Golden Reflections on Lovering Lake. Photo contest entry by Tapio Hirsimaki

Photographer’s comments: “This a photo of our trusty 14-footer sitting at our dock at Lovering Lake. It’s a wonderful place…that I yearn to visit more often. The picture is taken during a beautiful evening sunset that set a golden glow across the lake.”

A tale of two chairs—or is it one? During research for a story about who really invented the iconic chair, writer Douglas Hunter (a finalist, by the way, in the 2008 Governor General’s Literary Awards presented this month), plumbed the murky depths of cottage history and found…well, if I told you I’d have to make you sit in one of those chairs which, according to Doug, are the most uncomfortable butt-huggers into which he’s ever dropped his rear end. You have to admit, he’s got a point. You can get into an Adirondack chair (we don’t call them Muskoka chairs on Georgian Bay), but you can never get out.

Butt I digress. During his research for the story, which will appear in the next issue of Cottage Life magazine, he came across the Westport chair. And now we’d like to find someone who has one, or who knows of someone who has one. Anybody?

What’s your favourite seat at the cottage? Mine is a green wicker chair on our screened porch. It’s ancient, with a tin bottom. At least one braided foot is missing, but we love it anyway.

My favourite chair is the one on the left. Photo by Gary Davidson

“Mackerel in the sky, three days dry.”  The “mackerel sky” gets its name from its resemblance to the pattern of the scales on a mackerel.

Photo by Terry Sellwood, summer 2008

What about those property taxes, eh? I polled four cottagers in a single meeting the other day and found that they’d received assessment increases of 0%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. I’m not sure what that 0% is all about, but he’s a lucky cottager. Lucky because, of course, none of us wants to sell our cottages, but MPAC makes us pay taxes on the unrealized gain anyway. And guess what? We’re in a falling market.

If you’re hot and bothered about your new assessment, consider attending the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA) 2008 Fall Seminar this weekend in Richmond Hill. Things should get particularly lively around 3 p.m., when representatives from  Ontario’s  Liberal, PC, and NDP parties present their views on the  province’s property tax system. And then—can you believe it?—they’ve agreed to take questions from the floor. Hang onto your hats, folks. The “Town Hall Meeting” is hosted by The Coalition After Property Tax Reform (CAPTR).

Meanwhile, at cottagelife.com you can find out how to appeal your property-tax assessment and what other cottagers are saying about taxes.

It’s a ritual on our part of Georgian Bay to drop whatever we’re doing 20 minutes before sunset, jump in the boat, and race out to watch the giant flaming ball sink below the western horizon. I’ve seen as many as 20 boats bobbing out there near the bell buoy.  Trust me, this is not a place to be if you get seasick, but most of the cottagers who venture out are islanders with sturdy sea legs. On a quiet evening, in the calm before the night wind comes up, you can hear laughter floating across the water from one boat or another. And on a quiet evening, you swear you can hear the sun sizzle as it plunks into the sea.

Shout out to Transat A.T. Inc.

If you’re thinking airplanes and sunny beaches (hey, who isn’t at this time of year?) that’s not the kind of shouting I’m talking about.

Shout out because the tourism giant has entered a partnership with Ontario Nature to protect and restore 21 nature reserves across Ontario which include some of the most ecologically important habitats in the province. The project combines the conservation of wildlife and natural habitats with the promotion of sustainable tourism.

It includes the creation of marked trails, maps, boardwalks, and interpretation panels that facilitate public access to Ontario Nature’s reserves while ensuring minimal impact on the environment.

Ontario Nature has been protecting vulnerable and rare habitats since 1961.  All of its reserves are open to the public and contain uncommon and endangered species such as blue racer snakes, ramshead lady-slippers and red-headed woodpeckers.

How great is it to see big companies like Transat stepping up to help the environment and support hardworking groups like Ontario Nature?

“Ahhhhhh early morning at the lake.” This from our acting show manager Kevin LeGallais who shared a photo sent to him a few weeks ago by his friend Becky. We could all use some inspiration as the temperature dives, snow piles up, and power goes out in cottage country, so I thought I’d share them with you. Thanks to the photographer, who says these were “taken at my Dad’s cottage near Haliburton on Ross Lake. It was around 6:30am just as the sun was rising over the lake…it truly is a little bit of serenity!”

Photos by Rebecca, Life Through the Lens Digital Photography

The man was there, as usual, this morning as we stumbled out of the subway in sub-zero temperatures on our way to the office. He’s always cheerful, wishing us a good day even if we don’t drop a few coins into his hat. Today, he looked straight at me and said “It’s nice today—no mosquitoes.”

No mosquitoes? How did he know I think about mosquitoes more than the average joe scurrying into work this morning. Pure coincidence, of course, but it was one of those surprising moments that gives you pause – that stands out in an otherwise ordinary Tuesday.

What a great feeling. Its beautiful outside; its beautiful inside. Were going to have a fun weekend.

I started posting this yesterday, but we’re having trouble with our internet connection in the back room behind our booth at the Cottage Life Show. (Did you know there’s a back room? It’s where we keep bins of sweatshirts, t-shirts, and all the other cool CL merchandise, plus snacks for the staff, extra extension cords, tool boxes, boxes of flowers, and lots of other show support stuff. I can usually set up the computer on a box and blog away, but I’m actually writing this from the show hotel. It’s the morning of Day 2.)

There’s no problem with the computers in booth, itself, which is a good thing because the big news here is cottageliferentals.com, a new site for those who wish to rent out their cottagers or are looking to rent a cottage. We launched it at midnight Thursday night and will be here all weekend to guide cottage owners through the site. The first 250 cottagers to post their places receive a free listing for a year.

Hope to see you at the show!

Cottage Life rentals was launched at the fall show. If you can’t find us in the booth, check the ice cream stand next door.

Merchandise manager Dawn Yager shares a show hug with general manager Terry Sellwood

DH left a few days early for the cottage closing—the second cottage closing, actually—that was supposed to happen this weekend. He couldn’t resist the 20°C weather.

Around 8:30 pm he called me from Waubaushene, where he’d just driven over the bridge and caught that first glimpse out to Georgian Bay.  The moon, he said, had bathed the water in light, illuminating the dark water. He couldn’t wait to get in the boat and follow the orb’s path out to the cottage. I wish I were there with him.

As a kid, I used to think it inconceivable that people around the world could be looking at the same moon at the same time. And as I grew up, I took comfort in that fact because it brought me closer to people I missed. I like it that even though I couldn’t see the beautiful moon over Georgian Bay, DH thought to call and tell me about it.

We closed up a few weekends ago, but left the smaller cottage on the property open for possible late-season visits. This is as long as we have ever let it go. Even yesterday, a colleague told me the pipes at her own cottage had frozen before they could get the place closed up last weekend. Fortunately there was no damage. November is settling in, but for now let’s forget about winter and just enjoy the gift of these last warm days.

And you cottagers farther north—do you have snow on the ground yet?