Time to Close the Cottage for the Season

Closing time at the cottage is bittersweet.

I absolutely love Autumn at the cottage. I like that there are fewer people out on the lake and the quiet that goes with that. I love the changing colours, the birds on their migration routes stopping by the island for a snack of acorns or that sunset time when Canada Geese land in the water in front of the cottage in massive honking mass. We can feel the air pull us forward as they swoop a few feet over our heads and splash into the water.

I love cold evenings as an excuse to light a fire in the fireplace and cuddle to keep warm under a pile of blankets and quilts. I love baking warm dishes in the oven and sipping hot cider on the dock. The last of the smokey bonfires in the backyard turns into last chances to clean up some stray branches in the yard.

Sadly it becomes clear that it really is time to pack up for the year. The cottage is not insulated for year round use and it becomes hard to keep the place warm enough to sleep, even with a roaring fire.
When you wake up and find your water glass has a skim of ice on top you realize that winter is truly on its way. A bigger concern is when you try and turn on the taps and you discover the water in the pipes has become frozen. We have to worry about draining our hot water tank and getting the water pump out of the lake before it becomes frozen and damaged.

We bring in all the furniture and drapes off the porch and bring in the outdoor furniture and decorations that we want to protect from the wind and snow. We put a lot of quilts and fabric items in large rubber tubs and I try to bag up as much of the dishes and kitchen items as I can cut down on the washing in the spring and also as protection just in case any little critters find their way into the cottage despite our best efforts at rodent proofing.

We load our boat and bring home any food or clothes or hobby materials we might want over the winter or items that might be damaged by freezing like paint.

The boat ride to the mainland dock is short but then comes the job of lifting the boat out of the lake and onto its boat trailer. Finally, it has to be winterized, drained and then wrapped up in boat covers and tarps to protect it through the winter.

This year we finished with the boat just as we witnessed a spectacular sunset. It was such a fitting finale to our cottage season.

Fall view from the Front Yard

Ours was the last boat to come out of the water at the mainland docks

The Boat Launch in Fall

Sunset Farewell

I Love How Beautiful Fall is at the Lake

We load up the boat at the dock we rent on the mainland and head out through the bay into the lake.

It only takes a few minutes before we have turned the corner and are approaching our little island. Most of the year it is hard to spot our cottage but once the trees start to lose their leaves the white cottage starts to pop out. The large rock out from really shows up too.

Here we are approaching the dock and cottage and if you look carefully you can spot

our big white dog, Jasper, waiting for us. The line of white along the dock is a series of bumpers to protect both the side of our new dock and our boat.

Poplar Bay Camp Shore

 

 
 

 

This is taken right beside our mainland dock. The owners of the campground maintain a boat launch right there, a dock for people arriving by boat at the campground and a little beach area for the campers. There is a small red building with running water which is the filet house.