Cottage Time Again

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Our tiny but capable boat
This year we are heading up to our cottage in the Gatineau Hills just outside Ottawa for a weekend of relaxing, fun and meeting up with family and old friends. Although we spend our entire summers there, we occasionally travel up for the holiday weekend in May. The last time I believe was 2010. We are pretty excited.

The weather is predicted to be very good for the upcoming weekend with highs in the mid to high 20s (Celsius) and although we intend to put both the dock and the boat out, it will be a little too chilly for swimming. But there is time for hikes, campfires, BBQs and exploring the area.
Mader in better days
For past 7 years our pet Mader has been with us and he thoroughly enjoyed "cottage life", from a dog's perspective, of course. He passed away in March of this year and we will miss him. But, we are now appreciating the "freedom" of being pet free after more than 30+ years of having a pet in the family.

Storm's a'comin'
Manawaki, about 1 hour from our cottage
It will also be time to do a little spring maintenance including a little painting, lawn cutting and tidying up branches and other winter debris around the property.

This we won't see
it will also be a time to plan for some summer projects. I try to spread things out over the years and combine a project or two with regular maintenance. The year before last we built a woodshed and last year's project was a significant extension to our screened-in porch which turned out to be a much more involved project than I initially anticipated. The result was fantastic.

Misty morning
On the list year is the replacement of a side window for a larger one and proper steps down to the lake. the second project should not be a very involved project but necessary to make it safer for us to get down to the shoreline.
A fall shot but captures the beauty of the lake
 We we hope that the weather will be good but most especially we look forward to connecting with our "cottage" friends for this weekend.



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