Category Archives: The Cottage

Frogs and Bark

Posted on by
2

…. almost stepped on the first and have an obsession with the second

Just got back from the cottage and I immediately downloaded my photos from the camera.     I had a relaxing weekend with my husband. No stair building, no leave raking… nothing too strenuous.

On our walk of the beach yesterday I almost stepped on this little guy. Good thing I was looking down at the time. A little further down I found a second one.

I love the texture of bark and think it makes great material for photographs. The lichen on this maple tree gives the bark a beautiful bluish tinge.

A lot of the trees have these interesting scars on the bark. We think that it’s due partially to the deer that sometimes come across the ice in the wintertime and chew on the bark for food.

On our recent trip to Niagara Falls, I came across this beautiful little grove of trees at the Botanical Gardens. I’ve never seen such white, perfect little birches in my life. My cottage is surrounded by birch trees but the young saplings are never this white and the older, more mature trees are gnarly and textured with peeling bark.

A grove of young birch trees at the botanical gardens in Niagara Falls, Canada.

A Very Long Walk

Posted on by
Reply

….we decided to walk extra far today instead of doing our usual run.

I got ready for my walk/run today without the usual coaxing from my husband. Instead I had to light a fire under him to get us moving today.

When we got to the rugby pitch we decided to forego the run and walk further along the path than we would normally. Frances was not pleased. She kept pulling toward the pitch and then toward the lake but we persevered and moved on.

This is what Frances wanted to do today. We did let her have a short swim at the beach in Marie Curtis Park before we turned around to come home.

We walked past an area in Toronto where the homes sit on the lake. Some are the original little cottages that were built there almost 100 years ago and others are massive monster homes that have slowly been replacing the cottage-like dwellings. I can’t blame people for tearing down some of the older homes. Property values on the lake are through the roof. I do have a problem with homes that don’t fit into the neighbourhood because of poor design or little regard for the vernacular of the neighbourhood.

The Old Cottages…..

Anyway the walk was long and Frances was not a happy puppy. When I got home I went to gmap-pedometer and mapped out our route. We walked 8.75 km. It seemed longer for some reason.

I’m leaving for the cottage today or early tomorrow morning so I won’t be posting for a few days. I’m looking forward to my long walks on the beach and through the woods and getting in a few last swims before the end of summer. Can you believe it’s almost September?  Boo-hoo!!!

 

 

 

 

 

…..replaced by monster homes like this!

The old places definitely need work but the new monster homes have so little character.

Some of the renovations are stunning and I’ve included some of my favourites. They still have that cottage feel and look but are obviously larger and have more modern amenities. They’re also beautifully landscaped. You be the judge.

Diving for Frisbees and Fuzzy Caterpillars

Posted on by
7

….. more fun things from the cottage

After 23 years, I finally got my staircase to the second floor. No more ladder. Hooray!

My cousin and his girlfriend spent 3 days at the cottage with us. PW helped the guys with building the staircase while M helped with the meals.

After the staircase was finished K and I had time to enjoy the beach.

Our crazy dog, Frances. loves to chase and retrieve her yellow frisbee. Unfortunately if the frisbee is right side up it sinks in the water. NO problem. Frances dives for it until she finds it and then surfaces and brings it back to shore.

PW and I continue to experiment with our cameras. On Sunday a little caterpillar joined us on the picnic table. It was tricky taking his picture because he was constantly moving. These were taken with my Lumix Panasonic DMC-FH1 on the macro zoom setting.

Feels Like a Cottage Morning

Posted on by
Reply

…even though I’m still in the city

I woke up early this morning to the sound of rain hitting the pavement. After all the heat and drought we’ve experienced this summer the rain is welcome relief. It’s one of those mornings where you want to stay in bed, read and write and contemplate life.

But alas I have company here and I need to get up and start the coffee and make breakfast.

My cousin and his girlfriend arrived last night after being on a bus for over 50 hours. It was our first encounter. What a lovely couple! We enjoyed a simple supper together here at the house and to our surprise they stayed up till midnight and shared stories of their adventures here in Canada. They’ve been here since last October but mostly out West.

I was hoping to get out for a run today with Frances. Even though it’s still raining I might brave it anyway. K left for the cottage early this morning (5:30) so that he could build the staircase. He’s usually my motivation for getting out to run.

My weight loss journey has slowed down considerably but I am down another 11/2 pounds for a total of 26 1/2 pounds. I’m not discouraged but I do feel that I have to re-exam my food intake. I love cheese and I think that’s my biggest downfall. Even though it’s acceptable on a low GI diet I think adding the gluten free crackers slows my metabolism and interferes with how fast I lose weight.

Obviously I’m burning more calories than I’m eating and that’s the main thing. I keep moving forward in a positive direction and there’s no looking back.

As I lie here and ‘contemplate life’ I feel that this weight loss journey is different from any I’ve ever been on and I’ve been on many. The difference this time is that I’m not thinking about when this diet will be over. I’m developing habits that will last me a lifetime and I honestly don’t feel deprived. I’m not thinking about going back to my old ways and looking forward to my next piece of cake.

Unlike this little chipmunk from the cottage I’m not constantly thinking about my next meal and scavenging for food 24/7.

Back From Paradise

Posted on by
Reply

…. so why would I come back you ask???

I love it at the cottage but occasionally I have commitments back in the city that bring me home for a few days. This time I have a cousin from Germany, who’ve I’ve never met, and his girlfriend coming to visit me. They’ve been in Canada since last October, doing odd jobs in Vancouver and the interior of B.C. and travelling up and down the west coast. They are now on their way back to the east coast to catch a flight back to Germany so that they can return to school. On their way here they made a stop in Calgary and stayed with my baby sister for about 5 days before boarding a bus for Toronto. They should be arriving tomorrow evening.

I’ve been at the cottage for almost a week. The Saturday of the long weekend had to be the hottest day I’ve experienced at the cottage this summer. It was also the busiest. I had 10 guests arrive around noon, 6 adults and 4 very busy boys (ages 5 to 9). My daughter A, and her partner, J invited J’s sisters and brothers-in-law and their children for a day at the beach. They couldn’t believe that they were in Canada when they saw the beach and their   apprehensions about going to a cottage without electricity soon vanished. I love guests that pitch in and do most of the cooking and cleaning. They’re welcome back anytime.

J and A with the 4 boys. As you can see they have a hard time sitting still even for a picture.

My husband K and Frances after our company left. Enough said.

Great Day for Running

Posted on by
Reply

…. but I’m still holding steady at 25 pounds down

I was hoping to report that I’m down more pounds but I did lose the water weight and that’s it so far.

What I’m happy about is my run today. Yesterday my legs felt like lead and I could barely finish 4 laps at the rugby pitch. K also called it a day after 5 laps. He told me not to be discouraged and that I would probably have a better day, today. He was right.

As we were walking over to the park I was having doubts about running. My tendinitis in my left ankle was bothering me and I was still feeling tired. When I started running I decided to run as far as I could without stopping before walking. Once I got going I couldn’t believe how much energy I had.

I ran a full 500 m (1 lap) before I walked and when I did walk I went 1/4 lap and then started running again for the rest of the lap. In total I ran 5 1/4 laps and only walked 3/4 of a lap for a total distance of 3 km not counting the trip there and home again. I’m feeling very good about my accomplishment and running 5 km without stopping doesn’t seem that far off any more.

Here’s something we haven’t seen for awhile in Toronto…. mud! After yesterday’s big thunderstorm there were actual muddy patches on the field.

I’m heading to the cottage today for about a week so I won’t be able to write anything on the blog for that length of time. As some of you know I don’t have electricity up there so I’ll be channelling my creative juices into other pursuits. I’ll definitely take more photographs, read, swim, run and get out my paints and start or finish a painting.

Stay in touch. Cheers!

Snakes, Seagulls, Surf, Sunsets and Scrabble

Posted on by
3

…. I didn’t intend to create an alliteration when I took these photos

This week at the cottage I was presented with some interesting moments for taking pictures. The first happened when my friend D was leaving my place and noticed a garter snake slithering along the ground at the bottom of the deck stairs. She suggested that photos of this little guy might make an interesting contribution to my blog. Check him out!

The next day the winds came up and we were treated to huge and powerful waves on the the bay.

Later that evening, the wind died down and as I was walking along the beach I witnessed this beautiful sunset.

One of my favourite games to play at the cottage is good old fashion Scrabble. I have to admit that I wasn’t very good at it the first few times I played it but my good friend D gave me a few pointers (which I’m sure she’s regretting) and I’ve been on a bit of a winning streak. Notice the word ‘zooid’. A good one to remember. 

Oops! I guess the word ‘zooid’ was on the previous board. Anyway it’s a biological term meaning ‘a cell capable of spontaneous movement’. The word on this board that may be new to you is ‘natron’, meaning ‘a mineral, hydrated sodium carbonate’.

The picture below is of me and my Scrabble buddies, D and her daughter, Dy.

You can thank your lucky STARS that it was overcast last night so that I wasn’t able to take pictures of the night SKY and that I wasn’t interested in taking pictures of the SHOWERS today. Maybe next time. I’m home for a few days. I’ll post my weight loss progress tomorrow. TTFN

My Abundant City Garden

Posted on by
Reply

….lost all track of time while I worked in the garden yesterday and my plans to head up to the cottage vaporized

I love the garden but it is a huge commitment and requires love, care and TIME.

I had packed my clothes, shopped for the necessities to bring back to the cottage BUT I needed to do one more little thing in the garden before I left…..

Well that ‘one little thing’ turned into many little things and before I knew it I was on a roll and couldn’t stop. It felt good to tidy up the weeds, trim the hedge (again!), cut the grass and pick the ‘fruits of our labour’. That evening I sat outside with my husband enjoying a lovely dinner of grilled vegetables and salmon fillets. Looking over the garden from our deck gave me a great deal of satisfaction and a feeling of pride.

This morning I walked around the garden and took pictures of the flowers and some of the vegetables that will be ready for harvesting in the coming weeks. If you remember my  post from May where I showed you the beginnings of this garden I think you’ll agree that it’s come a long way. NOT BAD for a garden in the middle of Toronto.

Raised vegetable bed, ready for planting, May 21, 2012

My Garden in the Morning, July 22, 2012

A Charm of Hummingbirds

Posted on by
2

One of life’s little pleasures is watching hummingbirds visiting the feeders strategically hung around the cottage. Actually hummingbirds are very aggressive and they routinely dive bomb and swoop down on each other and they seem to have no fear of humans. Many a time I’ve had to duck to avoid being charged by a hummingbird. I’ve had visions of a hummingbird being lodged in my forehead.

Today I was experimenting with my simple digital camera and got some amazing shots of my speedy little friends.