Segwun by Gordon Harrison MarketWATCH Muskoka: 7 July 2022 At the height of the steam era, Gravenhurst Wharf was a hive of activity. Passengers disembarked from the train🚂 onto the wharf and from there directly onto one of several steamships. For those going north to Royal Muskoka, Windermere, Pinelands or Elgin House (to name only [...]
MarketWATCH Muskoka: 23 June 2022 Summer steamed in and made itself comfortable, breaking a few records as it did so. Along the way, it effectively diminished the mosquito population. Unexpectedly, summer’s first weekend may be without the ‘Muskoka wave’, a by product of swatting the pesky critters away. Once again, people are congregating, enjoying sights [...]
MarketWATCH Muskoka: 9 June 2022 Turn, turn, turn… to everything there is a season. This is our 20th year selling Muskoka. We’ve mapped cycles of waterfront sales, watched waterfront intently and made prognostications over the years. Analysis is part of who we are. We have to know the market. We started relating cottage activity to [...]
Tick all the 5 boxes and we call that A class land. 5 boxes? What are they? Whether we’re speaking with sellers or buyers, it’s important they understand it’s the things that cannot be changed that matter most when selling or buying. The 5 boxes of waterfront property are (in no particular order) view, nature [...]
MarketWATCH Muskoka: 12 May 2022 Trillium. Our Provincial flower. Its 3 pointed bloom is easily recognized by graphic representation on official documents of Ontario; Driver’s Licenses and Health Cards. We see the flower almost every day throughout the year. And yet, as it is now, with hardwood bushes being full of them carpeting the forest [...]
 Snowdrops seem like a ruse. They give a little hope (and joy) before the next dump of snow or bout of freezing rain. Crocuses on the other hand, closely followed by Cilla, are an affirmation. The ground is warming up (finally) and winter has lost its grip. There may yet be a dump (look [...]
Every once in a while a unique property comes to market. In 2007 such a property did. On Lake Rosseau it had smaller frontage (100’) facing west. Gentle land. It’s uniqueness was twofold. First, it had an old two storey boathouse with two bedrooms and a full kitchen. Second, the cottage was new, a rebuild, [...]
Photo Credit: Jamie Sherman. We’ve recently talked about the watershed and lake levels. Those in Haliburton which feed the Trent-Severn are at spring height, meaning their water level is now several feet above where it would be at the end of July. Throughout Simcoe, Parry Sound, Muskoka and Haliburton, valleys and seasonal creek beds are [...]
Photo by Nima Sarram on Unsplash We’re in the middle. Middle of what? you ask. Dog days, comes the reply. From about July 3 until August 10 this year, are the dog days of summer. The Romans referred to this time as ‘diès canicularès’’ because the sun was nearest to Sirius, the brightest star visible [...]
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash The first full week of July. Almost normal. Renters are in place, lakes are busy, shops are open and patios are appropriately distanced. What’s different? Camps are closed and remain quiet. Caterpillars aren’t noisy either, but they are certainly eating their way through the canopy. Underfoot they are slippery. [...]
