PM
years ago, when I first got a macbook, I tripped over the power cord & marvelled at how the cord released itself from its magnetic jack without dragging the laptop onto the floor as I'd feared -- now, though, when I trip on the cord of this new macbook it holds its grip & all hell breaks loose.
road salt is one thing, but there are pigeon droppings from a nest above on the door handle to CIBC at Bloor/Dufferin. I thought I was doing the bank a favour by letting them know how filthy their door is, but they don't seem to care, as managers use a side door. #CIBC
February 18, 2026 at 8:50 PM
road salt is one thing, but there are pigeon droppings from a nest above on the door handle to CIBC at Bloor/Dufferin. I thought I was doing the bank a favour by letting them know how filthy their door is, but they don't seem to care, as managers use a side door. #CIBC
my dog will approach other dogs in the dog park and I like to talk to these dogs in my high doggy voice and when we're leaving I'll say to the dog, continuing in my high tone, "See you later, sweetheart!" and then I'll hear the dog owner reply in a normal voice register, "Bye."
February 17, 2026 at 12:48 AM
my dog will approach other dogs in the dog park and I like to talk to these dogs in my high doggy voice and when we're leaving I'll say to the dog, continuing in my high tone, "See you later, sweetheart!" and then I'll hear the dog owner reply in a normal voice register, "Bye."
feel like the city is currently made up of 3% zip-ties.
February 13, 2026 at 2:19 PM
feel like the city is currently made up of 3% zip-ties.
I like to scan the morning skyline of Toronto with binoculars, amazed that modern skyscrapers still puff out smoke from roofs like locomotives, the lit-up logos for TD, Telus, KPMG, the private AI-takeover of Ernst & Young (EY), and then, incongruously, an old-school TIP TOP TAILORS, yay tip-top!
February 12, 2026 at 12:14 PM
I like to scan the morning skyline of Toronto with binoculars, amazed that modern skyscrapers still puff out smoke from roofs like locomotives, the lit-up logos for TD, Telus, KPMG, the private AI-takeover of Ernst & Young (EY), and then, incongruously, an old-school TIP TOP TAILORS, yay tip-top!
If I Wrote Like Lydia Davis
This is --, he said and started to cry.
What’s wrong with him.
Oh, he just hid his relationship for a year, she left him, now she’s back. He’s just sorry he did that.
Tarnished.
‘Sullied’ is the word he uses.
This is --, he said and started to cry.
What’s wrong with him.
Oh, he just hid his relationship for a year, she left him, now she’s back. He’s just sorry he did that.
Tarnished.
‘Sullied’ is the word he uses.
February 10, 2026 at 2:49 PM
If I Wrote Like Lydia Davis
This is --, he said and started to cry.
What’s wrong with him.
Oh, he just hid his relationship for a year, she left him, now she’s back. He’s just sorry he did that.
Tarnished.
‘Sullied’ is the word he uses.
This is --, he said and started to cry.
What’s wrong with him.
Oh, he just hid his relationship for a year, she left him, now she’s back. He’s just sorry he did that.
Tarnished.
‘Sullied’ is the word he uses.
still thinking about my son's Montreal friend Chad Japeedi who helps him with term papers, how my son laughed and laughed when I asked if I'd ever met Chad.
February 8, 2026 at 3:20 PM
still thinking about my son's Montreal friend Chad Japeedi who helps him with term papers, how my son laughed and laughed when I asked if I'd ever met Chad.
when I walk the dog I usually am wrapped up in the enormity of existence, meditating on both the marvel and dismay of the world, but other dog walkers remember my dog's name and talk about specific dog things and I'm pummelled verbally into the quotidian which is probably a good thing
February 7, 2026 at 2:41 PM
when I walk the dog I usually am wrapped up in the enormity of existence, meditating on both the marvel and dismay of the world, but other dog walkers remember my dog's name and talk about specific dog things and I'm pummelled verbally into the quotidian which is probably a good thing
I deposited a cheque at a teller because the ATM rejected it. I signed and she stamped a receipt. I asked if they could give me a new passbook. "We no longer have them." All of the major banks have phased them out. "Even though," the teller said, "a lot of our older clients still ask for them."
February 5, 2026 at 11:42 PM
I deposited a cheque at a teller because the ATM rejected it. I signed and she stamped a receipt. I asked if they could give me a new passbook. "We no longer have them." All of the major banks have phased them out. "Even though," the teller said, "a lot of our older clients still ask for them."
if you want to be remembered by someone, give them a pretty little tin or tube of lip balm -- they'll think of you every day
February 4, 2026 at 1:59 PM
if you want to be remembered by someone, give them a pretty little tin or tube of lip balm -- they'll think of you every day