On our property we have two fruit trees. Deer are indiscriminate. They eat whatever has fallen or they can reach. The red berries that gleam like cherries in the sun, are crabs. The others an old Ontario variety long forgotten. They’re on a tree planted when the original home was built here in the 1870’s [...]
MarketWATCH Muskoka: 3 August 2023 Hump Day. This Civic Holiday weekend is to high summer season as Wednesday is to the week. The fulcrum point. Our days are noticeably shorter, nights are a bit cooler but the lake is oh, so warm. It's good sleeping weather too. We're moving into the dog days of [...]
We slid into July like a base runner coming home. Rain gone, heat on and summer full bore. Safe! Water’s warming nicely, haze is abating some and summer activity has begun. Markets are in full swing, Muskoka Artists are having their summer show in only 10 days! The Antique and Classic Boat Show is this [...]
Photo Credit: Norm Drolet, "Moose on the Nipissing River" The morning mists have begun in spots, rendering soft the light of dawn on our pre-Cambrian frame. This time of year, with autumn quietly leaving hints, changing leaf tips pulling golden hues to the fore, is rich in abundance. John Keats wrote: Season of mists and [...]
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 [...]
Last week we talked about ticking boxes… making sure the property is right and the compromises it represents are acceptable. In some ways it’s easy dealing with the intellectual exercise of choosing. More and more we’re finding people doing their research online and making their choices without actually seeing the property. To some degree, when [...]
Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash September’s done. No frost yet and none in the forecast. It won’t be long, though. At the time of writing we’re in single digits and the sky is clear. Autumn glory is just around the corner. It looks like the peak of colour and Thanksgiving stand a good chance [...]
It’s started. Tips are turning.🍁 In some places whole branches are 🔥flaming red. Down our road there’s one 🌳tree which decided to strut its stuff early. Never thought of 🌳trees as being exhibitionists before. But this one will have done it’s full act🤸♀️ and be standing there in the altogether before any of its neighbours👨👩👦👦have [...]
Photo credit: Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash August Civic Holiday. The hump day of summer. This year towns and villages of cottage country were fairly humming compared to last year. Parking spaces were hard to find and some businesses had appropriately distanced line ups outside. After more than a year of quiet, the return [...]
