Comes Fog, Comes the Sun

somewhere, out there, somewhere, there is an Island

 October 26th brought us a classic foggy morning.









There is so much beauty outside, no matter the weather, no matter the month of the hour.




We hope you enjoy these photos, all taken here at Bondi Village.

looking down the field past Wheelhouse

Winter Garden...  the birds and squirrels appreciate the sunflowers.  We've still got beets and kale too

Sunflower, in the heavy fog -- effect is from the flash on the camera, but I love it!

by the next day, the squirrel had pretty much eaten ALL of this one

Our lookout point.

with the reflection, we have Sun above and below.

it begins to resemble a painting by Monet

Taffy and I stood on Clover's dock watching the sun come up!

Walkabout

lots of deer on the lawn at this time of year, eating the
crabapples

October 26th -- almost Hallowe'en, and what a beautiful sweatshirt kind of day it was.

These are just some random shots from that day.





Come on over to our place, and see what we're up to!

how's that for colour????

David, checking roofs and eavestroughs.  As a fan of Game
of Thrones, he knows Winter Is Coming!

getting ready to feed next summer's monarch butterflies.
Look for the fox face in this picture, hidden in the seeds and fluff...

almost a full moon, at 5 in the afternoon!

Evening sun streaming in onto our neighbour's dock, making for a wonderful light show.

Colour Shine in the Rain

 These were taken the week after Thanksgiving.





Fall colours were late this year, which meant there was a wonderful show for the long holiday weekend, but also meant lots of beauty left for the following week!



This is part of my "Weather always Looks Worse Through a Window" series -- people see a bit of rain, or fog, or snow, and start to moan about the 'terrible weather.'  But it isn't terrible, it's FANTASTIC!







We have clothing technology now that lets us get out and about in just about any conditions.






And there is nothing like a bit of gray background to make those autumn colours just jump up out of the landscape!


So enjoy   And get outside.   Like the tag line for the Columbia clothing company says, "Get Out, and STAY out!"



No, we mean it.  Dress for the conditions, and take your wonder for a walk.

First Snow, Never Lasts

 This signals a change in the season, for sure!!












October 18 woke us up to a world of white.




Nothing looks prettier against the coloured leaves.  But snow will certainly help to bring those leaves down!



This is the big signal that it's time to get Winter Ready.





Canoes and boats are put away.  Docks are also stowed for winter.  The lawn has been cleared of fallen leaves, the garden harrowed in.

Cottages are being Winter Cleaned, and now the renovation and redecoration season is upon us, so we don't slow down.

But we do take some moments to enjoy that change in the scenery.

And to hear David whooping with joy in the distance, dancing about like a mad thing, because Ski Season is Coming!!!

A Moment of Calm

 Here is your moment of calm for today...

 Late October brings a different colour scheme to the lake, and some time for relaxation after the busy summer.

Cheers to You, Volunteer Firefighters

Here is a heartfelt salute to our Lake of Bays volunteer firefighters.

This mega-cottage burned in mid-October, on the Fox Point Road.  The cause? Lightning striking a huge oak tree next to the cottage, then 'jumping' (as only lightning can) across to the cottage -- probably through an outdoor lighting fixture, but I'm no expert, so don't quote me.   Nobody was home, and there were no injuries, but the property loss was complete.

Once the lightning arrived in the cottage, it was off and running.

One of the neighbours heard the bang, and when he went to the kitchen a few minutes later, he saw this out the window.

There were five fire trucks, the first response truck, an ambulance (on site to assist the firefighters), police car -- pretty much everybody came to that party... 

And everybody was needed. This was a fierce blaze.   Once the foam in the ICF foundations gets going, you are dealing with heavily toxic smoke, and a tremendously hot fire.

It took three visits in total to convince the fire to stay out, and not flare back up from the ruins.

We are very fortunate to have a group of volunteers who are willing to undertake the rigorous training -- critical if you are going to deal with stuff like this fire! and put in the time to practice with the equipment.

The Lake of Bays is always looking for new recruits, and it is one helluva team you would be joining.

So here is a huge thank you to the men and women of the Volunteer Fire Dept, here in Lake of Bays, and everywhere.

We are so grateful for what you do.

Which do you prefer, a bit of fun or clean safe water?

 I don't understand why people don't 'get' that we cannot wreck the environment, just for 'fun'.

These photos are from the Baysville ATV Facebook page.


They were recently in front of Council at Lake of Bays requesting that ALL roads in the municipality be opened to ATV traffic.

Which is fine, I guess... If you want to run these things on the roads, if they are properly equipped with mufflers, then off you go.

The problem is that it gives the riders access to virtually unlimited land.  Their argument has always been that they are riding responsibly, for the peaceful enjoyment of the area... that they bring $$$ in for meals, fuel, even accommodation.

But looking at these pictures, the lake ones taken in April, the mud bog ones taken in August, one has to question that they are in any way considering the impact of gas, oil, dirt, the transmission of invasive species into our once remote and pristine areas.

Even with the machines NOT legal on roads, they are on the roads (that was argument #1 -- we're already doing it illegally so you should make it legal) and as a result we see a lot of trespass issues.  One 'happy ride' through a ski trail or hiking trail, and that is done -- the damage can't be reversed, and the bush would take a generation (20 years) to even come close to restoring itself.

 I don't understand why the Province, why the Ministry of Natural Resources and Fisheries, is not more concerned, not more active, in limiting or eliminating this type of enviromental damage.

Ride on the gravel roads, ride on unused log roads, ride on established maintained 'dry' trails... sure

But really? Is this what the majority of us want to see happening out there?

(argument #2 at Council was: everybody else is doing it)

The President of the Baysville ATV Club looked me straight in the eye and said, 'no, we are restricted to crossing streams slowly, at 90 degrees, that's all."  Well, he looks pretty dashing in his hipwatders and burgundy t-shirt out there in the bay...

Art on a Northern River

 "Tom Thomson and Northern River"

Group of Seven and Tom Thomson Outdoor Exhibit, Plaque 18

This outdoor plaque is located along the Oxtongue River near Oxtongue Lake, in Ontario. This Oxtongue Lake for Arts and Culture plaque is dedicated to Tom Thomson and the works of art such as "Northern River" that he created depicting the area.

Photos courtesy Bob Hilscher

These plaques are being put up along the Oxtongue River and Oxtongue Lake, at the places where the artists were when they created these iconic Canadian images.

Many people don't know that the Group of Seven first dipped their paint brushes into the Canadian wilderness here.

These plaques are wonderful addition to the area -- you can spend a lot of time checking them out, and soaking in the views!

Pump It!

 The improvements are completed at the Echo Valley Nature and Bike Trails park, just off Hwy 60 on Echo Valley Road. (near South Portage and Hwy 60 intersection).


This municipal Park is still waiting to get signage on the highway (come on, MTO... shake a tail feather!!!)  but the park is open for hikers and extreme bikers.

The Pump track is a nifty addition!

Oxtongue Inspiration

Thanks to the camera drones that are now so popular, we get some amazing videos of our part of the world in autumn.

No wonder that the Oxtongue River, with its rapids and waterfalls, and Oxtongue Lake itself inspired the Group of Seven.

Beers in the Bush

 Carol was slightly flummoxed last weekend when guests asked her, in accented English, "do you have beers?"


Turned out, they meant 'bears'.


Short answer. Yes.




Hiking in the back field, we stopped to show some of our guests the apple tree that is currently providing food to the local "beer".  There is a lot of fruit on this tree (and they are dang fine apples, too, we all had one!) so the bear is quite happy to stay away from people and the resort and just stuff himself on apples.



That diet does leave to the bear leaving evidence of his presence behind.  Pretty much providing the answer to the question "does a bear s*** in the woods?"  Yes. And near the apple tree, too...





Be not afraid, though -- we can all co-habit with bears if we respect them, and their habitat.

There was a lot of wolf scat in that field as well -- and Zack found evidence that the wolves had been along.  This tooth was once part of a beaver.



To be found in the middle of the field,it would indicate that the wolf carried it there, or that the beaver was on a rather inadvised trek across the field to the hidden lake beyond.


Either way, it was a cool find.   Stuff like this excites and fascinates us -- it is another way to learn about our animal neighbours.

Including our 'beers'.  So here's to you, wildlife!

Up the Mountain to the Top

 It is one of our own Thanksgiving traditions to hike up our Mountain to the Lookout.








Along the way we found great fungus -- including these: chicken of the woods.

 We always stop to hug Toby's tree.  On one side is the carved name, on the other, the claw marks of a big bear who climbed the tree.  










Dave found some very very fresh bear claw marks on another tree near the top.   He modelled them with his own 'paw'.

 Brian, when he was clearing and marking the trail this year, decided that he should add some helpful markers along the way.  This one lets you know, yes, you are at the TOP.  Sometimes we wonder about that boy...

There is a perfect rock on which to relax with a friend (or two) and admire the view.