M & M

It was sad saying goodbye to Meagan, my Amazing Race partner and colleague at work, who I have known since coming here and worked together with the past year, the other M from the Night Audit Team. I gave her a card I thought was appropriate, featuring the two ships with M on their stacks, side by side at the dock, like us at the desk.

SUNSHINE SKETCHES

As I was passing through Gravenhurst at dawn I stopped at the wharf to catch the morning sun as it reached Greavette Island, highlighting its miniature replica lighthouse, a popular attraction in photographs. I had the wharf to myself, empty of the bustling summer crowds and the crew and cast that were here last week filming for a TV special.
[Click here and scroll down for more details and a couple of photos.]

MISTY MORNING

Last night was the first frost of the year, a harbinger of the seasons to come. In the meantime it made for a beautiful morning with mist rolling along the lake and the sun a welcome relief when it put in its appearance, dispersing the mist and melting the frost, the shadows providing only a temporary reprieve from the sun's rays and warmth.

TWO YEARS

It's been two years working at The Rosseau and living in Muskoka, and the start of my third autumn, the colours changing rapidly this year. I had a great summer exploring several lakes with my kayak, offering a different perspective from my first year discovering the area by road and trail, and I'm looking forward to the third ahead.

SPOOKY TRAIL

A pair of guests approached the front desk to comment on the trails, including one they thought was "spooky". "How do you mean spooky?" I probed further. "There's a couple of trees with a pole going across, with chains and meathooks attached!" I realized then this was where kettles of maple sap had been hung to boil, its apparatus still intact.

FOREST POND

I was attracted to this scene during a walk through the woods today, the ghostly image of trees reflected from the remote side of a pond, intertwined with the shadows of the trees on my side, captured on a canvas of green algae, several swathes of blue with a stroke of gold completing the impressionist quality of my photograph, Forest Pond.

REMEMBERED

Flags from both countries fly at half mast to honour the victims of 9/11. Unknown to many, including myself then, but when the twin towers collapsed they obliterated the Marriott that stood between them. Two associates never left before then and are remembered for helping people to safety, two heroes as tall as the towers were.

(SITTIN' ON) THE ROCK OF THE BAY

Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the clouds roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I'm sittin' on the rock of the Bay...

NEVER ALONE

Directly below me at this viewpoint of Georgian Bay I discovered by accident a large alabaster statue of Jesus on a crucifix, attached to the cliff face and at the portage nearby, just above the water's edge and built into the rock ridge, a shrine dedicated to the Madonna of Georgian Bay, so although I was there by myself I was never alone.

NATURE AND MYSELF

I spent the past couple of days camping at the portage that connects Georgian Bay with McCrae Lake, after hiking in. This was a new area for me and after setting up camp, went off exploring, swimming and taking pictures. It was nice to disconnect from the world and others, a getaway from the everyday, and reconnect with nature and myself.

AT THE ROCK

I went to the book launch for The Hidden World of Huckleberry Rock, held at The Rock Golf Club, where I met the photographer and author that collaborated on it. I was also thrilled to meet two other Muskoka bloggers: Ed Boutilier of Muskoka Blog and Cathy Webster of Life on the Muskoka River, and just missed Deb from My Great White North.
[Artwork obtained from Cathy's post on the people behind this book.]

MUSKOKA MEMORIES

We redeemed our gift certificate today for a tour aboard the aptly named Muskoka Memories, a 1960 22' Shepherd runabout. Jeremy Fowler of Butson's Boat Shop took us to Port Sandfield to enjoy ice cream, before cruising into Lake Joseph and returning by the river. We had an awesome time, another one for our Muskoka memories.
[Thank you Jeremy for a great tour and for taking our photograph.]