Bedtime Story

Our adventurous day concluded with a bedtime story before closing our eyes to the sound of the loons gently calling goodnight.

Rise and shine!

After a good solid sleep we slowly woke in the morning, taking the time to laze in our sleeping bags and chat for awhile before it was time to get up and build another fire for coffee and breakfast.

Off to explore

While Carolyn stayed behind to organize our campsite in preparation for leaving, the girls and I set out in the canoe to explore distant shorelines.

Until the next adventure

After a final swim, taking down the tent and packing the canoe, it was time to douse our fire and go back to the cottage to tell the stories of our grand adventure!

We have a visitor

This great big snapping turtle was moseying around behind our dock this weekend. I was out on the lake but my sister-in-law Catherine did some snapping of her own and sent me this picture. The shadow in the picture is Catherine's head, so that should give you an idea of the size!!!

Take your hat off and stay awhile

This weekend my brother and family made a whistle stop for an overnight visit at the cottage. In less than 24 hours we managed to pack in lots of activities, food and fun. Behold the kingsley hats - in order of appearance - mine, Peter's, Benton's and Nicole's.

One, two, three!!!

Carolyn took this fantastic picture of Nicole, Benton and I jumping into the lake.

Bathing Beauties

You can only admire a man who dresses to match his dog - what a fashion statement!

And a good time was had by all

Just before departure we took time for a family photo on the dock. It was a short but very successful visit!

Sue and Carolyn go to the G8

So we got up on Saturday morning and it was a gray and crummy day. Hmm what to do? With the G8 less than an hour away, Carolyn and I decided to run into Huntsville to see all the excitement. Who knew - maybe Obama would notice the sign on this chip truck and stop in to share a french fry or two with us!

Get your G8 [insert item] here!

Stores on Main St. had all found their G8 twist!

Protesters, what protesters?

Listening to our car radio we heard non stop stories about police and protesters in Toronto - these lonely protesters in front of the Huntsville Civic Centre were friendly and eager to chat - and underscored the small-town charm of the Huntsville G8 in comparison to the events pictured below in the Toronto G20.

A newsworthy event!

A cameraman staked out Main Street and a CTV news truck parked behind Algonquin Outfitters in hopes of spotting someone or something important.

It must be someone important!

On our way out of town police stopped traffic in all directions to allow this motorcade through. We couldn’t see who was in the motorcade but whoever it was rated a helicopter overhead, soldiers in full battle gear in accompanying cars and motorcycles front and back. We watched from just outside the ice cream store along highway 60 just before the turnoff into town, so Carolyn and some police officers cooled off with some ice cream while we waited.

Police and fences and tanks - Oh my!

After the motorcade passed highway 60 was opened up and we were able to drive by Deerhurst. Security measures to protect the G8 leaders were in evidence everywhere.These fences by the side of the rode were installed for several kilometers in either direction. There were blue tarps every 110 meters that allowed guards protection from the sun and port-a-potties so that none of them had to go far from their posts.
A little further down the rodeCarolyn spotted and managed to fire off a shot of two tanks in the woods just back from the highway outside of Deerhurst.

Meanwhile back at the lake...

The lilies are beginning to open. This was the first lily to open outside our cottage.

Measuring

OK, sign along with me....
Inchworm, inchworm
Measuring the marigolds
Seems to me you'd stop and see
How beautiful they are

Silver Strings

Despite a weather forecast which predicted a day of thunderstorms and rainfall, the sun broke through the clouds mid morning on Sunday and turned this spiderweb into a gossamer sculpture.

Is this a celebrity??

Nope - just our friend Chris soaking up a few rays of the welcome sun!

How lucky we are!

While the water is a little lower than usual on Cache Lake, we’ve been lucky compared to other lakes on the east side of the Park. A winter with very little snow has left many lakes with record lows, including this one just outside of Madawaska. Normally there is a good sized houseboat tied up to this dock!

Anne Holford and kids

We were fortunate enough to cross paths with Anne Holford and two of her kids - Michael and Holly. Anne is now living in Ireland but was in Canada to see daughter Holly graduate. She and two of her kids managed to squeeze in a little cottage time before Anne headed back to Ireland.

A weekend for the birds!

That was the theme of our weekend. If it had wings, it dropped by our island this weekend. Through rain on Saturday and Sunday morning, and sun on Sunday afternoon we were visited by all things winged! Our first visitor was this seagull who squatted on the dock for awhile and then flew off to Ted Morris’ to dine on fish.

Dinner date

Rob Durnan emailed us in the middle of the week to let us know mama loon was nesting a few metres away from the dock so we spent the weekend tiptoeing around so as not to scare her. Here she takes a break from the nest to do a little fishing with papa loon.

A big flap over nothing

One of them put on quite a show

Twins!

While Mama was off the nest, I snuck over to see if she was sitting on an egg. Looks like she’s expecting twins!

Little robin redbreasts

But loons weren’t the only “breeders” on the island. We’ve found several robin’s nests on this ladder over the years, and this year was no exception. These little lovelies (actually not so lovely until they get a little older) were so newborn that they barely had any down and their eyes were still closed!

Dragonflies are free!

And last but not least, our final winged friend on Wahbahmimi this weekend. The air was practically alive with dragonflies, and this one touched down just long enough for me to snap a picture.

Spring was not in the air!

This weekend we discovered winter was not quite done with Algonquin Park. When we arrived on Friday night it was a relatively mild 6 degrees and rain was in the forecast. However when we rolled out of bed at around 9:30 on Saturday morning, this was the scene that greeted us. It snowed, pretty much like this right through until Sunday morning!

NOT a dock day!

And it snowed and it snowed and it snowed. The temperature hovered between one and two degrees on Saturday, so the snow didn’t stick to the ground. If it had been just a couple of degrees colder, I am sure we would have had 10 to 15 cms by Saturday night.

Comfort Food

So there was no help for it - we were forced to spend a lazy day in front of a warm fire with a pot of hot coffee and the snack that’s more fun to make than it is to eat - JIffy Pop!!

Snowy Boughs

While snow didn’t stay on the ground, later in the day, it did start to collect in the trees and our island began to take on a decidedly wintry appearance.

Nightfall, temperature fall

Carolyn took this picture in the last of the light just as the temperatures started to head below zero and the snow began to stick to the ground.

Winter Whites

When we woke up on Sunday morning the temperature had gone down to -6, and the ground was white and frozen.

Brrrr!!

Also frozen were our pump lines and the sugar water in the hummingbird feeder so Carolyn took a kettle down to the dock to get water for our morning coffee!

Frosty Phoebe

We found this little Eastern Phoebe frozen on the ground at the door step of the kitchen cabin in the morning. I picked it up and warmed it for a while in my hands and then we put it in an old flower pot in our woodshed - out of the wind and a little warmer because of the heated kitchen next to it. In less than an hour it warmed up enough to fly away.

White on white

The blueberry plants were in full flower. I shot these against a backdrop of snow on Sunday morning. I hope they are able to make it through the next few nights which are also supposed to be cold!

Winter Scene - in May!

We won’t be back until the first week in June when things should be a little warmer!

And a new season begins!

It was a record-breaking year with the ice going out on an astonishingly early April 3rd. By the time we got to the cottage, flowers were already in bloom on the first day of May

Weather for ducks

Although it rained for most of the weekend the temperatures were balmy. Raindrops on the roof at night made for pleasant sleeping and we managed to find time between the showers in the day to go for walks, accomplish a few opening chores and squeeze in some dock time.

Raindrops

A lull in the rain left droplets delicately poised on the ends of pine boughs.

Ragged Falls

Since it was a rainy day we decided to go for a ride to see what had changed since last fall. By the time we reached Ragged Falls, just outside the Park gate, the rain had let up and we decided to go for a walk. The Falls were actually closed, but we didn't let a little thing like that deter us and in fact it was wonderful as we had the whole place to ourselves. The falls were at their most impressive as spring water rushed over the rocks.

Carolyn at the falls

At the top of the falls we stopped to take pictures and to admire the view.

Woody at work

On the walking trail we found this tree trunk where Woody Woodpecker had apparently been very busy!

Smoke Creek earns its name

Smoke Creek seemingly earned its name with the mist rising in the mid afternoon. Notice how many different greens there are in this picture.