Summer activities

Things have changed in My Muskoka over the years. Remember Whensday, #8.

In the old days we would put a worm on a hook and fish off of our dock. Or, at least, my aunt & uncle's dock! We spent a lot of time there, hanging out with cousins. My extended family (Fred, Lill) had two other cottages, on land bought in 1960 for $2000! Many memories of times gone by have been recorded. The family adored their cottaging. We stayed up here all summer, as Mom worked part-time, and took off the summer. Every Friday night we would wait at the highway waiting for Dad to arrive. he'd drive back home for work, leaving at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning.

My favourite memory is of me, my brother and Dad, fishing. From across the way we could hear the rain coming as it did a flamenco dance across the lake. The sound was marvellous; water tapping its Spanish rhythm. Here we are on Uncle Fred's dock, Dad working to bait the hook. They had a lovely beach, we had slippery rock, no weeds, and deeper water. We often spent time there!

Jumping into the lake was the best thing ever. This is my brother, who turned the big 5-0 this year. Fond memories of gentler times.

When I was a kid, my cousins, 20 years older than I, would take me 'water skiing'. I use the term loosely, as we didn't have skiis my size. My uncle, ever the thrifty one, took an old wooden ironing board of my great-grandmother's and put a toe hold across the bottom. There was much skill involved in staying on it. All would cheer as I went by.

My Aunt Lill (1906 - 1981) passed away 28 years ago in her cottage. Her sister-in-law at her side. Uncle Fred (1908 - 1983) had a heart attack and fell off of our deck. Mom (1925 - 2006) died in our living room. It seems to be a family tradition! The sepia scanned photo shows Lillian Forsyth, Fred Butt, and another sibling, Marion, who died many years ago, the year Mom was born.

Of course, the traditions continue, and evolve.

I must admit that I took the kids to Bala Falls to swim. Not often. But it was a change in venue. And a place where rushing water inspired. There weren't the tourists then. Things were quiet.

These days, there is little skill I see in summer activities.

Many have cable or satellite TV, as well as Internet access.
In the 'good old days', we didn't even have a phone here. Kid complain about the peace and quiet. The board games we loved- Clue, Sorry, Hands Down, and card games - Go Fish, King's Corner's, Rummy, all kept us busy on rainy days, and buggy evenings.

We had a motor boat for a time, before it rotted away. I think it was a 20 HP. These days we have our old canoe, bought when I was a teen, second hand from a kids camp. I have replaced parts, but the fiberglass hull is in good shape, with many coats of paint. I love puttering around the lake, looking for good photo-ops of sun dogs (My YouTube Sun Dog!)

I have seen a fair number of kids on the lake, screaming behind daddy pulling them on an inflatable rube. There is no skill in that, unlike actually standing up and water skiing, but that is a choice they make. The kids want bigger, better, faster. The skill is primarily the dad's, as they try to get some centrifugal motion going and whip the kids around, sending them off the tube. There was an accident last year, as the force of the speed broke the part that attached the tube and the mechanism whipped back and killed the child. The tourists scream by on PWCs, at warp speed, missing the wildlife by inches.

• Seven-year-old girl dies after tubing accident - CTV ... 15 Aug 2007 ...
  

• Police sound tubing alarm

  16 Aug 2007 ... Sean Patrick Sullivan Canadian Press. Boat operators need to be aware of the potential perils of a popular summer water activity that has ...Once you're on that tube you're relying on the good judgment ... of the person driving that boat Ed Bean , the Lifesaving Society of Ontario.