BOATIQUE

In addition to the usual marine services, the Port Sandfield Marina offers various merchandise and clothing apparel in their boathouse or boatique as they always share the space with two antique boats. In the foreground is an unnamed Greavette, rumoured to belong to Kurt Russell, and in the further slip is the Scud II, a Minett-Shields.

THE CHEROKEE

The Cherokee, formerly a bed and breakfast resort derives its name from the Cherokee Trail, the name applied to Peninsula Road when a gateway once greeted visitors at its entrance, its columns promoting the various resorts that operated then. The Cherokee was renovated and is now the summer home of a former NHL Captain from 1991-94.
[Can you guess his identity? Hint: His team and # are in this photo.]

DESCENDING TOGETHER

Soon after that the sun broke through and prevailed, banishing the dark cloud into exile. I remained behind to savour the view and the start of the sunset, however as I wasn't equipped with a flashlight I began my descent before it had completely set, stopping to capture my favourite view point and the sun descending behind the horizon.

WITHOUT WARNING

After a day of exploring Milford Bay I hiked up to Huckleberry Rock Lookout. I wasn't there long before a black cloud gathered suddenly without warning and a sinister face took shape, threatening trouble. It brought to me the story of the "dirty piece of weather" that came out of nowhere, sending the Waome to the bottom of these waters.

SIGN OF FALL

The sign that fall has arrived is when the sumac leaves change their colour to bright red, before any of the trees turn. With Thanksgiving fast approaching the courses are still busy but it won't be long before boating and golfing will be ending for another year. The Lake Joseph Club is one of three ClubLink courses located in the Muskoka region.

FALL WEATHER

This colourful collage, a mixture of various leaves corralled beside a dock, not only captures the different colours that have changed and fallen but also the weather details, displaying the raindrops from a recent shower. The first day of fall was another day of rainfall, like much of September has been with still more wet weather predicted.

THE BOATWORKS

A propellor serves as a doorhandle giving new meaning to when it's propped open. The door leads to the service area of The Boatworks Limited, a partnership of seven cottagers that bought the business and is currently expanding it. The original company was famous for its line of SeaBirD boats and their motto "Safe, Swift, Serviceable."

WILL DONE

A lot of money and effort were put into rolling out the series of new standardized signs, erected at all the town entrances and trailheads across Muskoka Lakes Township, a project supported by the federal government's G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund. They should have put a little more effort into proofreading this sign, and correcting its typo.

THE RED GREEN SHOW

This title is a double reference to the colourful combination of the maple leaves in the foreground and to the Ferndale Lookout Tower, used during the filming of seasons 3-6 of The Red Green Show with the lonely Ranger Gord. Built in the 60's for the Ferndale Resort, it's no longer accessible to the public and the site now private property.

MORNING MIST

With the recent cool weather at nights the mornings bring mist on the lakes, gradually lifting with the emerging sun. As the curtain is raised Edith and Wasan Islands appear, two of several islands that make up the Venetia Group, while between them in the background The Rosseau can be seen perched above the lake on a granite bluff.

FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Today marks my first anniversary living up here and working at The Rosseau. My job is good, the people I've met are great and Muskoka is the number 1 place in Ontario. Working nights has allowed me the opportunity to have every day off to attend special events and enjoy all the beautiful days, and I look forward to my second fall and year.

9/11

A pair of pines, symbolic of the Twin Towers, stand together above the surrounding terrain while the contrail from a passing airplane is etched across the clouds, a reminder of how things were before the tragic day that affected all of us nine years ago today, and changed forever the way we looked at the world and learned about ourselves.

SEEING STARS

Many cottagers and visitors hope to catch a glimpse of some of the celebrity stars known in the area but for this cottager they are more interested in the celestial stars. Their boathouse, on Lake Rosseau and seen from the bridge at Port Sandfield, includes an observatory that features a 12" Meade LX200 telescope with GPS for alignment.
[Click here to view some photographs taken using this same model.]

BYGONE DAYS

Like a re-enactment from bygone days the Wenonah II, a replica of the twentieth century steamships, waits to collect passengers for a cruise from The Rosseau, a modern resort modelled after the Royal Muskoka Hotel, built over a century ago, which reigned as the most luxurious resort on the lake before it was destroyed by fire in 1952.

WAVING NOT DROWNING

It's a short hike to the Tree Museum, a gallery of multiple sculptures planted throughout its 200 acres, integrating contemporary art in an outdoor environment. While at the Drowning Not Waving sculpture I encountered this Monarch butterfly that appears in this picture to be waving with one side as it lifts off, as if mocking the exhibit's name.

A REPRIEVE

Storm clouds part as the sun struggles to make its appearance, offering everyone a reprieve from the rainy weather and lifting dampened spirits. We have been fortunate that the weather this summer and every long weekend before has been beautiful, and blessed with the season starting earlier from the Easter weekend.

THE GATHERING STORM

I thought this scene resembled a landscape destroyed by battle with its ravaged trees and the horizon ablaze by a distant firefight. With a forecast of rain for the weekend there exists the possible threat of war between parents and their kids if they don't have a battle plan in place, while on some fronts they may choose to retreat home earlier.

1408

When I first started working at The Rosseau I was surprised to learn that, unlike most hotels, we have rooms that include the number 13, to the dismay of the occasional superstitious guest. We also have a room 1408, its collective numbers adding up to 13, and the name of a horror movie about a haunted hotel room written by Stephen King.
[Click on the door to open it to see the movie trailer... but beware!]