Carry the Camera.Meet the Neighbours.

I always carry a camera with me. Usually a small one that slips easily into a pocket. Or at the very least, the not-so-great camera that is part of my cell phone.    So it was with a sinking heart just before Christmas that I was privileged to watch a lovely Algonquin timber wolf saunter across the road ahead of the car, near Marsh's Falls.  Obligingly, as I pulled onto the shoulder and lowered the window, he posed for me... I reached for the camera...

It wasn't there. Nor was my phone. Both left at home on the window ledge by a moment of sheer bad planning.  I could have wept.

So I was so thrilled when a friend (who DID have a camera handy) sent me this great photo capture of red fox. Our favourite kind of red fox -- it did not have chicken feathers in its teeth :) 

Gerry, my photographing friend, was lucky enough to even snap a short video of the pair of foxes wandering up the edge of the road.  We see their tracks on our property all the time, particularly up near the Hidden Lake, in the black spruce bog which is also heavily populated with the tracks of rabbits.

Camera -- don't leave home without one!

You Know I Can't Hear You When the River is Running

Look who I found today!

Swimming in the rapids of the Oxtongue River, this pair of beavers entertained Jacquie and I for quite some time.  Taffy had to go on leash so she wasn't tempted to jump in and join them -- very dangerous, that, with the river running fast and cold.

The pair were busy putting the finishing touches on their winter lodge and food supply.  It is carefully located in the middle of the river, where it is well protected.  It amazed me that they had been able to fix their food supply securely near this lodge, in the midst of the river flow, but they had...

A trail of snipped off trees along the shoreline, all neatly sharpened to pencil points, tattle-tales their presence.

This was one big beaver -- we know, because he swam very close to us along the shore, hanging in the current for his 'close-up'

He had a careful eye on us all the time, however, and frequently punctuated the river with a big tail slap.   I was able to capture one of these on this video-- it is a little shaky in spots, where I was trying to keep Beav in the viewfinder while not finding myself in the river next to him! Enjoy!

A skunk at the door

Nancy was over at Farside cottage last night, hooting for owls and howling for the wolves with some guests here from Germany.

They had spent the day in Algonquin Park, and while they had really enjoyed the fall colours and the hiking, they had not seen any wildlife at all. Returning to the cottage, they were met by deer on the lawn.
Nancy gave them a lesson in 'Canoeing 101' and off they went around the bay, having a great time. About 9.30, while both Canada and America were deep in debate for the coming elections, we all stepped out into the dark, to see who was close by.

While Carol heard the Great Horned Owl the other morning, our owls continued their summer tradition of not replying to Nancy's hoots. But the wolves...

The whole pack opened up in song, somewhere over on the hill by the Sugarbush trail. They howled for us twice.

Nancy and Achmed the Cat returned to her house, tripped lightly up the steps, and found a fluffy black and white striped tail sticking out of the dog food bag in the porch. Nancy tripped lightly right back down the steps. Mr. Skunk poked his sharp little nose out of the bag, and we looked at each other. Achmed wisely left.

He was a good little skunk - he didn't spray, or make a mess, and given the invitation, he elected to simply leave the porch. All is good. We get skunks on the lawn at this time of year, usually at night, digging for grubs and leaving telltale little holes in the grass. They are actually rather sociable creatures, not aggressive, and quite willing to go through life without ever deploying their formidable scent glands, with a nifty liquid called "mercaptan." The trick is not to antagonize them. (or to be the sixth person to do so -- they can only make enough scent to spray five times a week...) Brian has it down to a fine science, if he catches one in the live-trap, and he can move the trap and still smell like a rose. He figures the stripes are really a Bar Code, identifying each skunk.

You don't, however, really want to see them in the porch.

Walking trails written up in the Muskoka Sun

There will soon be an article by N. Thompson about our trails published in the Muskoka Sun.

This article is as follows and this is a "scoop" as it has not yet been published.

Trail Talk – Bondi Village

What a summer! The most exercise I have been getting is to swat bugs with one of those electric bug zapper that looks like a tennis racket. Great fun and no shortage of bugs.

However, I must lose weight and have embarked on yet another round of exercises plus much more walking. Rain or shine walking is a grand way to lift your spirits, help your heart and tone your muscles.

This week we visited Bondi Village to explore some (not all) of their 20 km of trails which wind through their 600 acres.

Follow Highway 60 west from Huntsville, turn right on Highway 35 east of Dwight and right again on to Muskoka Road 21. The resort is well signed.

The general public is welcome to use the trails to walk and take pictures but, please, do stop in at the Bondi office for a trail map and to make parking arrangements. A small donation for use of this splendid acreage would be much appreciated. (It all helps to pay the taxes, as Brian Tapley would say.)

Please do not just park along the side of the municipal road and trespass ~ the Tapleys do need to know who is walking on their property and where.

Most of the trails [1]are used primarily for cross country skiing and some are through boggy areas that are really only suitable for winter use unless you are into studying bog plants and feeding mosquitoes. In winter there is a charge of $5.00 per person/day for skiing to help pay for trail grooming. The remainder are good for hiking year round and some offer excellent views from the tops of several high hills, others offer a close up of a beaver pond/meadow and a couple of small lakes.

If some of your party would rather play disc golf ask at the Office. Nine holes cost $5 per person for three discs each.

Please note that wheeled vehicles and motorized vehicles are not allowed.

My husband, Brian and I walked the two kilometre round trip Lookout Trail. It winds up, steeply up, through an old growth hardwood forest.

Characterized by large old trees with a dense canopy and little undergrowth, this type of forest has large fallen trees, moss and fungi covered logs as well as snags (broken but still standing trees) often full of pileated woodpecker holes. We found several differently coloured mushrooms such as the striking green poisonous stropharia aeruginosa (I think) and rosy russula. There are many fine examples of various conchs and blue green stainers, cupules turquoises.

The trail starts out across a wildflower meadow then into a deeply shaded forest. Here we came upon three young deer. They were not afraid of us at all ~ I see why Tapley’s had their gardens fenced.

Once in the trees the path is packed earth with some slippery spots after rain. The main water crossing is over an earth covered culvert marked by two large moss cloaked logs. Then the trail starts to climb. This trail is not only for the young-at-heart but also for the strong-of-limb. I haven’t seen such a stand of large old maple and beech for many years. It is a rare reminder of pre-settlement Muskoka forests. A few of the trees had great slashes down their whole length from lightning strikes. We saw a pileated woodpecker and much evidence of its work.

After what seemed like a very long distance we came to the top and were rewarded with a splendid view over Tapley Bay and the Bondi Village Resort.

Needless to say the trip down was much easier and faster.

We sampled sections of the Hardwood Hills Trail where paralleled and crossed Joseph Tapley Road. The road is an experience in itself but cuts through a much younger forest and is quite flat there. The map shows long hills to the east.

Also had a wee walk on the River Overlook Trail which leads out to the Oxtongue River. We didn’t cross the creek by a large beaver pond but I expect there is good birding there.

All in all the Tapley’s have some interesting trails. In fall the colour must be magnificent and in winter groomed trails will be splendid to ski.

Happy trails,

Nancy

There is a picture from the top of the lookout too, and it follows as well assuming that I did this correctly... (no guarantee there!)

Brian Tapley

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[1] Brian Tapley btapley@vianet.ca