Strolling into September

The last couple of days have been downright chilly, with temps just barely into the double digits. The dip in temperature not only cools the lake, but changes all the flora around us. I brought my camera along for a walk, to share the beauty of early fall.

Mother Nature sure knows how to ease us into the fall. The plants are beautiful and the palette is remarkable. She just never gets it wrong!! I'm not even sure what half of these are, but they were worth capturing and worth sharing.

I know that these are Astors.

And these are Queen Anne's Lace.

Golden Rod, which is NOT ragweed.

A pretty white berry on a red stem. No idea.

This was meant to be the little orange "pop" flowers, but
it looks great with the twigs and the Golden Rod.

Leaves beginning to change all over the place.

A shock of red maple in the distance.

The colour combination of lilac and yellow and green is beautiful.

And the sumach begin to glow. 

The mist horses are back.

I was up early this morning and watched the sun settle on the lake.

First it had to push the "mist horses" out of the way. I love watching them dance across the water.

Colder nights and mornings. Cooler water for swimming. The summer is waning and there are even colours on many of the trees.

But hopefully, there is still a good Indian summer yet to come and fingers crossed that the last long weekend of the season is a gorgeous one.

Summer Birthdays Cottage Style

Since I am a summer baby, I know what it is like to have your birthday then. The good news is that you are usually somewhere wonderful - like camp, or the cottage - not at school. The bad news is that you are not at school, so your school friends aren't usually part of the celebration.

This is a cake I found when I googled "cottage birthday cake".

One family in our bay has two teens who both celebrate their birthdays here. And they are lucky enough to import friends and family to share in the festivities.  In fact, one of them imported his entire basketball team and some of their families this weekend to partake. And they sure had fun.

Water activities, basketball, paintball, fireworks - they did it all. And they loved every minute of it.
Even as a spectator sport, it was contagious. And we really enjoyed the fireworks.

I don't know how you stay sane with that many people for an entire weekend, but the host and hostess seemed to do it without breaking a sweat.

Congratulations and happy birthday(s). We enjoyed watching.

Rattlesnake Week

For those of you who missed the meeting last week, we learned that last weekend was prime time for the Massassauga Rattlesnake incidents.

Apparently it is the height of mating season and the males are wandering around looking for love. On the August 1st long weekend, because of the high volume of visitors, that is the weekend when most "incidents" occur.

Glen Maxwell, who has a big property on the other side of the road, said he saw three "beauties" last weekend over there, so the statistics appear to be true.

Best defence, according to Glenda the wildlife expert, is to wear closed toed shoes. Most of the bites happen because people literally step right on them. Or try to pick them up - either thinking they are a stick or just being stupid!!!

So keep your eyes open for the next couple of weeks. They may not be warm and fuzzy, but they are endangered.

AGM Reminder - Saturday, July 30th

After yesterday's unsettled weather and our overcast day today, I am feeling optimistic that Saturday should be good for our Annual General Meeting. It's amazing that a year has gone by since the last one - time does fly when you are having fun.

For those who need a reminder about the meeting, here are some details:

Saturday, July 30th, starting at noon.

Trevor and Shaun Hawkes (President and First Lady) are hosting this year.

Cottage Address: 10 Birch Road, north end of the lake- Birch Road goes off Salmon Lake Rd. 

Look for the speed sign on the front of the Hawkes'
propertyif you decide to come by boat.

If you are coming by boat, it's at the narrows at the north end of Booze Island. (pictured above)

Bring your chairs and cups and enjoy the afternoon. Your guests are most welcome to join us too.

The meeting will be the usual format - BBQ, guest speakers and time to socialize.
And if you haven't paid your membership fees, you can do so at the meeting - fees remain at $25.00

Full details are posted on our bulletin board at the Garbage Bins.

Hope to see you there.

Mother Nature's Light Show

After nearly two weeks of not a drop of rain, last night the heavens opened.

And in more ways than one.

It started with a normal thunder storm and torrential rain. But it was followed by an incredible heat lightning storm that lasted for a couple of hours. Like a thousand flash bulbs going off, the sky was as bright as daylight.

This is the second time that I've witnessed such a light show - it truly is a feat of nature.

Eventually, a second storm passed through in the early morning and ended it, but it was amazing to behold.

And today, the sun is in and out and all the plants are grateful for the drink they got last night.

A magnificent summer weekend.

Well, it seems that summer has finally arrived to stay.

There was lots of great weather this past weekend and lots of activity all around the lake.

There is nothing quite like the sound of kids having fun in the water. And there was lots of that this weekend too. Both near and far, in our bay and beyond, the squeals of delight were abundant.  And it was a joy to hear.

Except at  4:30 in the morning!!!!

Twice in the last two weeks, we have been wakened by people swimming - both times around 4:30 a.m. I have no idea if this is the end of the swimmers' night, or the beginning of their morning. But it isn't the kind of water play that anyone likes to hear.

I can only believe that they have no idea how sound carries in the dead of night. Well, let me just say that we can can hear every word, every giggle, every swimming stroke. And, as much as I would love to believe that we are the only people subjected to it, I'm sure it carries right across the lake.

Please be kind to your fellow cottagers and swim earlier, later or much more quietly.