Cottage life

August flies by. Our kids are canoe camping in Algonquin Park. They took Aster and one of their friends. Jordan breezed into town to attend a pool party, then bussed back to Kingston. He had work on Monday and couldn't go. We all miss our cottage, but there are other adventures to be had.

Time for a bit of nostalgia. Mom and dad bought the land in 1960 for $1000. The cottage was built in 1962. Mom and Dad built an extension, and retired there in 1991. I spent every summer here, not many friends around, and I became a loner.

1962

Joe and I moved here in 2006. Mom had died and dad was in long-term care. He passed in 2007. 

Mom wanted a fish pond. They hired someone to build it. I was able to maintain it for the 4 years we owned the house, but then the motor leaked oil into the pond and I could not clean it. It isn't the type of pump the contractor should have used. I had to fill it in. Sadly. We lived there from 2006 to 2010., then moved here to Lanark County. 

I miss the big skies and the sunsets.

Back to the present, and Crumbly Acres. We are still in cottage country. Instead of a lake, a wetland, and far more critters.

We've had lots of videos of Fred. Butch is a visitor, as well. 

I decided to tip the camera up, back to where it has been. 

I managed to capture us rehanging the squirrel nest box! It was on the tree that fell in the big July 1st storm. I figured I'd just rehang it. It was empty, and might host somebody.

Sadly, it is only the beginning of August, but my cherry tomato plants and my zucchini have just about given their all. 

We had big storms go by last night. I did some iPhone videos. It was really interesting, except for the mosquitoes. More to come!
 

Spring flowers, horse chestnut leaf bud, snake, frogs

A glorious day in the sunshine. Summer-like weather with a 20 C. temperature. 

horse chestnut leaf bud

Tulips raise faces to sun
Leaf buds burst with sweet sap
-Deer snap off a snack

green grass and goldfish pond

Lots of wildlife. The frogs were singing. I worked on the fish pond.

green growth in the wetland

Woodpecker insists on banging on the tower!

nesting!

budding

Tobi Kiesewalter, the Park’s Natural History Education Leader, tells us the black rat snakes are awake in Murphy's Point Park .

Spring peepers, wood frogs, tree frogs; all are singing. 

salamanders predict danger in an ecosystem,
blue-spotted salamander

Our in the wetland the wood frogs are waking and croaking for love! It didn't seem to worry that I was there. He croaked off and on for hours!
I was cleaning out the veggie garden and spotted a blue spotted salamander. She dug herself back in! Didn't know I had to share the garden with her, too! 
The bad news?
Black fly - warning, they are out and about!

black fly