2015
Simply Cottage
El Niño is certainly bringing unseasonable weather into the Muskoka area. It will be interesting to see if/when the lakes freeze over or when the snowmobile trails open this year.
I dropped by Simply Cottage located in the old Muskoka Foundry recently and met the new owners. Simply Cottage is housed in the Muskoka Foundry which also has a new owner with big plans to expand the property with a brew pub, live entertainment, food and artisan area. If you haven’t visited here I would recommend you take a stroll through next time you are in the Bracebridge area. It is filled with cool cottage related items for decorating or gift giving. (iPhone 6s+ photo)
2015
The Muskoka Water Cab
A friend asked if I would accompany him to look at some island properties that are for sale on Lake Muskoka. We hired this cool Muskoka Water Taxi to take us around in the freezing temperatures. He had a nice little setup with a propane heater inside to keep us warm & toasty. Apparently he does ample business in the warm season dropping and picking up people on the many islands on Lake Muskoka. He will even bring you pizza.
2015
Last Ride of the Season
We have been fortunate to have extremely warm weather these past few days reaching upwards to 21C in Muskoka. I don’t recall a November this warm in a very long time. Well you know its borrowed time and its going change real soon. This is the boathouse on Sullivan Island located on Lake Joseph as I made my way home on the last run of the season.
2015
Fall into Muskoka Video
This is a cool video with some drone shots around Bala, Torrance, Port Carling, and Gravenhurst areas of Muskoka. Thanks to Jon Corbin of Corbin Visual
Fall into Muskoka from Corbin Visual on Vimeo.
In: in and around muskoka ontario, tripin around towns, uncategorized
2015
Unrelenting Blue Jays
Last week most Canadians were cheering for our beloved Toronto Blue Jays hoping they would make it to the World Series. Unfortunately it didn’t happen however the series was extremely exciting and it brought many people together. These past few weeks I’ve noticed other unrelenting Blue Jays frequenting the gardens to feast on the seeds from the dying sunflowers. I found it very difficult to get close for a clean shot. They seem so nervous and never stay in one place very long.
2015
The Peak is Over
Unfortunately I missed the best of the fall colors and the warm Canadian Thanksgiving this season. I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland and see some beautiful sites. Even though the Muskoka color has peaked there is still some colorful foliage hanging on. Here is a photo from yesterday just off Tally Ho Road.
2015
Muskoka Flyboard
It was as beautiful fall day when I dropped by Summer Water Sports to remove my Seadoo’s for the season. The Muskoka Flyboard team was out front making a video so that they could qualify for the world champions. Notice that there isn’t anyone driving the Seadoo? It’s being controlled remotely by the flyboarder.
2015
The Lone Gull
It was a gloomy afternoon and the sun was dropping quickly with the feel of rain approaching. I teetered back and forth on whether I should go out or not. I ended up in one of my favorite areas to travel to on Lake Joseph where there is hardly any development. I noticed this rock island, shut off my engine and slowly drifted into it. There was a lone seagull who stayed with me while I shot a bunch of photos taking it all in.
2015
Florence Island on Lake Rosseau
Florence Island is located on Lake Rosseau closer to the Windermere side of the lake. My limited research tells me the island was likely named after William Jermyn Conlin (July 26, 1831-November 19, 1891) an actor who took the stage name Billy Florence after visiting Florence Italy. I was unable to find any information connecting him to the Muskoka area. He was also the co-founder of the Shriners.
In: in and around muskoka ontario, on the water, uncategorized
2015
Ferndale Boathouses
Ferndale is one of the most visited destinations when showing people the architectural eye-candy by boat around Lake Rosseau. The property is owned by a self made Canadian Billionaire who has amassed great success in the home building business. At one time this magnificent property was called Ferndale House and later it was sold to the Canadian Keswick Conference Centre. The property now supports four boathouses along with a massive cottage mansion, guesthouse, sandy beach, sports courts and a helicopter pad. These two boathouses are relatively new additions.
In: in and around muskoka ontario, on the water, uncategorized
2015
Android Sunflower
Happy September heatwave! – I took this shot with an Android smartphone. The lens quality in smartphones along with the many amazing photo apps have made it real easy to take decent photographs. It doesn’t take long to create a few thousand photos over time but having a way to archive them for future reference can be a challenge.
2015
Ouno Island Boathouse
I have been informed that there are four unique boathouses that are designed to store sailboats on the Big 3 Muskoka lakes. I often pass by this cool boathouse on Ouno Island near Clevelands House and Red Leaves Resort on Lake Rosseau. I never get tired of looking at Muskoka boathouses.
In: in and around muskoka ontario, on the water, uncategorized
2015
Dragonflies, our Friends
Say hello to our little friend. Dragonflies are fascinating insects. They are territorial (especially the males) and will defend against their own species and other insects. They can eat about a fifth of their body weight in prey per day, usually mosquitoes.
In: in and around muskoka ontario, on the water, uncategorized
2015
New Construction on the Lakes
Touring around the Big 3 lakes this season I see plenty of new cottage, boathouse and dock construction going on. This photo is of a cottage and boathouse on Lake Rosseau. The previous cottage and boathouse use to look just fine. You can see them in the background of this old photo. By the way that 6 slip boathouse in the old photo has been removed as well.
In: boathouses of muskoka, in and around muskoka ontario, on the water
2015
9 Slips
There are plenty of boathouses in Muskoka with 1, 2 and 3 slips but it is very unusual to find one with 9 slips. I discovered this 9 slip boathouse while cruising around Lake Rosseau recently. I think having a fleet of 9 boats would consume some time just on the maintenance alone.
2015
Unusual Lake Rosseau Boathouse
It is great that we have such diversification in architecture around Muskoka. Especially on the water front. You can find this one near the Venitian islands on Lake Rosseau. You need to be careful navigating around this area as its very shallow.
In: boathouses of muskoka, historic muskoka, in and around muskoka ontario
2015
Lake Rosseau from the Side of the Road
The sun was dropping below the horizon and I jumped out of the truck on my way back from Rosseau to grab one last shot. I like to take photos from the side of the road to give those that are passing through a perspective of Muskoka.
In: in and around muskoka ontario, on the water, uncategorized
2015
The BBQ Graveyard
I ventured out to buy a new BBQ recently. I recall the last time spending almost an entire day putting one together so I wanted to avoid that ordeal. I noticed some beauties at Muskoka BBQ located at the Glen Orchard General Store. While there I was asked if I had seen the BBQ graveyard. Thanks to Pete for the help and the walkabout in the graveyard.
In: in and around muskoka ontario, tripin around towns, uncategorized
2015
Cormorants and Seagulls
As I travel around Muskoka especially on the Big 3 lakes I notice the cormorants and seagulls have taken over some of the small islands. I approached this particular island on Lake Joseph riding my Seadoo very quietly by turning off the engine and drifting in. The cormorants were fine with me taking a few photos however the gulls went into psycho panic mode and started dive bombing me. It is interesting how the gulls and cormorants get along nesting beside each other. I think the gulls are opportunistic and wait for the cormorants who are great fishers to drop a few scraps.
2015
Lake Rosseau Sunrise
A Lake Rosseau sunrise from Clevelands House. Thanks for checking in, I should be back to regularly posting photos now.
