More Cottage Life

After a few adventures in cottage country seeking the splendour that is the Canadian landscape it suddenly occurred to me that here I was, already at somewhere that is splendid, tranquil and diverse. Everyday presenting a different picture of the best Northern Ontario has to offer - so here we have, little more about a few days at the cottage.

Sunday 28 August started with hand washing in the sink followed by blueberry pancakes with lemon and maple syrup, eaten on the deck whilst bird watching; hairy woodpecker, whitethroated sparrow, ruby throated humming bird, brown tree creeper, chestnut sided warbler, blue jays (of course) Ravens and of course the beautiful, haunting Loons. Other wildlife included chipmunk, bank vole, deer mouse and moose; heard grunting away off in the woods nearby.

It was cooler than of late and the low scudding clouds offered occasional spattering so of rain. However the wind was strong and didn't stop the washing drying, the clothes smelled so fresh, you forget how clean air smells sometimes. In the afternoon the sun broke through hot enough for sunbathing on the dock and swimming in the lake, my first experience of open swimming. Sunday dinner was Saucisson and tomatoes braised in red wine with barbecues peppers and corn, simply deelish.

Yesterday, Monday 29 August was a scorcher. After a morning trip to Minden for the best ice cream - Kawatha Dairy - a return to the lake for more swimming, I'm getting quite brave at open swimming now, sunbathing, cloud watching, reading (species ID books!) and lake combing for stones and occasional shells. If the day seemed stunning it simply didn't hold a candle to the evening and as dark approached the clear sky simply filled with stars which reflected in the lake making it difficult to tell where earth ended and heaven began. The Milky Way clearly visible with the naked eye just amazing.

Trees around the cottage mostly are red and white pine with birch, poplar and aspen. There are some sugar maple self seeders along with ground flora of trillium and dogs Mercury. The Haliburton Cottagers Association pledges to leave all standing and fallen deadwood to benefit the wildlife and enrich biodiversity - hurrah! Awesome!! Therefore there are several impressive snags with woodpecker peck holes, boring beetle holes and healthy rot columns. Lichens and fungi are abundant.

Today, Tuesday 30 August, mist lifted from the lake around 7.30am revealing parties of Loons out for early morning fishing, they dive and swim underwater for some distance but also use their wings to scull along the surface. Lots on dragonflies and a return visit from the hairy woodpeckers and bank vole.

As for cottage life, I love it! This really is pared down living just the essentials that you need to operate each day. Once the peripheral trappings of life and technology are gone there is much more room to just - be!