Out in the Woods

 Dave snapped these pics for me while he was out grooming our ski trails this week.




There is something absolutely magical about immersing oneself into the silence of a winter woods.

Not that it IS silent -- there are the calls of the birds, for one thing.

But there you are, just you, uncrowded, alone...   Not that you ARE alone... if you look at the tracks, you'll see that in this part of the trail system near Hidden Lake in a black spruce bog, we share the planet with the world's largest snowshoe hare. At least, looking at his huge pawprints, one might think so.

And squirrels. And rabbits.  Foxes. Sometimes the sweep in the snow of an owl's wing. Deer. Wolf tracks.  Just because one doesn't see, or hear, does not mean it is not there.

Still, it is good to simply pause, listen to the silence, and let your soul catch up.

Our @20 km of trails are uncrowded, but we are far from the only place up here you can slide your nordic skis.  Algonquin Park has some trails.  So do the Friends of the Frost at  the Leslie Frost Centre. And there is always Arrowhead Park, with a world class network of both recreational and racing trails on offer.

You should come.

Changing by the Day. Sometimes by the Hour.

 Brian has been snapping pictures out of the window over the past week.


That old adage about the weather, the one that says "If you don't like it, just wait a few minutes. It's going to change."  Well, that could be said about the view, too...



We are blessed with a beautiful view across the lawns (once farm fields! Once 165 rows of potatoes, to be precise) to the Lake of Bays. 


And at this time of year, when the Season can't seem to make up its mind and we are balanced between the end of Autumn and the start of Winter, the weather produces remarkable changes in that view.






Even the time of day, throwing blue shadows across white snow, can make the whole place look completely different.

 So here is a collection of those views -- for your enjoyment!

After the Storm

 We had some biggish thunderstorms blow through this past week.  They came in swiftly, and left just as fast.  And in between, it was hot, sunny, fabulous.    In fact, the storms helped reduce the humidity somewhat, which was quite welcome. 

With the lake already at 80 degrees F, 26.6 Celsius, that is where everybody is these days!  And why not!


After the storm, came the rainbow.  or rainbows as the case proved to be...



Brian took the top photo --  Proof that Bondi is the Pot of Gold you've been looking for...  


And then there were sunsets to steal your breath away.



I must give full credit to my friend Jacquie for the superb photo of her son Sean on the stand up paddleboard at her home, just down the lake.  She captured the double rainbow, and the entire essence of summer at the cottage in this one image. 




We now have two standup paddleboards for rent at the resort, joining our canoes, kayaks, and fishing boats...

Showing off our Summertime Blue

 Brian was flying this week -- one trip took him to Parry Sound, and he said the air was so smooth that he barely had to touch the stick at all.  Those kind of days are precious, for pilots and for those of us on the ground looking up.


Here's a shot of Bondi -- coming in from the North East. That's the Fox Point Road leading its way past the Hidden Lake -- you can just pick out the indoor riding arena's green roof on the right side... and then it is blue lake, and more blue lake.  Fire Island dominates the photo, with Dwight Bay in the background. This is a BIG lake!

 As he came around, he got this different angle on the resort property.  For those people who mutter that "resorts are too crowded" all we can say is, you've never stayed with us!  All that land, and only 14 cottages spread around, each one separate and private, but with access to our 1200' of shallow sandy shoreline.

 Now you can start to pick out some of the docks - although most of the cottages are still invisible, because they are so well landscaped into the trees. The organic vegetable garden still looks 'earthy' from this height, but down close, the corn is shooting up out of the ground, growing daily!

We invite you to come visit -- you'll love our summertime Blues!

Summer is On the Way!

 Now is the time, as Winter starts to lose its grip, to turn thoughts towards the Summer.

And where better to spend that than in Muskoka?

And who better to spend that with than Family???

If you have a crowd, we have the place.

We have some vacancies this summer in our big LODGE unit that can easily accommodate from ten to eighteen people.  Plenty of room to get together (and often just as important, plenty of room to get apart!)  Six bedrooms upstairs, four with private bathrooms, two that share an ensuite; another bedroom on the main floor, with two washrooms, library with a piano, big lounge and a dining room (both facing to the lake) and a roomy well equipped kitchen, and in the basement a rec room with ping pong, tv, foosball and pool table -- there is always something to do here! 

June 27 to 4; July 11 to 18 and August 22 to 29 are all available this summer.

The Lake is the big draw, of course, with a shallow sandy beach ideal for all ages, plenty of water toys and canoes, kayaks, paddleboats...  Add in our hiking trails, frisbee golf course, Nature Program of Dark Skies and Wolf Howls...  

We were designed for families!

Not quite so many people as that? We have smaller cottages, two, three and four bedroom also available, scattered throughout the summer season.

We've got you Summer, just waiting for you.  Give us a call.

Go Fish

Opening day of Bass Season, and our fishermen took to the Lake.

With success.  They practice catch-and-release, and were just delighted to land these beauties.

This should put an end, too, to their lament that the sport is called "Fishing," it is not called "Catching."

With over 300 miles of shoreline, and deep deep water, Lake of Bays is home to trout, bass, and (now) pike. The latter were introduced by people who did not give any thought to the consequences of transferring species from one body of water to another, and once into the lakes, it is hard to remove anything. As anyone who has tried to spoon dissolved sugar from a cup of coffee can attest.

This is why there are constant warnings about not using live bait in certain lakes, in only buying bait locally, about cleaning off the hulls of your boats if you use them in different lakes. The inadvertent introduction of species has given us a whole list of invasive things in Canada.

Lake of Bays is still home to beautiful native species, like these bass. We all need to work to keep it that way!  So think before you toss anything into a waterway, be it bait or the boat you just enjoyed on a southern lake with zebra mussels...

Look at the smiles on Dave and Mike, as they proudly show off their catch! 

There are many fishing derbies that take place in Muskoka. If you're in the area on July 14th, the Dorset Kids' Fishing Derby is on. For kids ages 12 & under accompanied by an adult. Lots of prizes & bait provided. $2 per child. Kooky winning categories like "funniest fishing hat". Register 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. behind Northern D'Lites. Judging 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. & prize ceremony at 11:00 a.m. Bring your own pole. Rain date is Sunday, July 15.

Flight School

Our barn swallows hopped out of the nest and into the sky today!  All three of them have made to this point, and are looking lovely, although it is true that they are still working out how to get their feathers to stay in place.

And don't get in their way when they fly. Turning and altitude adjustment are still a bit wobbly.

Mom and Dad are hunting hard for them. Insects and caterpillars are the favoured menu items.