another rainy Saturday

It's another musical day in Muskoka! ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸❤¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪♪♫

The rain is tapping a rhythm on the roof and the deck. It's melliferous cacophony continues down on the lake. This is spring!

We are just drenched, with puddles on the land. Good thing, as we have been pretty dry and cottagers have been lighting bonfires. We're on our third weather system in a couple of hours! Thunder boomers that rattle the eaves...The cats knew about it and wanted out early to get some mouse hunting in.

The ducks were puttering around the lake and I captured a shot of one landing. One of our geese was quite upset with the boat traffic, moving around the rocks to avoid the boat wash. Unlike the natural waves from the wind, the boat wash is sudden and obnoxious and disturb the egg-laying fish, and aquaculture. I can hear my husband speaking on the Eddie's behalf, as he tends to do, "What are the tourists here for? It's early. They're not due until May long w/e. This isn't right. It's our lake for a few more weeks. It's too cold for those city suckers. They need to go back home. Too wet, too cold. Go home to your city!"

We lost power, temporarily, and and it's only 15˚ C. (40˚ F) yet the tourists are up in the cool and the damp. Boats going back and forth in the lightning.

The one cat insists on going out while the others are content to nap. Oliver came in around 3:30 a.m., he's pretty wiped out - my teenage dauphin.

The birds are active. I spotted the red squirrel snapping more buds off of the trees in the rain. I didn't bother to get a photo, as she did not look her best: fur plastered to her skin, a bit miffed (frowning?) at the dang cat who is still watching her.


The buds on the trees are is striking contrast to our bright green clover. The buds are glorious.

Soon they will fall to our old deck and I will sweep them over the edge. I love these seasonal rituals. I love these little tasks, grateful that I have the time and the energy to do these chores. I moved to find work near my parents, and ended up 'retiring' to do part-time work. There are no bad jobs, and work can be hd if you scour the local papers. Up here RNs, PSWs, and contractors (plumbers, masons, electricians) of all shapes and sizes are needed.

We are fortunate to be living in My Muskoka, its history is an interesting one. I wrote a bit about my family buying this property back in 1960 and now that we have inherited it, we choose to live simply and frugally.

Local lakes are now saturated with cottages, yet new construction is up as people desperate to keep their cottages sever land and businesses attempt to attract more tourist dollars and increase profits. Cottage country will not support any more people. There is much garbage, many plastic floating in the water, and buildings and boat houses too close to the water. I worry about those who violate building by-laws, and flaunt environmental concerns: building or renovating cottages without permits and putting huge cottages on small lots. Golf courses that use pesticides that leach into the lake water, ceremonial balloon releases (the balloons are eaten by wildlife).

I deliberately chose NOT to do an Earth Day post. I think, as with all other 'days' every day is the earth's day. We must protect our land as we are all connected to it. The rape of the land cannot continue. As published in The Bracebridge Examiner last May:
“The idea of Earth Hour is a good one, but people can’t become complacent and think that environmental awareness is only necessary one hour a year,” said Glen Hodgson. “We really hope that people will use Earth Hour as the inspiration for a long-term commitment to be environmentally responsible.”
We can see where neighbours have not respected the land and still have not followed the legislation requiring mandatory connection to the sewer system. Our septic systems have been deemed grandfathered and cottagers must convert within two years. Yet, in these photos, you can see some sort of run off directly into the lake to the right of the dock.

These are the same people who travel across the lake on crown land and cut firewood. They create huge bonfires all summer and set off fireworks, let their animals roam the area freely, cruise their 4-wheelers around our road at 2:00 a.m. while drinking. Then, young people sit in their boats in the middle of the lake with the radios cranked full-blast.

How can you teach someone to respect the air, the land, the animals, their neighbours, and the environment? I am not sure.

References
Expansion of Gull Wing Tent & Trailer Park (Gravenhurst - pdf)
12 Jan 2009 ... Because of letters sent to the Township of Muskoka Lakes by concerned ... permits, (2) one Order to Remedy an Unsafe Building pertaining to an unsafe ... that these considerations, coupled with current violations and ...

Peter Victor: Ecological Economics, Managing without growth: slower by design, not disaster