Mike & Cathy's cottage - Sept 1

Occasionally, we get a chance to visit my good friends Mike & Cathy at their cottage. Stephen and I really enjoy being in cottage country in the fall, and have tried to make it a tradition to be somewhere near Algonquin Park the long weekend before school starts. Based on traffic patterns, it seems that most of the Greater Toronto Area follow the same thinking...



Even after leaving the office early, by the time I got home it was after 6pm - with at least a 3 hour drive ahead. Once we got there, we sat around chatting for a while. As we chatted I savoured a killer Manhatten. I thought that the drink would make me drowsy, but the stunningly clear view of the sky invigorated me instead. City life was beginning to convince me that the sky was empty, save for the bright lights that we have conveniently scattered across our cities in an attempt segregate ourselves from nature and the natural way of things. I had forgotten that the history of the heavens was etched in the sky.



Despite getting to bed around 1am, I woke up at about 5am, grabbed my camera, and headed for the porch. As you can see, the water was like glass, and the view is beautiful.






While I was focussing on the view of the lake, I kept hearing this buzzing in my ear, thinking that the damn mosquitoes were still out. Then I caught this hummingbird out of the corner of my eye. I didn't really have time to reset the camera for the proper lighting/speed, but this little guy tore away from the feeder toward me, stopped mid-air and watched me to determine whether or not I was a threat!



Mike and Cath have a unique cottage. Only one side is accessible from land. I'll post pictures of it another time. They always have something in every corner to attract everyone's interest - I'll leave it at that for now. Just outside the door, on the land side, they have a little inground barrel that hosts local frogs (ribbet kind...) of both biological and plastic varieties. These two were hoping that I wouldn't spot them. Nobody wants me to take their picture!



The weather held out, so we decided to take a stroll through the woods on Mike's property. He definitely has enough property to get lost on.



Mike's trusty guard dog led us through the forest, protecting us from the local wildwife...






But the scenery is truly wonderful. The woods aren't too thick, provided reasonably easy passage and great views. The earthy colours of green and browns are richly highlighted against the overcast sky - optimal conditions for photography.



At the top of a ridge on part of their property, they have a gazebo that overlooks the lake. They also have an oversized hammock strung between two trees. A very comfortable hammock with a great view. Nice breeze flowing through the trees, gently singing... hmmm.... I need a nap...








But not everyone needed a nap obviously. Stephen decided he needed to rebuild the Innukshuk that had toppled either due to balance of the stones, or a recent tornado that swept through the region.








And after a long day of walking (and a few well proportioned drinks didn't help), it was time to relax in front of a projected movie. Here we have Stephen making friends with Hope.