A canoe ride marathon: 9 km!

Fragile shorelines

Since I cannot see the lake conditions, I try to go out early, before winds pick up or the summer residents get going on their boats, donuts, and jetskis. The fishermen are nice and quiet, and respect the tricky status of a canoe. As I finished my trek, yahoos in a speed boat were zooming around behind me. I HOPE they were teaching someone to drive the boat, but it was a bit unsettling.

I was a bit late, at 9:00 a.m., as it was a chilly morning (10 C./50 F.) and I wanted it to warm up. No sense having a sore butt AND being too cold!

As soon as I launched a woman approached me in a kayak. She was trying to find Jebbs Creek, which lead into the Tay River and into Perth. Fortuitously, I'd printed a map of this very spot, as that was my goal, to see what the area looked like. I led the group for a time, then I slowed to grab some photos.

Selfie!

Great way to travel!

Fishin'!

The water was calm, and it was a perfect morning. A middle-aged couple was sitting on their dock, with their Husky eagerly bopping around. The properties are interesting, with a variety of 2- and 4-season homes.

I was really surprised to see some very large homes, with manicured grass right at the edge of the fragile ecosystem. Nearby Westport's issues have hit the news: Blue-green algae in Upper Rideau Lake contain toxins, tests confirm.  Otty Lake has had some green algae. 

We've learned much about shallow lakes, algea and blue-green algae, thanks to the work of Environment Ontario, Watersheds Canada, and the Muskoka Watershed Council.

Watersheds Canada has a program to help lakefront homeowners convert their city-style lawns back to ecosystem-friendly waterfronts: The Natural Edge.
Such a shock coming around a bend and spotting manicured lawns.

Since the water is so shallow,
I guess this dock has to be jutting into the creek.

Someone has put new branches across the creek mouth

Before they knew better...
they built stone walls.

Manicured lawns

Otty Lake property owners have worked hard to create fish spawning habitats. The lake is very shallow, maximum 60', and zebra mussels abound. In the creek I spotted a lot of fish; sunfish, trout, and three long, skinny ones I think are carp or pike. There aren't many pike in this lake, they tell us.
hard to photograph the fish!!! I did see some on nests.

There was a beaver dam across the creek, at one point. I read somewhere about some issues with its removal in the not-so-distant past! (You aren't supposed to remove them in this time and age.)

Old beaver dam

You can see shiny Mica in the base of the old beaver dam

 Otty Lake fish habitat celebrates successful Phase II

October 7, 2014 by Lake 88 News Staff 

In all, 175 spawning beds, 335 sunken wood clusters and 58 cornerstones have been installed in both Phases one and two. The team will also submerge and anchor recycled Christmas trees on the bed of the lake to provide areas where fish can rest, find shelter and feed.

Screen captures from my GPS! Evidence of a good trip.

Despite the kayakers going ahead of me, happily chatting, I did spot a lot of critters.


Here are some more of my photos:

 

Another cocoon: Mourning cloak

Nymphalis antiopa Mourning Cloak

My expert at BAMONA says, take in the cocoons and shelter them. It is amazing to watch.

I use an old aquarium, with an old window screen. Carefully removing the cocoon with tweezers, I tied a string to the threads on the end. Then, I taped it to a piece of vinyl, letting it dangle as it was.

There are two on the go here. The brownish one is a Mourning Cloak butterfly. The other black one is a Virginia Ctenucha.

Left: Mourning cloak, right Virginia

Thursday night it began to change to black.
I knew it was nearly time.
They tell me they hatch in the morning.

Looks like a pretty, upside bat!

5:30 a.m.
My set-up: videocam on the tripod,
thermometer says 10 C., 'twas a cold night!

Sun is rising.

I had three helpers, with Daisy on-call in the Muskoka room beyond.

I set the camera to run, popping back over to it to shut it off and begin a fresh clip. I find this works better. Then, discovering that the spare battery was dying, I'd cleverly replaced it first, I figured I had to plug it all in. That was better.

Time passed. I read yesterday's paper, did some computing, today's blog post, had 3 cups of coffee. By 7:00 a.m., hubby got up. Still nothing. By 9:00 hubby was watching tennis. Raonic won. At 9:30, I figured I'd better get my workout done. When I came back upstairs, it had broken free!

It hung on it's cocoon for over two hours. I moved it to the railing, to be out of sight of cats.

Mourning Cloak emerges from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I waited all morning! The visible process took 10+ minutes, I sped it up 4 x's the speed. It took 2+ hours to rest and then fly away.

Birds, bugs, babies!

Common Yellowthroat

Everything is growing and hatching...Common Yellowthroat, a new one for me.
The Osprey are doing well.
The Herons are getting huge!
Goldfinch, and Waxwings are busy.
Butterflies and raspberries, too!

Bonus of the dead elm trees
easy to take a photo!

Book Review: Under a Dark Summer Sky

Alligator in Florida
courtesy of Snowbird Dale Peacock!

Yesterday, a day of clouds and rain, ironically. I was under a dark summer sky. I knocked off early and began reading this book. I was in the Muskoka Room, with Daisy sleeping beside me in her cat bed and Annabelle on my lap. The bugs are really bad and I was happy to be behind the screen!

It was a cool day, and having done vacuuming, and gathered garbage, I decided I would take it easy!

I adored this book. It was a page-turner. It is well-written, and I didn't spot any editing errors, which is a good sign to my mind.

The setting was amazing, with rich similes and metaphors colouring the prose. I don't need to take it apart, as it was one of those books where I was taken to another place. It worked beautifully!

I've only spent two days and one night in Florida. Hubby whisked me away Dec. 25/26 for a birthday treat. This was a wonderful trip both in time and place. It is timely, as there is much in the news about the way we treat both older and more recent veterans.

Under a Dark Summer Sky Vanessa Lafaye FRONTLIST On Sale Date: June 9, 2015 $14.99 USD 400 pages Trade Paperback Fiction / Historical / General 5.5 in W | 8.3 in H 9781492612506, 1492612502 Contributor Bio: Vanessa Lafaye is a Florida native, now living in the UK. She has worked for nearly 30 years in academic publishing, for Oxford University Press, Blackwell Publishing, and Wiley. She has published numerous articles in British broadsheets, and several short stories. She lives in Wiltshire. This is her first novel.
Summary: The Help meets The Perfect Storm in this debut novel set in 1935 in the broiling Florida Keys Heron Key is already weighed down with secrets when a random act of violence and a rush to judgment viscerally tear the town apart. As the little island burns under the sun and the weight of its inhabitants' secrets, a devastating storm approaches, matching the volatile atmosphere in the town with the unstable sky above. Beautifully written and seductive,Under a Dark Summer Sky is at once a glorious love story, a fascinating slice of social history, and a mesmerizing account of what it's like to be in the eye of a hurricane. Click here to see more