For tourists who want to know Lake Etiquette

End of the season

Another seasonal milestone is done.
The Cranberries are picked. They've been harvested and made into wine, sauce, bread and muffins. I'm not yet tired of cranberries, and peanut butter & cranberry sauce on my toast is a great way to embrace the harvest in the morning.

The artisans packed up their unsold wares from CranFest, and all things were shutting down in town last w/e. (Until snowmobile season beings!)

This, the last kick of the can. Things will be quiet as seasonal tourists go back to their city ways.

Tour buses load up. Tourists will put away cameras and take that ride back to the city.

Cottages are closed; power turned off, plumbing drained, boats dry docked.

 I walked home from CrabFest, oops, Freudian slip, CranFest, after a lovely afternoon in the warm fall sun last Sunday.

The Inn rocked on Saturday night. Poor staff were worked off their feet till 4 a.m., I heard.  I thought I would stop into the Bala Bay Inn (see my YouTube vid) on the way home

Weary business owners will have some quiet times.

No more patio dinners in town, like this place in NOTL, or dining in paradise, at Bala Falls restaurant.

Or trips to Shaw or Stratford.


As things shut down in town, the people went home in their cars, or their motorbikes.


There I was, as they packed up the glasses, having one last draft.

The tourists were trying to get into the line of traffic headed south, back to the city, jobs, and obligations.

I sat for some quiet reflection as weary bar staff shut her down.

It is a difficult job: serving, keeping customers happy; fed and watered. I try to be a good customer and smile, say thank you and try not to be too arrogant. There is a sense of entitlement some bring with their tourist dollars.

I cannot help but be grateful for those who serve me a meal I did not have to make, or bring me a drink I did not pour. It is a privilege to sit and wait, as those wait on me!  Not all can afford the luxury of eating out. I know I am blessed to live in the region.

One that my parents earned, and which I take advantage of as we live in their lovely home.

Many have inherited properties as we have. From a working class family, who saved to buy land in 1960, we are happy to support the local economy.
But, for now, the

Bala Bay Inn - Ghosts will be left in quiet. Everything locked, shut and put away. The locks on the refrigerator will be set for the winter. The power turned off.

The snow and the ice will be as strong and as hard as the locks on this frige. Wish I could put such locks on my metal bird seed containers (AKA garbage cans)! But we love our 'coons!


No more spilling the beans with Karla.

The markets are done for the season.

Farewell to our seasonal visitors for now.

I know that our three-season economy depends upon you. Thanks for visiting My Muskoka!