THE MISSING CHURCH

Can you solve the mystery of the missing church at Milford Bay?
Where's the church
where's the steeple?
The answer lies
with all the dead people.
[Fred Shaw gave the right answer, on my second comment below.]

THE LUND STORY

Build it and he will come. When Howard Lund built his first aluminum duck boat in 1948, it took about a week and he didn't expect it would catch the attention of a boat salesman who inquired where he had bought it. When told he had built it himself and was willing to build more, an order was placed for 50 boats and Lund America was born.

EARTH DAY

Today marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and as people around the world volunteered to clean up their communities, staff pitched in at The Rosseau, cleaning up around the property. While scouring the grounds we found the wreckage of a 1953 Oldsmobile Super 88, a legend in its time and whose history remains a mystery.

REST HARBOUR

While exploring the backroads I found this little park, originally developed by the Peninsula Lions Club and taken over later by the Township, tucked away on the shores of Lake Rosseau. The scene reflects the bay's name and I was impressed by how the lines from a passing boat's wake appear symmetrical with the lines of the bench.

THE MUSKOKAS

Muskoka is derived from Mesqua Ukie, the Ojibwa leader associated with the area during the 1800's. He was highly revered and his name deserves to be honoured, however sadly the area is often referred to incorrectly as the Muskokas, a name synonymous with the Hamptons and an aberration from its true meaning and First Nation's heritage.

TAPS FOR TAPPS

After 6 years in business it's Taps for Tapps Cottage Eatery, which recently closed their doors. When I spoke with one of the original partners outside, a gust of wind swivelled the weather vane in a new direction, aligning with the ambitions of this remaining partner who plans to open under a different banner with a new look and menu.

???? ? DOCK

Can you solve this sign puzzle with its missing words and letters?
???? ? DOCK
???????
CASUAL
?????TURE

APRIL SHOWERS

A heavy rain started last evening, the first of several proverbial April showers forecast for the week, and persisted throughout the night, punctuated with spells of thunder and lightning. By morning the rain had relented and the air was stippled with fog, creating moody and surreal scenes like the ghostly buildings at this marina.

SKELETON BAY

The stark branches of early spring and skeletal limbs of two dead trees lend credence to the name of the bay below them. Skeleton Bay, a sheltered arm of Lake Rosseau affords protection to nesting loons and offers one of the most scenic views with rugged cliffs and a cluster of cottages, aptly named The Cliffs, snuggled at their base.

SOMETHING FISHY

There's something fishy going on lately under the cover of darkness by the water's edge and if you listen for the frogs as I was advised, they are your cue that the smelt, small silver fish the size of herring, should be running during their spring migration to their spawning streams and can be caught legally after dark with lights and dip nets.

EASTER SUNDAY

Like a child scouring the yard for Easter eggs I searched the summit area of Lookout Mountain for interesting subjects to photograph. I was drawn by the colour to a lichen cluster of British Soldiers that I imagined could be people boating, their wooden vessel's bow lifted out of the water, and the leaf as the waves rearing up at the side.

GOOD FRIDAY

With temperatures soaring into the high 20's this Good Friday the last of the ice vanished from the lakes, one of the earliest dates on record, and with the promise of above seasonal temperatures for the remainder of the Easter weekend, the weather will be luring boaters out on the water and hikers out on the trails to enjoy this blessing.

APRIL FOOL'S

It contains all the ingredients of an April Fool's hoax: come visit Muskoka for the long weekend (Easter mind you, not the traditional May 2-4) and enjoy boating, barbequing and balmy temperatures, however this is not a prank but reality, and is encouraging several cottagers to return early to take advantage of the extended season.