Night Visitor at the Cottage

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….most wildlife at the cottage is pretty much unseen

When I arrived at the cottage last week I heard from a couple of my neighbours that a fox and her four kits lived close by. Usually the fox stay back in the woods but this mom and her family have been seen during the day checking out the area around the cottages looking for handouts.

The second night at the cottage I heard a very loud and strange sound. At first I thought it was the young man next door sneezing loudly. When I heard it a second time it sounded more like a woman screaming. The third yelp was clearly closer to the cottage and the sound was a half animal and half human cry. After several strange screams I heard the neighbours start to come out of their cottages.

D from next door was walking up the road with her head lamp on and soon saw that the noise was coming from the mother fox. She continued with her crying for a little while longer but we have no idea why she was so traumatized. Eventually she left and the rest of the evening was relatively quiet. There has been some speculation that the fisher in the neighbourhood may have gotten one of her kits.

Like I said earlier much of the wildlife on the island stays out of site and in the evening when you’re walking along a path you have to be careful not to step on the toads. One evening I went to the water barrel to wash my hands and I heard a rustle in the leaves. When I looked down I saw the biggest toad I’ve ever laid eyes on. With the aid of my lantern I was able to get a couple of shots of him before he jumped away.

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Photography in the Dark

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….I’ve been experimenting with my camera and looking for interesting shots at night

All of these photos were taken at the cottage.

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Evening Shots From the Cottage

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….on my first visit to the cottage this summer I walked the beach in the evening to get some night time pictures

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Opening the Cottage in August

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….I was dreading going to the cottage on my own to open up for the season

Before we left for Italy I was hoping to open the cottage so that it would be ready when we returned. Unfortunately that didn’t happen for too many reasons to go into to.

When we did return home from our amazing trip it took me a couple of days to recover from jet lag. My husband was still recovering from his gastrointestinal problems so a couple of days were spent visiting his doctor and then a specialist. One thing was for sure; going to the cottage meant going on my own. My husband didn’t feel well enough to be at the cottage, my daughters couldn’t make it until later in August and my friends were busy with elderly parents and health issues of their own.

Last Sunday I finally packed up the car and made the trip on my own. Leaving on a Sunday meant I missed all the weekend traffic and the line-up for the ferry (barge) was short. One of the other reasons I was hesitant about going up alone was because the regular car ferry had been taken off the lake forever and a temporary barge was transporting eight to twelve cars at a time (normally 20 cars were on the old ferry). The fear of the unknown kept me in the city longer than I had planned.

Everything went fairly smoothly crossing the lake. When I got to the cottage my neighbour’s adult children had already removed the plywood panel from the back door and had moved my propane fridge from inside to the deck outside. It was evident that the mice had moved in last fall after we left or early in the spring. It’s been worse. I quickly cleaned up the mouse poop in the kitchen and removed all the cushions from their protective storage bags.

Every day that I was there I tackled a new job or two. This way I didn’t kill myself trying to do it all in one day. After four days I had wiped down all the surfaces, washed most of the dishes I would need, swept and washed the floors on the main level and opened up the sofa bed to make sure nothing was living inside. Outside I raked the leaves from the pathways, swept the deck and set up the outdoor furniture and the barbecue.

While I was there I had some fun as well. I visited with my good friends next door, celebrated a birthday down the way with cake and a bonfire, learned a new board game, went for walks on the beach and actually swam in the lake, two days in a row when the water was calm. I was able to get some reading done and finished a novel I had started earlier in the year. I’m now on a second book that I hadn’t finished from a couple of months ago.

On Thursday when I left I luckily got the last spot on the barge for my car and had a leisurely drive back to the city. It felt good knowing that the cottage was somewhat visitor ready and that next time the trip would be less stressful.

The other fun thing that I found time for was taking photos that I will share with you over the next few days. You may have already seen some of the flower shots that I took of my neighbour’s garden.

New Flower (August 6, 2016)-White and Pink Lily

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….more flowers from my cottage neighbour’s garden

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Sunday Trees – 239

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Becca for hosting Sunday Trees

Share Your World 2016 – Week 20

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

When do you feel most connected with others?

I feel most connected to people during those quiet one on one conversations over a cup of coffee or tea. I like that intimate personal time with people where you can really get to know them.

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What daily habit would you like to introduce to your life?

I would like to do one creative activity every day. I paint and read sporadically now but I’d like to be more consistent. I’d also like to do some volunteer work.

What one mini-little-adventure would you like to have in the coming week?

This week I’d like to visit the art gallery or the museum. It’s a long weekend here in Canada and sometimes it’s a good time to visit places in the city because so many people head north to open their cottages.

List things or events that changed your Life: It could be as simple as a book or meeting a certain person?

• meeting my husband 43 years ago

• the birth of my children

• graduating from university and becoming a teacher

• the death of my mother

• meeting my best friends AB in 1976 and LC in 1989

• learning to drive when I was in my 20s

• my first art class where I learned how to paint with watercolour

• building a cottage next to my good friend DM

• the birth of our first grandchild

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for being able to continue on my weight loss journey and for the support of my husband and my friends at work. My husband has lost 26 pounds and I’m down 18. My new passport arrived this week and I can check off one more thing from my to do list before I go to Italy in July. I’m also grateful that my photo isn’t the worst passport photo that I’ve ever taken. I have to live with it for the next 10 years.

For the rest of the week I’m looking forward to our girls’ soccer tournament on Friday, visiting our daughter and her family in Hamilton on Saturday and seeing my older daughter on Sunday or Monday. Since it’s the long weekend here I’m also looking forward to planting some things in the garden and firing up the barbecue for a meal or two. It’s also suppose to be a spectacular weekend, weather wise.

Here are a few photos from this past week.