Closing the Cottage for Winter

It is October 15th and the cottage is closed for another season. I am always sad to shut it up, but at the same time I usually feel ready to get on with life in the city. All the fall activities are long underway and I am wearing out from wanting to be at both of our places at the same time.

As Fall goes on the weather becomes not only colder in lake country but much windier. The boat ride can get down right hellish. I get pretty panicky when the water is very rough and find myself muttering prayers under my breath the whole way. Yesterday we were banging so hard that I wound up with a sore back and a headache. Our poor little blue boat doesn't have shock resistant seats.


We were going to go out on the Friday. Our oldest girl drove out that direction earlier in the day and came home  without ever getting to our boat because the winds were obviously not safe when she looked across the water on one of the highway's bridge crossings.  Saturday morning there was a lull in the winds so four of us went out for the day and we just got on with closing it up.  The winds were NW 30 k/hour and the temperature was a chilly but tolerable 8 degrees C   (winds of 20 miles/ hour and temperature of 46 degrees F )


 Closing up the cottage is actually pretty easy. We are not in a location where we are terribly worried about waves and winter weather damage. Our big fear, because of past experience, is rodents. We have the cutest little mice on the island but inside they have chewed through food containers, eaten holes in a couch and destroyed our bedding. One little creature fell into Bob's rubber boot  and didn't make it out. The boot was quickly disposed of but smell lingered for a long time.  Rodents in our area can carry a respiratory disease that can affect humans, so it isn't just property damage that I am concerned with.


We drained the water tank and poured an RV antifreeze down the drains. We packed up anything food like to go home and made sure all cooking surfaces smelled more like disinfectant than  lingering peanut butter. We put the majority of the dishes off our open shelves into Rubbermaid tubs, and we took the linens and pillows and put some of them into the two trunks we have and tied the rest of it into a bunch of big garbage bags. We packed up the half read novels, the guitar and the clothing we might want over the winter. Bob packed up our little Honda generator, the pressure washer and any glues or paints or water seal that should not be left to freeze.  We grabbed my two pots of herbs and loaded up the boat to leave one last time.


We got to the cottage around one in the afternoon and we left there around 5 pm. We pulled the boat out at our mainland docking area in Poplar Bay where we will be leaving it on shore for the winter. Bob and the girls winterized the boat and tied down the boat cover; it was almost two more hours before we were ready to head for home again.

Dinner was at Drifters, a truck stop in Lac du Bonnet, and we got home a couple of hours later.


Now we get to figure out what to do with all the stuff we hauled home for the winter. We will sit and  make plans for what to take back int he spring and make plans for all the projects and adventures we want to have in lake country next year!

Reviewing the "To Do" List

 

 

It is so easy to forget about what has been done when you are busy focusing on the new tasks that are ahead of you. A review of this years accomplishments seems like a good idea.

Porch  Fix Up

1) porch floor was treated with preservative

2) new laminate flooring was put down

3) quarter-round put down

4) trim painted 

5) layer of sealant put over that laminate in hopes of sealing the joints

6) tablecloths from green oilcloth  for the 2 porch tables

7) new furniture for the porch.

8) new green pots for plants

9) drape experiments. fabrics and hooks

10 more twinkle lights to light up the night 

11) sanded the old folding rocking chair

 

Bathroom 

12) laminate flooring installed and even added the quarter round

13) bathroom cupboard opened up 

14) replacement doors purchased from the Habitat Restore

 

Dock on Mainland

15) resurfaced the wood surface

16) ends preserved

17) new cleats (hardware to tie up the boat)

18) a metal sign with our name painted and attached

Dock on Island

19) repaired a couple of broken boards

20) power washed the island dock

 

Other Assorted Accomplishments

21) squirrels chased out of the attic space 

22) attic several holes sealed to keep out that squirrel

23) sealed cracks in the main room floor to keep the mosquitoes out

24) photos on the wall in our bedroom at long last.

25) Bob built a "books and more" shelf for the living room 

26) first coat of stain on the shelves

27) killed poison ivy, like usual

28) sorted and took home tools not used at the lake

29) made candles with Emily

30) made a sand castle shaped cake

31) tried lots of camp cooking recipes with Alicia

    ........ and played with grandchildren

         ........ and took lots of pictures

                          ......... and planned for next year

The Propeller

Our boat propeller has taken a beating over the summer. 

We have a brand new one on order.

 

 

Tucking in the Boat

When we go home we tuck our boat in. The cover is really essential because the last theing you want to see is water in the bottom of the boat and swamping the engine.

Clover

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
   ~Emily Dickinson, 

The Old Swing Set

We have an old swing set at the cottage. It was a hand me down from my sister-in-law in the first place and it has since gone through a couple of paint jobs under our care. We are considering whether we should fix it up one more time for grandchilden to use. There is a certain sentimentality involved in passing it on to the next generation but there is also a lot to be said about getting something newer, perhaps with the advantage of a climbing and play structure as part of it. Perhaps nothing is needed with all that bush, sand water to play with.  We can decide next year.

 

 

New Towel

We went to the farmers market in Lac du Bonnet and saw a lady with a lot of machine embroidery products. Now, it isn't like I was looking for new towels, and not like our cottage is a log cabin, but this one just made me smile and said cottage to me.

 

I just had to set it up on the cabinet in the washroom and take a few pictures.

 

If you are in the area you might want to contact the lady who did the embroidery and see some of her other items. marjko@gmail.com

The Beauty of a Thistle

 

 

What is a weed?  A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.  

~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878

Growing Herbs

 

 We keep trying to grow herbs at the lake. The fact is the weather conditions are so extreme  here that it is hard to get the plants to last.  Last year we planted them outside and there are a few still struggling straggling stems but not enough to chop up for cooking. This year we found some nice green pots and we thought we would try and grow a few new plants on the screen porch.  I plan to take them home to the city for the winter and see if I can keep them alive. So far I haven't used this years plants for cooking but I plan to very soon.

We have Greek Oregano, Pineapple mint and Lemon balm growing on the porch and they smell great!

Frogs

The island has more frogs this year than I have ever seen here. A couple of different kinds are hopping around too! I laid in the bush behind a fallen log to be face to face with this little cutie. He posed patiently for a long time because it took me a while to figure out how to get the best picture.

 

 You think that perhaps you should trim down the weeds a bit. 

Then you see that little tiny glimpse of raspberry red. 

Maybe the weeds are fine just like they are.

In the Heat of Summer

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.  It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.  
                                                                                ~Henry David Thoreau