IN “ON FROZEN(ISH) POND” (p. 50), Sasha Chapman writes about winter at her Georgian Bay, Ont., cabin. We asked the regular Cottage Life contributor about some of her favourite nearby places to visit during the chilly season. Moon River Falls “It’s always a destination for us in the winter,” she says. “It’s very pretty.” Of course, it can be tough to reach depending on the ice conditions, “but we always have fun trying.” Vettä Nordic Spa (vettaspa.com) “It’s a nice stop for a special treat on the way up to or down from the cabin,” says Sasha. “Maybe my favourite part: lying on warm rock. It reminds me of lying on the warmth of summer rock on Georgian Bay.” Copeland Forest The 4,400-acre preserve is an ideal spot for nature…
reflecting on the back deck—and the quiet whisper of memories FORTY-TWO YEARS ago, I landed on the island as a visitor and passed the pre-spousal cottage test. That meant simply to survive a weekend off-grid and show boundless enthusiasm. Mary and Jack, matriarch and patriarch, did their own thing. And, over the years, they showed me how to do the cottage thing, especially Mary, who was the beating heart of the cottage. When they weren’t down on the dock, my in-laws preferred the back deck. They got up early and drank coffee from bone China cups (after the war, Jack refused to drink from a mug). They folded their lean bodies into creaky metal chairs that faced toward the forest. They watched the morning sun start its grand arc toward…
We receive thousands of entries to our annual photo contest, and although our judges didn’t select the shot above as a winner, the loon’s cute little outstretched leg definitely got us curious. So we brought the photo, taken by Joanne Cormier in Baker Lake, N.B., to an expert. “This is likely what loon biologists call a foot waggle,” says Doug Tozer, the director of waterbirds and wetlands at Birds Canada. Many types of loons can be seen raising one foot in the air as we see in the photo, and then either holding it there for a brief time or shaking it (hence the “waggle”), often several times in succession. Tozer says they probably do this primarily for comfort (who doesn’t love a good stretch?) or to thermoregulate. The behaviour…
LOVED IT LISTED IT BUILDING IT Watch Todd Talbot from Love It or List It Vancouver take on the build of a lifetime—his family’s Okanagan cabin—in the new series Todd Talbot Builds: The Passive House Project. Catch the premiere on October 8th at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the Cottage Life TV channel. IT’S SHOWTIME! The Fall Cottage Life Show is on from November 15 to 17 at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont. See exclusive presentations from the CL team and meet cottage-country reptiles courtesy of Scales Nature Park. Head to shows.cottagelife.com to purchase tickets and use code FALL3 to save $3 on general admission. See you there! And the winners are… Thank you to everyone who submitted pictures to our 2024 Cottage Life Photo Contest. We can’t wait to…
ADMIT IT, COTTAGERS. Your breakfasts are boring. If you’re making bacon and eggs every morning, it’s not a treat anymore; it’s a routine. Every weekend only has two breakfasts; don’t miss an opportunity to make them special. There’s a very cottagey solution to serving a morning meal that’s easy, delicious, and unforgettable—the barbecue. All the reasons a barbecue works for dinner apply to breakfast: everything cooks in one spot, cleanup is simple, it’s social, and—best of all—you can have that delicious grilled flavour, plus grill marks on your toast, to start the day. And no, a barbecue breakfast doesn’t require getting up at the crack of dawn, unless that’s your thing. With the right recipes and gear, breakfast is fast and easy, whether you’re using propane or charcoal. And for…
THE SUBJECT I’VE chosen for this column, the environment, typically isn’t very popular. The proof is in our web traffic: anytime we post content about the climate crisis (still with me?), our click rates—the main metric we use to measure an article’s success—go down. I find this depressing. But I get it. Because more often than not, I avoid this subject too. I don’t blame our readers for skipping stories about an animal species disappearing, an ice cap melting, or a flash flood devastating yet another community. These days, it feels like we’re stumbling from one generational catastrophe to another, and the news is unrelenting. At a certain point—you could argue we’re well past it—avoiding this content is simple self-preservation—of our peace of mind and of the remaining hope we…
THE SHORES OF Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood, B.C., are home to a plethora of wildlife: squirrels, bald eagles, owls, and turtles. Some are real, but others are artfully constructed out of scavenged driftwood by a local: lifelong hobby artist Paul Lewis. Paul was compelled to craft his first driftwood piece in 2018. “I had a bunch of leftover screws from a home project, and I decided one day to come down to the lagoon and start putting something together,” he says. The first sculpture was a bald eagle. “I started doing more sculptures, and people started noticing them, and the whole thing kind of exploded from there.” All of Paul’s pieces begin with a trip to the lagoon. “What-ever bird I see that morning becomes my inspiration for the day,”…
The search Kat Wong, a marketing director, always thought her first home would be in Toronto. She’d been saving up for a down payment since she graduated from university in 2012. When the pandemic hit, she was renting a one-bedroom apartment with her partner, Graeme Guthrie, who is a personal trainer, and she figured it was time to upgrade their space. Kat first thought about buying a larger condo (she’d front the down payment, and Graeme would pay housing costs). But she wasn’t happy with what she saw. “Places had $700–$800 per month condo fees,” she says. “And the den would be a room with a glass door.” By the summer of 2020, Kat had a new, fully remote job, and Graeme was taking some time off from training. This…
IT’S ONE OF those classic shoulder season days—when the fog is clinging to the water, it’s misty, maybe even raining a little bit, and the lake is flat, like glass. It’s the type of day that’s best enjoyed in the warmth of a sauna. Saunas aren’t a new cottage accessory, but they have evolved—ranging from traditional designs to sleeker, modern structures with big windows—yes, windows!—to showcase the view, whatever the weather. Upcycled beauty The sauna at McGillivray Pass Lodge sits atop a rock in a glacial lake north of Whistler, B.C. Many of the nearby hiking trails converge at the lake, so owner Lars Andrews and lodge manager Stefan Shier envisioned adding a sauna that would cap off the hikes. “One of my operations managers had spent some time at…
