Rabbits Bay, Fall Leaves, Trout

These photos were taken at Rabbit's Bay landing on Tuesday, in light drizzle that didn't stop us from being out and about.

The good thing about dull weather is that the colours in the trees really "pop" against the background, and the wet leaves shine.

There is really no such thing as bad weather here, just the wrong wardrobe. We were well prepared with light jackets and huge umbrellas, but only needed them occasionally.

Rabbit's Bay is a public access point/parkette in Lake of Bays. Recently, the Andrew Daniels' Stewardship Memorial Fund went to work in this park. Andrew grew up on the lake during his summers. Loved it. Loved fishing it. Andrew knew where all the trout went to hide. Where the bass could be found. If you wanted to know about fishing, he was your Go-To Guy. This Fund was created to honour his memory.

The creek at Rabbit's Bay has been identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources Fish Biologist Steve Scholten as a trout spawning stream, so last summer the Fund volunteers set to work to clean it up. Some encroachment over the years by contractors pushing gravel back into the streambed to create a larger parking space needed to be addressed. The damage along the shoreline from certain boats landing also needed work. The streambed needed cleaning up for the fish.

Trees were planted, rocks were placed to limit the parking lot, debris was removed from the waterway. You'd think by now people would know better than to leave junk in waterways but you'd not always be right.

This summer the project was completed. There are new rock picnic tables, new trees along the shoreline, better defined parking areas. The place looks lovely. The stream looks lovely. The fish are happy.

A neighbouring property owner, Mr. Edgar, generously donated a portion of land to expand this park, Fowler Construction is donating some of the concrete dividers that graced our roads during the G8 to reinforce the shoreline where the barge lands and drops it's bow ramp. This will not only help steady the barge to make loading safer, it will protect the fragile shoreline. B.O.R. Aggregates was very generous in providing rip-rap stone and dimensional stone for the site. Dwight Garden Centre stepped up (as Linda always does) with plants and trees. Deb Cummings, representing LOBA (from whom she acquired financial assistance for the project), oversaw the site design.

So great thanks and congratulations to all, including District Councillor Ben Boivin, who sits on the Andrew Daniels' Memorial Fund Board, all the members of the Fund, George Daniels (Andrew's father), the volunteers and sponsors who came together to make this one of the prettiest places you can go for a picnic, especially right now, with the leaves all in colour, and the stream babbling over its rocks.

We think Andrew would be proud. We most certainly are.