bushwhacking

Comic updated yesterday

Allison reports that her Filk Forte column has been updated. "The new topic is literary filksongs. Has any book ever inspired you to write a song about it? Has any literary filksong inspired you to read the source book? What are your favorite literary filksongs? (and non-filksongs)."


Jeff and I have settled into a day-to-day routine at the cottage. Yesterday was a typical example:

6:30 am

Despite all attempts to sleep in, I wake up. Carefully get out of bed and get dressed, trying to be as quiet as possible so I don't wake up Jeff. Accidentally drop book or knock over insect repellent and wake Jeff. He grumbles a bit but then goes back to sleep.

6:35 am

Go down to boathouse. Start fire to warm up cabin. Boil water for tea. Have breakfast...sometimes eggs and peameal bacon, usually instant oatmeal and some fruit. Eat breakfast in front of the fire while reading some LOTR.

7:00 am

Clean up. Restock firewood in cabin if necessary. Work on Blatherings.

7:30 am

Get online and upload Blatherings. Pick up e-mail. Check fave sites.

8:00 am

Work on Writer's Digest article.

8:02 am

Make some more tea, put another log on the fire, fuss about in kitchen some more. Discover that a mouse has managed to infiltrate the mouse-proof storage cupboard. Clean up mess.

8:23 am

Work some more on Writer's Digest article.

8:27 am

Notice how absolutely gorgeous it is outside. Make another cup of tea and go outside to sit on the dock in the sunshine with copy of LOTR. End up dozing a bit in the deck chair.

9:45 am

Work some more on Writer's Digest article, this time putting on a CD, thinking that some background music will help concentration. Make the mistake of selecting Ookla The Mok's new album, "Smell No Evil". End up listening to the CD more than writing.

10:11 am

Get on online and send Rand some e-mail commenting on one of the tracks. Am distracted by Randall The Lone Seagull floating out in the lake near our dock, looking wistful. Go outside and throw some crusts of bread at Randall. Tell Randall that he needs to go find himself a lady seagull and make some babies. Jeff, who has just woken up and has come up behind me on the deck, asks me why I'm talking to a seagull. I tell him I'm doing some research for a children's book. He goes inside.

10:48 am

Am distracted by how absolutely gorgeous it is outside. Sit on the dock and watch the waves. Sound of water lapping against dock is very soothing.

11:21 am

Decide to go back to sleeping cabin and take a nap.

1:15 pm

Wake up from nap. Go down to boathouse, where Jeff is on the couch reading a book. Have lunch together, plan hiking route for that afternoon.

2:00 pm

Go for hike.

5:34 pm

Get back from hike. Have sauna, wash up.

5:55 pm

Take nap.

7:15 pm

Wake from nap. Jeff cooks dinner, I clean up.

9:20 pm

Add more logs to fire. Jeff reads on couch and does some e-mail. I do some practising on guitar, play on computer offline (either work on comic strip or play with Flash), resolve to do lots of work on article next day.

11:30 pm

Bedtime.

Today, however, it is cloudy and drizzly outside, so it won't be as hard to stay indoors. I am determined to do major work on my article today, no excuses. (!) Report on my progress tomorrow.


Jeff and I decided to hike to Drummer Lake yesterday. Unlike previous hikes, this one was completely off the beaten path and involved bushwhacking. A LOT of bushwhacking. Most of our route went through what used to be a logging area, which meant that most of the larger trees were gone, resulting in a thick undergrowth of young trees and plants flourishing in the open space. Hiking through this stuff was tedious; it reminded me of that scene in Walt Disney's animated Snow White movie, when the heroine was running through the forest, with branches catching at her clothes and hair at every step.


Plus it was very buggy. Swarms of blackflies followed us everywhere...even though they weren't biting yet, they were darned annoying. The combination of the insects and tedious bushwhacking were daunting, and we decided to turn back after two hours.


Jeff figured out where to go by means of a topological map and a compass. I was pretty impressed, not having been particularly good during orienteering lessons back in grade school. It would be SO easy to get lost in the woods, where everything pretty much looks the same. On a cloudy day (with no sun to use as a direction reference), this would be even more of a problem if you didn't have other navigational aids.


And then of course I had to wonder what I would do if Jeff suddenly keeled over from a heart attack, or broke his ankle, or was eaten by a bear, etc. How would I find my way back to find help? So I asked, and Jeff gave me a quickie orienteering lesson with map and compass. Basically, I'd head for the lake where our cottage is situated. Once I find the shore, then I could just follow it until I found help. Finding the lake would be important, else I'd risk wandering off into the park interior, and that would definitely Not Be A Good Thing.


I've rambled on long enough today, and it's time to put another log on the fire and get back to working on my article. After a short nap, maybe...?


Today's Blatherpics:

Map of our hiking route yesterday. (prepared by Jeff)

Example of the kind of underbrush we had to push our way through for most of the hike.




Poll:

On average, do you spend more than 15 hours a week online?

on display topic: "homesick"

*"Life In A Nutshell" comic updated*

This our seventh day at the cottage...time's going by way too fast. Still, we've had more time alone here this visit than we've had in a very long time (hey, when we came here for our honeymoon we only had three days by ourselves :-)). Jeff and I went for another hike yesterday, this time near Joe Lake. On the way to our starting point, we met our friends Willi and Shirley Powell, with their kids, Emma and Spencer. Emma was a newborn last time I saw her, so it was a bit of a jolt to see her helping paddle their canoe (granted, with a smaller paddle) and talking.


I've updated my Reading Lord of the Rings - A Final Attempt log, for those interested. Thanks to Cory Doctorow for mentioning my log in BoingBoing. And hey, a reporter for the Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia, circ: 530,000) just interviewed me for an article about my LOTR project for this weekend's paper. He said he's finding it pretty entertaining and confesses he's had a lifelong aversion to LOTR himself. :-)









Today's entry is written for On Display, a group of online journalists who collaborate in writing projects. This month's theme is "moods", and we each had to pick a mood to write about. I chose homesickness, figuring I could write about what it was like in Philly, when I lived away from husband, family, and friends.


But then I realized that what I went through was nothing compared to homesickness experienced by some others, like my mother. It's her birthday today (she died over ten years ago, from cancer).


When I was very young, I remember asking Mom where she first met my Dad. Her answer confused me somewhat: "At the airport", but I figured that maybe they had run into each other while waiting for flights. It was only years later that I discovered that when Mom actually met my father in person at the airport, it was because she had flown to Canada from Japan to marry him. A missionary had introduced them as penpals, and they had talked many times on the phone as well as corresponding...but had never met in person.


Mom died before I thought to have any meaningful conversations with her about how she felt, leaving everything familiar behind her, to a country whose people spoke a different language, had different customs. How difficult it must have been to say good-bye to her family and friends, not knowing when she would see them again.


As our middle-income family grew larger, I suspect that flights to Japan fell low on the priority list. We went on family trips instead, driving across Canada to see the Rockies, down to Florida to visit Key West. They were wonderful vacations contributing to happy childhood memories, and I would like to believe the closeness our family shared helped Mom cope with how much she must have missed her own family.


Mom visited Japan only once after she moved here, and that was for her own mother's funeral. That must have been such a bittersweet homecoming.


We children were oblivious, of course (or at least I was). I don't remember anything about her going away except that she brought presents for us when she came home from Japan. Sigh.


As an adult, I appreciate much more what she must have gone through, and how much she must have loved my father to make the choice that she did.









Today's Blatherpics:

My mom with (from left to right) me, Jim, and Ruth.

Willi, Spencer, Emma, and Shirley.

Me, in the boat on the way back from our hike yesterday.


Poll:

Do you tend to put salt on your meal before tasting your food first?

reflection

Wow, pretty cold this morning; I can see my breath as I type this. Thermometer read -2 Celsius at 6:30 a.m. (!) The lake was gorgeous, mirror-smooth (see above photo), mist drifting across the surface. I just sat out there for a while, absorbing the quiet. When I got too cold, I went inside and lit a fire. And HEY, I managed to start a fire without any matches. Any guesses how?


Early mornings are my favourite time at the cottage. Peace and quiet are something I've come to greatly value these days. :-) As much as I love the city, it's a remarkable thing to be able to sit somewhere and not be able to hear traffic noises, people talking, doors slamming.


Jeff put in the water system yesterday. There was a minor crisis when he discovered a hole in the foot valve pump thingy, but then found an extra one in the storage room.









I worked on my article in the morning, and then we went on the Track and Tower hiking trail in the park. It was a 3.5 hr outing, and we walked about 8 km. Lots of rocky bits and climbs; 'twas a good workout. We're both trying to break in our new hiking boots in prep for out 10-day Killarney hiking trip with Alison and Jeff later this summer.


We ran into my cousin on the trail (!). He was out with his friend Rob, nephew Brendan, and Rob's nephew. It was somewhat surreal...we heard a "hi!" from ahead. I looked up and remember thinking, "Hey, that looks a lot like my cousin Andrew." Then, "Hey, that IS my cousin Andrew!" Another surprise on the trail was coming across patches of ice, still left from the winter.


Made pizza last night, using bread dough and some leftover spaghetti sauce.

Doing lots of guitar-playing, and even some songwriting :-) I miss my harp, though. :-(


The corporate world seems very far away. It's sort of weird...my whole time in Philadelphia seems like a lifetime ago. This time at the cottage is definitely helping to ground me again. I went for a long time feeling as if I was trying to walk on one of those trick floors made of panels that kept shifting around; every time I figured I had found my footing, it was pulled out from under me again.


It's good to be home. :-)












Today's Blatherpics:

My reflection in the lake this morning.

Jeff and me on the Track and Tower hiking trail.

Andrew, Rob, Brendan, Rob's nephew.


Poll:

Did you have a happy childhood?

brisk

LOTR log updated

In Blatherchat, Paul asked if the cottage was the same as a boathouse. Not everyone may use these terms the same way as I do, so I figured I should do some explaining and maybe offer a bit o' history.


Our cottage is on leased land in Algonquin Park. After the war, the government decided to open up the park and offer leases. Jeff's grandparents took out two leases and began building in 1950, using logs from an old barn about 50 miles away. First they built one cabin (which is now used by Jeff's aunt and uncle), then added a boathouse on the lot beside it. Jeff can correct me if I'm wrong here, but every lot could have a limited number of structures built on it, and one of those structures could be a boathouse. Boathouses are for boat storage, but many cottagers also use them as regular people-type cabins.


Our boathouse is used to store the canoes in the winter, but also is the main gathering place. It has a living room area with a fireplace, kitchen, small storage room. It's been gradually renovated over the years, with a dining room area added (where I'm sitting now). In fact, let me take a photo of it right now so you can see where I'm typing my Blatherings this morning:









The only sound is the lapping of waves against the dock, and some water starting to boil on the stove for my tea. Jeff's still sleeping, so I have the cabin to myself right now. :-)


Anyway, over the years, several sleeping cabins were built on the lot. Jeff and I built ours about ten years ago, a simple one-room cabin. We made it insulated so we could use it in the winter.


In answer to Jim's question...yes, the cottage can only be accessed by water. All the furniture and building supplies had to be transported by motor boat. I remember having to do this when we built our cabin. The lumber was deposited on the dock on the other side of the lake (and we had to trust that no one would steal it before we picked it up). We tied two motor boats together to make a sort of barge, and transported the lumber that way. I remember lying on top of the lumber pile, trying to keep any from sliding off into the water. :-)


Brrrrr...still chilly. I think I'll go put another log on the fire.







Today's Blatherpics:

I took these at about 6:30 a.m. this morning, mainly because I liked how everything looked in the morning light. Pretty chilly! Thermometer read 3 degrees Celsius, about 33 degrees Farenheit. I lit a fire to warm up the boathouse.


Poll:

Do you consider yourself a cat person?

first flash

I've updated my LOTR log. I'm actually enjoying the book so far.


Did some work on my Writer's Digest article yesterday, then spent the rest of the day napping, sitting out on the dock reading, practising guitar flatpicking, and playing with Macromedia Flash. I went through all the tutorials yesterday, and created my first Flash animation today. If you're curious, feel free to check out:




Debbie's First Flash Movie!




Jeff built a birdfeeder to hang on the tree outside our cottage window. So far I've seen two crows and a pudgy chipmunk on it.


We aren't putting in the water system until we're sure the risk of frost is past (water pipes could freeze and burst otherwise), so all our washing-up water has to be lugged in pails from the lake, heated up over the stove. Sounds like a pain, but you'd be amazed at how quickly one adapts.


Weather's been pretty undecided. Boiling hot one day, chilly the next. We have a fire going right now, and are bundled up in sweatshirts and fleece. Jeff's optimistic about the day clearing, though, which is probably why he's still wearing shorts. :-)

My favourite cottage sounds

Loons calling to each other from different lakes late at night.

Silence.

My least favourite cottage sound

Mysterious rustling noises in the forest when I'm heading up to the outhouse in the middle of the night. The most unnerving incident took place years ago when the rustling noise was so loud that I turned around halfway and went back to the boathouse to tell Jeff. Jeff smirked and said it was probably just a raccoon or a squirrel, said he'd walk me out to the outhouse. We got partway up the hill when the rustling started again. "Hm," said Jeff, "That's bigger than a raccoon." Then the rustling paused, and began heading quickly towards us (!!). Jeff grabbed my hand and we ran back to the boathouse as fast as we could, slamming the door behind us. We never did find out what the animal was for sure, though we now suspect it might have been a dog from one of the cottagers down the shore. Either that or a rabid black bear. :-)


Today's Blatherpic:

The boathouse, a few minutes ago. Jeff is writing some e-mail on his laptop. My laptop is on the table in the background. We are such geekheads. :-)


Poll:

Do you have Macromedia Flash installed on your computer? (Were you able to see my movie?)