Photos of the summer

Here is a link to photo albums from our 2009 summer and others

http://www.picasaweb.google.ca/phil.pellat

TreeHouse Visit

View of the forest and Canopy 30-40 feet above the treehouse.

As I spent a good chunk of my days over the past week building a
treehouse, it was a celebration of sorts tonight with Matthew and I
sitting up there during dusk until after dark listening for animals
from this new forest platform. It is rare to actually get Matthew to
sit still (with no TV in front of him) so this was a great event! We
heard lots of animals scurrying about but didn't see any. I think
getting up there a bit earlier in the evening might be good and
perhaps towards the Fall we can bait the area with a few bales of
straw and bags of apples to attract the Deer and Bears.

August is Here

Well after a brief two day visit home, one of which I spent in bed
feeling like a Mac truck had run over me, we returned to the cottage
with Deb's parents!

I must admit a week with the in-laws is always challenging - but we
did manage to keep pretty civilized and have a good time. We took them canoeing, hiking and did a bit of touring around the area.
Not bad considering they are both in their eighties!

The projects continue.
Today we got the firewood rack completed and made some progress with the tree house, or as I like to think of it "the animal viewing platform" as that seems to make it a more permanent part of Our Magic Forest. One would think that a few boards nailed together as they used to do in the old days would suffice. But as I start researching online into methods of construction and various considerations regarding tree health and flexibility issues of using two trees things get increasingly complex. It will be a great platform to view the creek area behind the bunkie once it is completed.

I also had a delivery of materials so I can finish the bunkie - this
may not however happen this summer.

We topped our day off with a nice bike ride up the road!

So it seems the summer is running quickly by - I need to get through a
few more To-Do items, but also accept that a few simply won't happen this summer.
Also important is the time I promised myself to relax and spend listening, watching, photographing and relaxing.

Wildlife Sightings

There is a lot of wildlife around here... so far this summer we have seen:

Mink

Beaver

Whitetail Deer (many)

Fox

Rabbit

Bears

Birds (many)

Wild Turkey
Grouse
Ducks

Heron

Fish
Bass
Sunfish
Trout

Frogs / Toads
Snakes

Salamander

Butterflies
Damsel flies
Dragon flies
Deer flies
Horse flies

Weevils

Another Rainy Day In Paradise

Early to rise today as Matthew is at day camp this week at YMCA Wanakita and the bus stop is a half hour drive from the cottage.

Then off to Minden for a few chores - of course a mandatory stop at Home Hardware to look at deck preparation and staining supplies... I manage to get out on the cheap side with a gallon of "eco friendly" deck cleaner/prep solution and a colour chart for the stains we need to choose for the deck and house.

A stop at the Minden Hills municipal offices to talk about replacing the missing "Bacon Road" signs at the turnoff for our cottage proves unnecessary as someone has beat me to it and they are already on order! Then a drop off for Purolator to courier to Peterborough a well water test sample to see just how much if any metals are in the drinking water - I am concerned as there is much talk of Uranium in some of the Haliburton wells.

From there driving back to the cottage i find about a dozen Ford Model A's (circa 1928) parked all down main street Kinmount - a good photo opp.

Finally back to the cottage and I get going on the ongoing Bunkie reno project.
A mid afternoon bike ride up the road brings me face-to-face with two deer - well maybe the same one twice!

Finally a bit of R&R reading before driving back to the bus stop with deb to pick up Matt.

Another rainy day in Paradise...

Start of Summer Holidays

Our arrival on Sunday at the cottage was met with an auspicious viewing of a deer on the neighbors property and news that a big black bear was seen there Sunday Morning!

Bug season is still in full swing here with the mosquitos drinking
heartily!

Our first day was full of action. As usual I was up working way before the rest of the family even stirred. By the time they awoke, I had already done several hours work in the bunkie.

Greeted with sunshine instead of the promised rain, after breakfast we headed out and cut down several small trees in front of the house to tidy things up as we haven't really touched that part of the property much.... Then I got to work on the vegetable garden fence and more stones for the firepit.... as we just have to replace the cinder blocks the previous owner used.

We decided to go for a bike ride and found ourselves going straight up the road as it turns into a bush trail. This adventure took us deep into the woods through many muddy washouts in the road and we all got a good workout. I was particularly impressed with Matt as he was riding a pretty heavy BMX with no gears and managed to keep pace with Deb and I with nary a complaint - I think the muddy road engaged him as he got "skunked" really well!

After lunch and a short fishing expedition at Furnace Falls (where I caught two slightly larger than minnow sized rock bass) we headed into town.

Barely a day can go by here without a Kawartha Dairy ice cream. And of course the mandatory visit to Austin Lumber to get reno supplies for the next few days work!

Matthew has decided to audition for a local talent show in Kinmount doing a comedy routine. We started writing some of his jokes down and did a bit of research for more online. A bit of rehearsing and he may just be able to pull this off!

To top off a full day Matt and I decided to get in the car after dinner to explore the road and do some photography in the evening light - we did manage a few photos however the mosquitoes won and we retreated as the sun set.

All that in only our first day!

We have been here for 3 days now and we are wondering if it will ever stop raining for more than an hour at a time!

Yesterday we managed to get in a bit of fishing at the dam on Salerno lake with Deb, Matthew and his friend Alyssa and I. It was fun - the kids each caught a few small Rock Bass and one nice Bass got away from me right near shore! Of course as with any fishing outing with kids - most of my time is spent untangling line, dealing with snags in trees and replacing lost hooks and tackle.

As usual I've got lots of pokers in the fire - work continues on the bunkie renovation, garden twig fence, firepit stone gathering, wood splitting, building ladder for bunk beds, trimming trees around the front yard, bathroom reno, more coat racks, etc...... gee and it's only been three days! I did think about meditation - but that will have to wait for a nice dry day as my favorite spot in the woods is pretty wet and buggy!

Today we spent in Minden for the soggy Canada day festivities, there were a lot of people out considering the conditions - overcast to torrential rain followed by short stints of heat and sun!

The weather forecast is good and it looks like by the weekend we will be headed for some sunny hot days!

Anticipation of Summer

As we get closer to the end of Matthew's school year and the weather
warms I am thinking of the long To-Do list I have been compiling for
the cottage. We will be heading up for a good chunk of July and
hopefully August as well. Of course I am sure business will weave
itself into this and I'll need to return to the city to deal with it.

I have set the context for my time at the cottage as the "summer for
my soul" and I intend on working at it! Often in the need "to do" the
"being" gets lost - and this summer is about balance and ensuring that
I find time for the soulful endeavors the cottage offers. An early
morning paddle up the misty river, sitting quietly on my favorite
mossy hilltop behind the cottage in the sun meditating and being
still, a morning hike along a trail with my camera to capture the warm morning sunrise. Being in the moment, keeping focused on the now that is all we really have and working towards letting go of worries of tomorrow. This will be the focus of my summer up north.

I also look forward to sharing this special place with friends and
family and making memories of a great time at the cottage for Matthew.

Have a great summer and stay tuned as I'll be writing regularly from
Our Magic Forest!

And feel free to post some comments - I'd love to hear from any of you reading this! H'mmmm I'm assuming someone actually reads this stuff!!??

Just a June Weekend

Matthew seems to be in good company taking Friday afternoon off from class to head to the cottage!

Errrgh..... Traffic....... and it's not even a long weekend or really
summer yet.

Upon arrival we go for a nice walk to the river at sunset. Matthew of
course needed to burn more steam and went on a bike ride down the lane.

Up early to a beautiful day and got working in the bunky until
everyone else awoke for breakfast. I keep convincing myself that it will look good once it is all trimmed up - it's going to be one hell of a trim job to get it looking decent!

We dropped Matt off at his friend Alysa's up the road to "swim" in
their freezing little pool and play on the trampoline.

Deb and I were now free to go our own way for a few hours.... off to
Kinmount to visit the Saturday Farmers Market and of course Castle lumber yard!

On our way back from town we stop at the very small local Irondale
Garden Centre where Bob and Yuki offer their friendly advice on our
vegetable garden. We also get a bunch of really healthy looking plants; Tomato, cucumber, zuchini, peppers, basil, beans, peas, onions etc.... and many more bags of black earth!

They also provide a tip on where we might be able to get a used wheel barrow from a local up the road. Just ask the locals and you get all sorts of tips and advice!

We were inspired by the community greenhouse near home in Trinity
Bellwoods park to build a little fence of woven sticks around the
garden... so out comes the chainsaw Aaron generously gave us, the one originally bought for his wife Linda... (I guess that wasn't such a great gift... I'll stick to chocolate!).

Will our neighbour and handyman agreed to drop by and help get the
Kayak and Canoe down to the water from their winter resting place
under the deck, much easier in his flatbed trailer and ATV than
portaging! That accomplished we also manage to get the dock into the water.... so we are now ready for summer action at the waterfront!

After dinner Matthew and I suited up in our bug jackets take a hike
through the woods behind the cottage - up to the top of the hill where
there is a little clearing with very flat granite rocks and a lot of soft moss and lichens to sit on. I try to spend a few minutes meditating to the sound of mosquitos buzzing around my head while Matt heads for his favorite climbing tree nearby.

As if we haven't yet accomplished enough today I decide to carry down the hill a rather sizeable piece of very flat rock which will serve as a small table or bench near the cottage.
Originally I thought that we would do this in the winter on a sled, but there is little that beats brute strength for getting a task done.... did I mention I was wearing Crocks?

Now a few Robaxacets and I'll be good as new!

Sunday morning arrives overcast and threatening rain - but as the
canoe is by the river Matthew and I decide to grab a few granola bars
and see if we can canoe to Jacob's Ladder - a set of falls about 45 minutes downstream from our dock - we haven't seen them yet!
It starts to drizzle as soon as we head out - but if the beaver swimming along side us doesn't mind neither do we. Arriving above the falls we clearly see the portage marked with an orange stake and tie up. A nice hike to the bottom of the falls is rewarded by a fantastic view and we also come upon a piece of drift barn board which will make a nice shelf or bench... so we carry that back to the canoe. Fortunately as it starts to rain harder the way back always seems shorter!

Our First Anniversary in Blackfly Land

saved by our bug jackets

Choppin' that tree

relaxing with our home entertainment system

This past weekend we celebrated the first anniversary 

of finding the cottage!

Driving to the cottage in the late evening we were accompanied by a beautiful sunset. The serenity of the view was contrasted by Matthew's choice of music.... Nickelback!

Turning onto our cottage road two and a half hours later in the dark,
we noticed a sound emanating from the forest, actually just the wetland areas. What's that? Crickets? No too loud for crickets! Moose? Deb suggested (jokingly I hope). Ah.... The sound of an amphibian choir during their springtime mating ritual! We stopped the car and opened all the windows to listen. I had recently told Matthew a bedtime story of how Deb and I once came upon a marsh full of singing frogs on a spring hike.

you can hear the Spring Peepers at the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Peeper

Again nature surprised the senses, reminding me that I need to slow down and listen more. I know that spending time in the forest, beyond the noise in my head and the desire "to do" will bring me closer to a place unchanged, a place connected to all.

Well that was a nice thought.... Friday I awoke at 6 am, made coffee and headed out to the bunkie to get some work done while everyone was still asleep, I managed to get most of one wall paneled. I am hoping to get the "guest bunkie" ready for guests at some point this summer! 

It turned out to be a beautiful day.... of course that is if you don't mind the swarming masses of Blackflies! What would we have done without those bug jackets?

As this was the first real spring day we have been at the cottage since the frost went out of the ground we were able to get the property set up for Summer... Put up the clothesline, badminton net, kitchen tent over the picnic table, patio umbrella setup.... relax. 

Okay well after a few minutes of relaxing we start chopping the tree that was cut down last fall and is now piled up behind the bunkie.... Matthew is becoming a fine axeman, but we really do need a wheelbarrow to move the wood!

Deb wanted to go on a walk on Bacon Road. We pop Matthews bike into the car and drive to the starting point of our walk. A yellow school bus had just dropped off a neighbours daughter. Matthews' best buddy Alyssa, returning from school (Matthew Played hookie .... again) decided to join us on our walk... her mom got her bike and then Deb and I walking, follow the kids on their bikes.

After the walk we decide to head into Irondale to rent a movie and get a snack.... we find ourselves stopping at the small local "garden centre" along the road to get earth for Deb's new vegetable garden. Then onwards for snacks! Much to our surprise next to the country store is now a little trailer called "Smokin' Jakes BBQ" turns out he makes the best Sweet Potato Fries anywhere!

Back at the cottage we begin digging the garden and gathering trees to make a bit of a border.... the fun just never ends!

I guess the quiet time in the woods will have to wait for summer.

Overnight Trip With Matty

Last Friday Matthew and I decided to play hookie for the day and go up to the cottage - just the boys!

We arrived after a very enjoyable 3 hr road trip listening to tunes and stopping for lunch in Fenelon Falls and food shopping in Kinmount.

After much persistence Matthew convinced me to delay my plans for painting the bathroom and spend part of the afternoon on a mountain bike outing in the woods. We got into our billy boots as things were pretty wet and proceeded to walk, drag, crawl and as necessary carry the bikes through the forest behind our cottage, over logs, through the creek and up the hill to the trail.

In the forest behind our place there is a series of trails - I think mostly used by ATVs, these are great for hiking and biking - although we do have to trespass onto neighbouring land. 

(This summer we will make a point of meeting all the landowner and hopefully getting permission to hike and bike)

After a really nice ride along the trail, past a wet land where a geocache** is located, we finally emerged from the forest into a dry scrubby "tundra like" environment with lots of beautiful lichens and juniper bushes.  Here we turned off the trail and onto another loop that was created as a dirt bike track - we decided to explore this as a neighbour mentioned it last summer. Turns out this is a much longer loop than we anticipated and really took a lot of energy to cycle around. Halfway back Matthew's chain fell off requiring some messing with but we finally got going again.

Heading back we came upon a rabbit next to the trail which stood it's ground until Matt  who was thrilled to see it got to close.  We took a shortcut home through our neighbour John's property which leads directly from the trail back to the road instead of trampling through the back of our property again.

We were both pretty exhausted but this had been a fine adventure on a beautiful spring day.... of course the bathroom still needed to be painted!

On our way home Saturday along our dirt road we saw a Wolf running ahead of us as well as two deer along the highway - each visit to the cottage has provided some great and unexpected wildlife viewing!

**We are very near the geocache capital of Canada - Gooderham

   See: http://www.geocaching.com/

The sunset - not a chimney fire!!

Our Very First Cottage Weekend - July 2008

I thought I should summarize a bit about our first trip to the cottage last July long weekend.

We arrived to find the place pretty much a disaster. The previous owner had not completed moving all his stuff out nor had a rather large unsightly garden shed (also full of stuff) been removed as per our agreement of purchase. Somehow all this didn't surprise us and we quickly set about tidying the place up.

After cleaning up all the left over debris, there were still a few items to take care of. We started laying new floors, then had the wood stove overhauled including new tile hearth pad and a completely new chimney. We also had some new windows installed, furniture and appliances for the kitchen shopped for and delivered, renovated bathroom with new shower and sink, a dump truck load of red granite gravel spread on the driveway, a gift picnic table (from my parents) assembled, a tree over the bunkie cut down, many repairs to the plumbing, utility closet built, bunkbeds in place, new electrical panels in the house and bunkie, shopping for my dream canoe (a swift) and kayak for Matthew, getting that new BBQ barely in time for our dinner guests arrival, finally we settled into a great summer of fun!

But of course the renovations and work continue.....

Just writing these run-on sentences down makes me tired....it really
was a busy first few weeks!

Here are a few of the early snaps from last year.

Our first few hours in paradise were spent emptying out the junk left by the previous owner

Now that all the junk is out - cleaning the plywood floors to get rid of the lingering cigarette smoke odour is next - cudos to Murphy's Oil!

This old garden shed was supposed to be removed before closing day - instead we added all the junk from the house and then contracted a local neighbour to take it to the dump! 

A view of the old shed now gone, an old peddle boat we donated to a neighbour and our Bunkie in behind which is now being transformed into a guest cottage, complete with composting toilet and workshop storage area. 

The inside of the bunkie - before we started renovations....the previous owner apparently had done "some work" on it

Almost Clean - Matthew worked really hard that day taking control of mop duty.

Okay, time for new floors - Rough plywood is not my style!

Matthew working with me to lay flooring in his bedroom. 

Now that's better! New floor, new hearth pad and new chimney.... and a bit of furniture.

Now there's a bed I can sleep in.... in fact these futons are more comfortable than our bed at home, or maybe it's just the air!

Looking good!

Let's check out the roof! 

Matthew in the lead in his new Kayak heading upstream!

Matthew being towed home - Somehow I knew that would happen!

Bunny hops on the deck - fun for Matt, headaches for us! 

The Tree Climbing King

I found this tree with my friend Alyssa. This tree is in our magic
forest and to get to the tree we had to go up one big hill.
The tree is near two big stones. I love those stones, one is standing
up and one is lying down.
There's one thing I like about the tree and one thing I don't - I
like it because it is a good climbing tree, but I didn't like the
branch that broke as it made me really nervous -but I hung on.

Sincerely,
Matthew

Spring Thaw

The Irondale River is normally about 15 feet below the bridge during
the summer.
I just happened to be on a quick overnight at the cottage in April and
witnessed the full fury of the spring thaw - awesome!

First Post

I am looking forward to starting this record of our time spent up north at our cottage - our magic forest! 

I hope this proves to be an ongoing documentation of the time and energy we spend as a family closer to the land and nature.