Art Installation at the Portage

For those of you who saw it last summer, there was an art installation in the pond near Trailside Park.
It was beautiful, looked like a plant and really was incredible with the flowering water lilies. It appeared suddenly and stayed for about a month. It was my first official "art bombing".

George, our valiant secretary, thought it was a plant and even went online to find out what he was seeing. He was flabbergasted to learn, just this month, that it was man made.

Luckily for us the artist, whose installation it was, approached us (and we in turn approached the executive) to see about putting a similar installation on our lake. We said yes and this past week, under cover of darkness (again), he worked his magic.

Here is what you will see if you paddle right into the bay near the portage - or walk down the road.

In order  to not disturb anything, it is tucked in right near the road, past the fallen logs. You really have to go right into the tiny bay to see it. I discovered it on my paddleboard on the weekend.

So, who is behind this wonderful "art bombing"? Willie Schenk, who is actually a full-time resident on Otter Lake, not Salmon. He is the fellow with the metal sculptures near the road - the large sun flower and the big eyes with the sunglasses.

He has a number of sculptures and carvings that he is happy to share with the world at large, and you too, if you go and knock on his door. I think we are very lucky to have this addition on our lake - for however long he chooses to leave it here.

Our Transfer Station Transformed

If you haven't been watching the weather up here, it's been pretty awful. The worst June sine we moved up full time. The temperatures have been up and down like crazy. And we definitely got the rain we were hoping for. The grass beside the road is nearly to my shoulders.


But there is some big news to share!!! After nearly two years of waiting, the transfer station has had its makeover.

The bins have been relocated to the new site. It is much better to have it all in off the intersection. Certainly the sight line is better for driving.

There are many more grey bins - all for garbage. And four HUGE bins for recycling.

This is the view from Salmon Lake Road - everything away from the road now.

Look at all those shiny new bins!

The new recycling station. Very very large.

The Bon Echo entrance/exit.

Let's see if any of this cuts down on the amount of stuff that people keep dumping there.

Fingers crossed that we soon have a temperature transformation as well.

Finally a Little Rain

At last - spring - if only for a day. It has been sooooo warm here - at least 5 degrees warmer than TO pretty much every day for well over a week.

Here is a picture of the leaves from the walk this past Monday.

And here they are again yesterday.

You could nearly watch them grow. I swear there were barely any buds last weekend. And by Wednesday, you couldn't see the place next door. Mother Nature in over drive.

The rain is a good thing, since the road is a dust bowl and everything needs a rinse. Our neighbour Janet was in the lake day before yesterday and said it wasn't that cold - SURE!!

On the bad news side, the black flies are here. They were swarming on Thursday when we walked, but still not biting. I am pretty sure this rain will activate that response. But if we get some good hot days next week, maybe they will be gone for the long weekend.

Spoken like a true cottager.

Hope to see you soon.

Ten Days Later and It Feels Like Summer

The ice is gone.
The boats are in.
The geese are going overhead in droves.
The peepers are singing in the bogs.

The garden is growing so quickly, you can almost watch.
And on our walks, there are dog-tooth violets in the ditches and the trilliums are coming along.

And so far, no black flies!!!

Yesterday, it was 25 here and we celebrated with a tin boat ride. The first one is always the best. If this keeps up, there might be swimming on the long weekend.

Ice Nearly Gone

Well, today may be the day. The ice may finally be gone.

The weekend was more than a little strange. We woke up Saturday to flurries (c'mon, really?)

But yesterday was sunny - though a bit cool - and the sun undid the bit of ice skim that had formed on Friday and Saturday night. And we did not experience any of the rising waters that Huntsville and Bracebridge did.  Everything is surprisingly dry.

This morning, the sun is dancing on the water and I think the rest of the ice will be gone by dinner time. Mind you, who can predict anything this year!

Our duck water marker is free and clear of the ice and was communing with all the wood ducks that dropped by on Friday. It was strange to see them swimming up the edge of the ice and then just sitting there all day.

Hopefully, this warming trend will continue and before we know it boats will be in.

Is it spring yet?

After two sessions of "winter avoidance therapy", we arrived home on Monday to find that although spring is not quite sprung, it is trying.

I checked some spring posts from last year and by April 19th, we already had trillium leaves, buds and our first dandelions, so we are definitely behind. Our boat was in by now, so we have a long way to go still.

Here's a bit of an update:

The snow is mostly gone from the properties - still a bit in the woods - but the lake is still iced over.
Except for close to the shoreline, it is still solid. The snowmobile tracks are beautiful patterns as the ice turns darker.

In our garden, the first of the daffodil shoots are peeking up, so there is hope. Other than the possibility of snow on Saturday, this week has been sunny and clear.

Here are a few pictures we took on our walk yesterday. 

The Otter Lake side of the portage - little snow, lots of water.

The water line duck is emerging from the ice.

Two "real" ducks who came for a visit.

Melting near the shoreline.

Eager daffodils.

The last tracks of the season.

I will monitor progress in the next while. I am sure that black fly season will come directly behind spring.

A Winter's Tale

Another strange winter so far, to be sure, but today it definitely is feeling like a true winter's day. After having a big thaw last week and losing virtually all the snow, we are definitely back in the correct season. It has been snowing for quite a few days in a row, making the trees look sooooooo beautiful. And the forecast has snow every day - except this Thursday - for the foreseeable future.

Today is a very chilly -18, so the driving is a bit treacherous. The ice doesn't seem to be able to melt, but true to form, the municipal trucks were out sanding before I had to venture to town this morning.
No matter how many winters we spend here, we are astounded by the incredible snow removal.

We were in the city on the weekend and here is what our drive back looked like yesterday.  That was mostly blowing snow, thanks to the high winds. Visibility kept going from bad to worse. So scary that I was a white-knuckle passenger!

On the bright side, all these temps may mean that the lake is solidly frozen, fit for walking, skiing and snowmobiling. A neighbour did email to ask, and to be honest, we haven't even ventured down to check how much ice there is. I think a few more minus gazillion days should make things pretty safe out there.

And as the fellow at the gas station said this morning, when I commented on it being quite frosty:
"Yes, but we need it." Let's face it, it's not everywhere - or every day - you hear that.