The hummingbirds are back, complete with their asshole behaviour, dive-bombing each other to get to the feeder even though there is more than enough to go around. The day after I filled the feeder with pseudo-nectar, I noticed it was down just over half. I blamed bird gluttony until I discovered a pool of sugar […]
Cottage Status Report 20250510 Read More »
It’s almost time to say goodbye to the drowned annuals that desperately tried to recover from the early summer monsoons and failed miserably (it had nothing to do with the fact the pots had no holes in the bottom and their pretend custodian had better things to do, like hold down a lounge chair), and
Cottage Status Report 20241020 Read More »
I know you’ve been anxiously awaiting an update on the health of my cottage appliances (probably as anxiously as you’ve been anticipating a sequel to Beetlejuice, which may be arriving at a screen near you soon). The good news is the zombie dishwasher remains mostly undead, as long as I whisper encouraging dish-cleaning words and
Cottage Status Report 20240929 Read More »
The dock spider was waiting when we pulled up in the tin boat to wake the cottage from its winter slumber. Actually, that’s not quite accurate. One of the dock spiders was waiting. The rest of the extended family was probably still asleep. Australian mutants not-withstanding, dock spiders reset anyone’s notion of what “big
Cottage Status Report 20240427 Read More »
There are typically two times of the year when things break: the beginning of cottage season and the end of cottage season. Neither of these times is more preferable to the other. When we arrive in the spring, it’s pretty much a given that some things that were perfectly fine at close-up have decided not
Cottage Status Report 20231001 Read More »
What you probably thought I was going to talk about is s’mores by the campfire or jumping off rocks into the lake (okay, I’ve never done this but people much, much, braver than I have) or staying up late (or getting up early) to see the Perseids meteor shower or complaining about the neighbours across
I was planning on writing about something else today, but since it’s Canada Day, what better to talk about than life at the cottage. The Monarch butterflies are back. They are my excuse for letting the milkweed run rampant near the septic bed. Milkweed should, of course, be entitled to aid and abet butterflies with
Cottage Status Report 20230701 Read More »
The minute the hummingbird feeder went up, I had customers, and it appears they are the same assholes as last year, chasing each other away even though there is more than enough to go around. Luckily, the racoons (the other assholes) have not yet made an appearance, so the feeder has remained unmolested. I am
Cottage Status Report 20230611 Read More »
The first task when opening the cottage is to assess the damage, both physical and financial. This proceeds in a logical order, starting with arriving at the dock at the bottom of the hill. This year, the dock made it through the winter unscathed. If you are unfamiliar with how lake winters work, this might
Cottage Status Report 20230416 Read More »
For more than 140 days, all the lights have been on in the house behind me. Every single bulb is ablaze 24/7. The house is for sale and has been on the market since last October, with at least one changeover of real estate contract that I am aware of. It is not a bad
Suburban Status Report 20230304 Read More »
