My wet week in Ontario

[kgd]

Having finished my field course last week I was really itching for a bit of get away time. My buddy asked me and my wife to join him and his wife at their cottage and I jumped at the chance. Even though most of the prognosis was rain, it was a really good time. I managed to get a little bit of use of my Scrapper 5 as per my review last night. These shots are just providing a bit of the fun we had along a few of the trails at his cabin, near his other wood lot and then at Foymount where we have a lake that was donated to us for research purposes.

This is my buddy walking in his woodlot which is 26 acres not too far from the town of Sharbot Lake.

I had managed to get my old Coleman canoe back from my fathers place where he wasn't using it and asked me to take it away. Actually I bought the coleman as a 14 year old using the earnings of my very first job - a corn detassler, so it has been through a lot. Also when you make $2.85/hr it took a while to save up the $500 it was to buy it in the first place! I was happy to give it to my buddy so that he could keep this one near the wetland abutting his property.

The wetlands lead to a small lake behind his property that can be accessed by portaging over a beaverdam. This is the little lake. He hasn't fished it yet so he doesn't know what is in it. I'm sure there are pike there.

This guy greeted us

more coming....

 

[kgd]

I had my maxpedition falcon II along. What a great pack this is - check out Fonly's video review of it over in another thread.

I pulled out my firewallet and showed my buddy the flint and steel method for starting a fire. Then walked around and found a few stones that threw sparks. The granit ones seem to throw really nicely.

We started paddling back. My buddy just bought himself a new GPS and did one of those - spending a lot of time staring at a little screen instead of the wonderful terrain moves...

Walking back through his woodlot

This is the cleared area of his lot that needs to be baled pretty soon. Lots of clover in there so his neighbor comes out and does it for him for free and takes the hay for himself. Good deal I think!

more coming...

 

[kgd]

These giant puff ball thingies make great flash tinder!

Cool green frog

My buddy and his wife. My friend is 6'3" and his wife is 5'4" and such a tiny women. He is prof at my school and she works as a plant geneticist at an agricultural research station.

The next day we did a hike in Foymount by this lake that were are granted access to via a MOU between the owner and our university. We didn't really use the lake this year, but wanted to take a walk around it and check it out. It was raining pretty hard all day, but that didn't stop us. Despite the rain and wet, the bugs were kept at bay and it was a very pleasant hike.

Unfortunately I was having a lot of trouble with my lens fogging up with all that humidity in the air.

still more coming.....

 

[kgd]

This is the start of the trail going around the lake. It has grown in pretty much and needs some maintenance!

There are a bunch of bogs and wetlands that adjoin the research lake that made for some pleasant scenery. Lots of moose scat in the area.

A pretty good fog started to set in as we walked.

You can see my camera is foggy and drenched at this stage. This is the last of the shots of that hike.

Only one more page to post!!!

 

[kgd]

Back at my buddies cottage the next day. We had left that afternoon, but decided to take a stroll around the cottage road early in the morning.

Some interesting fungus - stag fungus

A car or ATV hit and took a chunk out of this large pine tree. There was a tonne of pitch all around the wound.

I don't usually like planted pine stands. Something about the symmetry of all the planted trees and the fact that they are the same age kind of annoys me. However, I did like the soft colours that the cloud cover provided and the juxtaposition between the red needles on the ground and green ones on the leaves. I looked through a bunch of the downed trees but couldn't find any fatwood stumps here. Its much easier going in a real forest where stumps are widely distributed.

This is a cool plant called Indian pipe. It is a saprophytic plant, like fungus, it has no chlorophyll a and consumes nutrients in the form of detritus rather than producing its own.

A neat burl - I keep seeing faces in this one!

All in all it was a great couple of days. Just hanging around with friends and walking a few wonderful trails. Would have been nicer with sunny days, but at the same time the coolness that the rain provided is a good relief and just as relaxing. Nothing better than setting to bed in the cottage with the patter patter of rain on the roof and the call of loons at night!

 

[MB1]

Great time! Great place! Cool pictures

 

[goatariba]

GREAT PICS!~! wow did those bring back a good feeling. i always loved indian pipe as a kid. strange that it turn jet black minutes after being picked.
thanks for sharing.

 

[Snow]

Very cool pictures. Looks like your friend has an awesome property.

 

[WalterDavis]

Great pictures:thumbup: I really like those shots (in both threads) where the camera is getting foggy-that 'softened' look really brings out the feel of a wet environment. Looks like a great way to spend a few days!

 

[Rockywolf]

Beautiful pics Ken. The 5th one from the top is my favorite-it is postcard worthy!

 

[k_estela]

Beautiful pics! Looks like you really took it all in! That photo of the frog is by far my favorite. What resolution!

 

[PG5768]

Very nice pictures. It looks like you had a great time.

I was on the other side of Ontario for the last week. I just got back from a week in the bush northeast of Ear Falls on Thursday. We had one sunny day in the 70s (F) and the rest were overcast with scattered rain.

Beautiful country and mostly very friendly people.

 

[tonym]

What a pretty area!

Great shots Ken!

 

[TheGame]

Awesome pics. Looks like a lot of fun getting to go out there.

Thanks for sharing the pics!

 

[Jnyiri]

Nice pics Ken.

Jozsef

 

[J.Wade]

Great photo's as alway's, looks like a great place to hang out.

Was that the same spot you went in the spring/late winter, where the lake had the sheet of ice on it?

cya
jimi

 

[Mistwalker]

Wow!! What great pictures! I really enjoy just looking through the pictures in this one over and over again. I wouldn't mind spending a couple of rainy foggy days at that cabin either.

 

[ROCK6]

Excellent pictures kgd! I'll savor the greeness over the next few months.

ROCK6

 

[kgd]

Jimi - yeah same spot as my previous thread. Great place but I was shocked by how much growth was on the trail. I'll have to go in there with a machete and an axe for clear that thing down in the fall.

Thanks to everybody else who responded.

 

[lambertiana]

Very nice! Those pictures over the bow of the canoe remind me a lot of the canoe trips I used to make in the Adirondacks.