There is something so special about cottage country. The air, the water, the rocks, and not to mention the people. It is as if time kind of stops up there and things are done as they used to be. Outhouses and open cook fires are pretty much the norm, most of the cottages out on the bay don’t have electricity and rely on propane or diesel generators, some have upgraded to solar. Giving the kids a bath involves an old wash tub and using lake water that is run into the tub early in the morning so it has a chance to be warmed by the sun.
Mornings are for the odd jobs, fishing, and hiking in the bush.
Afternoons are spent watching the boats go up and down the river, swimming and lounging on the deck with a good book.
Shore lunches have to be one of my favourite traditions. We all pack into our neighbour’s big boat and head out to an island in the bay and spend the day exploring, fishing, swimming and grilling the sausages we brought for lunch because none of us are avid fishermen.
Nick has been working on getting my grandfather’s smoker up and running, and we are getting ever closer to homemade smoked ribs, Let me tell you they are SO yummy!
We went on a blueberry picking expedition, and turns out there weren’t really many out there. Just lots of horse flies and mosquitos. We did get enough for some waffles and pancakes though.
Ah sunset, my favourite part. We sometimes take the boat out and do a sunset cruise, other times we just sit in the Muskoka chairs on our point and enjoy it from there.
Now we are home again, and the garden is crying for weeding and the tomatoes are ripe for the picking.