Category Archives: Uncategorized

Muskoka Activities, Muskoka Watershed Council, Stewardship, Uncategorized, Volunteer

Loss of biodiversity, is it important if we don’t see it?

As a volunteer, as well as being on the executive of the Muskoka Watershed Council, I am the videographer. This gives me a great opportunity to ensure that truly wonderful ideas and presentations are not lost after the words are spoken and the video projector is turned off. I record, edit and post to YouTube, lectures and presentations at Muskoka Watershed Council events.

A most important event is the biennial Muskoka Summit on the Environment. On June 6th and 7th I recorded the presentations over the two day summit. Broadcast, in part, by CBC Radio’s Ideas with Paul Kennedy, (search for Buying Into Biodiversity), these were world-class lectures, presented here in Muskoka. I am delighted to be able to ensure these are available to the world.

The first is now available at the following link on Muskoka Watershed Council’s YouTube channel: Loss of biodiversity, is it important if we don’t see it?

It was presented by Justina C. Ray Ph.D. of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Canada. Justina raises some of the most important questions and current thinking on biodiversity and explores how our thinking has shifted over time, making biodiversity loss less apparent to us.

Muskoka Activities, Muskoka Watershed Council, Stewardship, Uncategorized, Volunteer

Mice at your cottage – snakes may be your best friends.

Don’t love snakes? They are harmless, all except the Massasauga rattler, which is virtually harmless; and 5 are in trouble in Ontario. Learning to live with them near your cottage, even going so far as to create some habitat for them may be the most effective and natural way to get rid of those rodents – that you really hate.

I just finished editing, and posted a video on YouTube. Rob Willson of Riverstone Environmental presented at the Muskoka Watershed Council‘s Muskoka Stewardship Conference.

In about 40 minutes you’ll learn a lot about squamites, including what that term means to impress your scientist buddies. You will also be introduced to the actor of the snake family…

Hognose snake playing dead; all the while watching to see if you are appropriately convinced.
Uncategorized

Rome, Italy video

On a trip we took to Italy this year I shot some video on a nice little handheld camera. Among tons of settings, automatic and manual, you can set it to speed up, with the top and bottom of the screen out of focus so everything looks miniature. Shot from the balcony of our hotel room in Rome, it’s fun to see pedestrians risking life and limb to cross the street.

I was happy not to get video of any necessary ambulance visits, although there were some really close calls.

We’ll have to come up with some Muskoka scenes for the miniature effect – Antique Boat Show maybe.

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Here’s another really short one of people posing for pictures in front of the Trevi Fountain, then tossing their coins in.

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cottage life, Muskoka Activities, Sailing, Uncategorized, water

Triathlon Season in full swing here in Muskoka

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We have some great events in Muskoka each year. Among them are some really well attended and managed triathlons.

Chris is entered in three: Gravenhurst, Bala and Bracebridge. We were out the other night, Chris doing the hard work, while I kept the sailboat alongside. You might recognize the route: west between Pine Island and the mainland cottages near Touchstone.

Kirby watching for good form – hey, a Lab ought to know!

 

Invasive Species, Muskoka Watershed Council, Stewardship, Uncategorized, Volunteer

Latest Muskoka Watershed Council YouTube Lecture

This has been an extremely busy Real Estate season so far, which is a good thing!
On the other hand, this has the resulting effect of slowing some of my other activities. I have some great video presentations from the April 28th Muskoka Watershed Council Stewardship Conference, and I’m really trying to fit in some time to process the material and post it. The 1st one is Jan McDonnell from the Ministry of Natural Resources with Birds At Risk in Muskoka.

 

I really have to push these out since there is lots more material I’ll be recording at the Muskoka Summit on the Environment over the next two days. The summit is all about Biodiversity Loss. There’s still time to register here.

 

Buying a cottage, cottage for sale, home for sale, Lake Muskoka, Muskoka Properties, Uncategorized

NOW SOLD! Serene Pine Point, Lake Muskoka

We are very excited, and justly proud to be able to offer such a rare Muskoka property.

Private cove for kids … or floatplanes.

There is no question that the majority of people we take to see Muskoka properties spend 80% of the time inspecting inside the buildings and 20% on the property. This doesn’t seem right. Although lots of us do it this way, we should spend most of the time wandering the property.

Ahhh, but so many properties are not really wanderable; they have nicely built decks and stairs, to take us from the cottage to the waterfront to the boathouse because they are often steep.  The perfect cottage properties were developed many decades ago.

On this property the superb architecture of the cottage and boathouse, although beautiful, are secondary to the level point, cooling in Lake Muskoka, comprised of almost 900 feet of waterfront.

A simple path, not stairs, wends its way to the boathouse.

Once you have satisfied yourself that the property itself is incomparable, then it’s always nice to have buildings like these.

Pine Point’s boathouse.

Lake Muskoka, dotted island views from cottage
Grand kitchen area
Main cottage Muskoka Room
Architectural details
Inside the boathouse

Additional details are here.

Muskoka Activities, Muskoka Properties, Uncategorized

January in Muskoka – get out on the lake.

We’ve certainly experienced some unusual weather so far this winter in Muskoka. According to Environment Canada: “the milder-than-usual temperatures in December did result in lower snowfall accumulations as compared to normal amounts, and few major snowstorms. Instead, there were more frequent freeze/thaw cycles resulting from the passage of cold or warm fronts.”

This freeze/thaw cycle has continued in January, and we were definitely on the freeze end this weekend.

Catharine on snowshoe inspection

It was -26 C, crisp and sunny. We went out to take a look at a cottage by snowshoes – often a mush quicker way to get directly to a cottage. Although there was little wind to speak of inland, out on the lake there was a steady movement of wind from the NW. It was enough to push the perceived temperature well into the -30 – 40 range.

All in all a beautiful way to spend a day.

Invasive Species, Muskoka Activities, Muskoka Watershed Council, Stewardship, Uncategorized, Volunteer, water

International Year of the Forest 2011 – a link to a MUST WATCH video below.

We are very privileged to live in Muskoka where we enjoy healthy forests, with much natural cover.
Although I am a volunteer with the Muskoka Watershed Council, I recognize the current and past work done by all the volunteers and staff of the MWC for 10 years now. With the release of the 2010 Report Card, benchmarks for future Report Cards have been established; best ensuring that we do not lose our incredible resource.

Please watch this great, great video. Thank you!

Buying a cottage, cottage for sale, Muskoka Properties, Uncategorized

Morrison Lake Muskoka Cottage Listing

A reminder about this cottage mentioned here with more info here.

This is a wonderful cottage property for an active family.

It’s a fully renovated, four season, open concept cottage with 2 bedrooms in main cottage and two bunkies, all with beautiful views. Hardwood floors, tumbled marble in bathroom, expansive decks – wonderful outdoor living lakeside. There’s a great area for evening bonfires and a hot tub overlooks the lake.  The owners have put substantial renovations in and simply won’t be getting their money back.

Also, here’s the link to the Lake Data Sheet for Morrison Lake, and the Interpretation of Water Quality Data sheet.