Weeks 3 & 4

The Summer is rolling by quickly.

We have been swimming almost everyday and playing a lot of after dinner badminton which has been fun for us all! We have also been throwing darts this summer - Matt really likes that.

A recent visitor to the tree in front of our deck gets Matt out of bed one night and after grabbing his camera he gets the shot of the midnight Bandit grooming!

An evening paddle alone on the river brought me close to a few beavers and their Kits! I sat quietly in the canoe taking photos and video (a bit shaky) of the busy creatures as they worked on their house and ate the bark off a few twigs - here the beaver is eating bark much like we would corn on a cob!

We spent a nice afternoon with Linda and Bill at their cottage - where we celebrated Matts Grade School Grad with a lovely cake from Aunt Linda and Uncle Bill (even if they can't spell in Minden!) 

Last Monday we spent the day driving Matthew to Cobourg to catch the Via Train to Montreal for the week to visit his grandparents for the week! As the train arrives the Tag he is wearing is to ID him as an "Unaccompanied Minor" supposedly so Via staff can keep an eye on him, it also tells everyone else on the train he is alone which for some younger, less muscular kids might not be such a great idea!

The early morning drive to Cobourg was beautiful as we took a route along the West side of Pigeon Lake South of Bobcaygeon. After Matt's train departed, Deb and I took a stroll along the beach in Cobourg and then stopped for lunch on our drive back to the cottage at a diner in Milbrook, a little town with many huge Victorian homes and a quaint tiny main street.

The week has gone by quickly for Deb and I with many swims, walks, and a short hike in the woods - where we really noticed how incredibly dry the forest is without any rain in July.

Deb harvested her first ever Garlic crop - the buds are a bit small but the aroma is very pungent as they dry in the bunkie.

I also continued work on the cottage - my current project is making baseboard and door frames. Using 10 ft long 1x4 pine and sending them through a router to create a nice milled edge. Once I get about 20 done, I'll be able to get most of the cottage trimmed up!

There have been many great meals - including one the night before Matt left at Lili and Johns down the road. On our way back from Haliburton today we stopped at a local country butcher and bought some huge Scallops. Fried in butter along with onions they were a great treat! We are planning to host a few neighbours next week for dinner when WynneAnne is visiting.



 We are slowly collecting a variety of interesting twigs and things around the deck!


Tomorrow I am planning (weather permitting) to canoe from our dock to Kinmount with Two of our neighbours - Sharron and Lynne. We did the trip last summer with friends, it takes about 4-5 hours and involved two portages - one around the nicest set of Falls in the Haliburton Highlands - Three Brothers Falls!

Week Two

Week two started with having guests for a night! As Matt and Tess were heading to camp Sunday, having Tess's family over Saturday night proved to be a nice interlude for everyone before dropping the kids off for a weeks camp. 

We have also been having a daily visitor to the yard, I think he likes Croquet. I know he like dandelions and weeds which is good as the alternative is some fine dining in Deb's vegetable garden.



Deb and I spent Monday and Tuesday in Peterborough exploring the various neighborhoods and the downtown core. Dinner at a local pub featured some live music which made for a very pleasant accompaniment to our meal! Tuesday we spent several hours touring a number of homes with a realtor to get a better sense of possibilities.... It was a great visit.
No traffic, drive across town in 10 minutes, walk from west end to downtown in 15 minutes, some nice boutiques and restaurants, reasonable home prices, brand new hospital and YMCA, just over an hour drive to cottage, food for thought....

The rest of the week has involved much swimming and canoe/kayaking along with finishing the trim in the bathroom... I can finally cross that off the to-do list!


Friday - our last day before Matthew comes back for camp Deb and I woke at 5:45 am and headed out for an absolutely glorious morning paddle. Who would ever of thought Deb would get out of bed at that hour??!! The river was magical with the mist rising off the water and the sun peeking out around each bend. The forest was alive with birds! It was really fantastic!

Looking forward to seeing MattI'm sure h'll be pleased with the new darts I got him... He is becoming a pretty good diddler!

First Week of Summer 2012

Our first week at the cottage is quickly going by! Matt will be off to Wanakita next week! Some of the hilights this week have been tackling many of the to-do items around here. These include; Finally making the "Our Magic Forest" sign, starting a 10 litre batch of stout Beer in the BeerMachine (my fathers day gift), setting up the dart board and Matt and I playing a few games of cricket, going to town with Matt to get building supplies and working together to install the closet door in the bunkie, starting to chop firewood we cut last summer, Matt breaking the old concrete pipe we have been using as a kindling holder with a sledge hammer and discarding the pieces in the woods (carefully so we won't see them), fixing dock and installing a new dock ladder that was given to us by Lili and John. But the week hasn't been all work... swimming everyday,community potluck on Canada Day, Matt shopping for items to make a variety of refreshing cocktails to indulge his creative urge for bartending, campfire with Matt, Nick and his jiffy pop. Tonight Matt and I spent the evening from 7-10pm fishing on the river. We saw many beavers give their traditional tail slaps, heard two deer run off into the woods from rivers edge, chased a crazy honking goose up the river as it didn't want to fly away and we even caught a few small Bass. So all in all a memorable, active week so far!!