QUETICO POND

Went for a short walk along the Beaver Ponds Trail, one of two trail systems leaving from the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. This trail brings you to Quibble and Quetico Ponds, both named after beavers that lived at the sanctuary. The latter pond was covered with a thin pane of ice, with rings of slush surrounding all the protruding trees.

TRAIL MAIL

There's e-mail, snail mail and then there's trail mail. Twelve teams of drivers and their dogs participated in the 28th annual Seguin Sled Dog Mail Run, a popular event commemorating historical mail runs. Special collector envelopes were available for purchase before being delivered by teams from Humphrey to Rosseau, and then mailed on.

JOYFUL FINISH

The regatta closed with swimming events which fittingly served as the opening act for Joy Jarvis, appearing on cue, after a marathon swim of Lake Rosseau. This is her last time, taking 9 1/2 hours to swim the 25 km distance from Port Carling, and 11th year, raising over $150,000 in total for Camp Oochigeas and cancer awareness.

ROSSEAU REGATTA

I visited Rosseau again today, this time to watch their 45th annual regatta. It was a great event with one of the best teams being the Father and Son Double of Bobby Genovese and Bobby Genovese Jr., the father, a venture capitalist and TV celebrity, demonstrating the same prowess in athletics that has made him successful in business.

PAIGNTON HOUSE

After my boat tour was over and the farmers' market finished, I took a stroll through the village of Rosseau itself. I stopped at the antique store and when I browsed through a shoebox of mixed postcards was ecstatic to find a vintage one of Paignton House, the predecessor to The Rosseau, on Fish Rock, something I've never seen in any photos.
[Credit to Natural Colour Cards by A & M Workshop, Pickering, Ont.]

BOAT TOURS

Due to its waterfront location the Rosseau Farmers' Market brings a lot of visitors by boat, including the Wenonah II that makes Rosseau its destination on Fridays. I ran into Randy Potts, owner and captain of the Idyllwood, the small yacht parked at the end of the dock, who invited me to accompany him in the wheelhouse for one of his tours.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

I visited the Rosseau Farmers' Market today, reknowned as the best in the area and was impressed by the variety of vendors and wares, the live entertainment beneath the gazebo and the waterfront with its beach. There was something for everyone in the family to enjoy, like this family of different generations, watching the boats arrive.

LOOKS & MOODS

I returned in time to catch the last light of the setting sun. I love the different looks and moods with each time I visit. The harsh daylight exposes the blistering paint, the sunset burnishes the lighthouse in gold, and then the dark silhouettes before the solar powered lamp starts its flashing sequence, the only thing that remains constant.

LIGHTHOUSE SHOAL

A close up of the picturesque lighthouse. The pair of cormorants perched on its roof remind me of the rumour that there were two graves at this site, which was a small island, and when the water level of Lake Rosseau was later raised they were covered. In the background on the left is one of three sailboathouses on the lake.

ROSSEAU LAKE COLLAGE

I spent the evening exploring by kayak from the town of Rosseau, and found this scene interesting, a collage formed from a gnarled cottonwood tree leaning out above the dock of the Rosseau Lake College, a touch of colour provided by the canoe and in between, looking out of proportion with its miniature size, the lighthouse.