Ice Everywhere at Last!

Final freeze-up was on December 17th.  This, the last spot to freeze.

Measuring Ice

While standing on the edge of the older ice, I poked a hole through the newest ice, to find about 3 cm of clear ice hiding under the snow.

Ice sculpture

This ice is four inches high!  It was pushed up by the wind before the last hole froze over. 

The last water showing

It is almost all ice...just a little more to go.....

Kate Skating

Kate is skating at the end of our bay.  The wind kept a large area snow-free, making it great for skating.  (This is nearly a kilometer from the where the open water is.)

 

 

Emailing: Freeze-up 2010 039

Between December 11th and the 16th, there were strong winds that opened the area that hadn't frozen on Dec 9th.  We also had a good snowfall, which insulated the older ice. 

On the morning of the 16th, the thinnest ice I travelled on was 4 inches. 

When I climbed the hill to take this photo, I could see that most of the hole had frozen over, but there were still small patches of open water.

Looks like ice?

Looking north, it appears as though all is ice in the photo.  But with the binoculars, I could see that the far distant lake was still open.

Ice! And a little water....

It's not easy to see in the picture, but those dark patches in the distance are open water.  The lines in the foreground are thick ice, where water seeped through thin cracks, spread through the snow, then froze.  December 11th.

Lots of Ice!

Ice as far as the eye can see... which is why I climbed a hill to take the photo posted above.  December 11th,

Ice!

There were amazing sculptures of ice from where the waves had splashed on shore for so long.

December 11th

Two days after the ice formed on the bay, I walked out to have a better look.  I did stay close to shore!  There was a minimum of 2 to 3 inches of clear ice, even under the snowy patches. 

Checking the Ice

Allan is just returning from checking the ice on the morning of December 9th. He's walking on the 'pan' ice that formed while the north wind was blowing.  After 5 days of very strong north wind, it finally died down the morning of the 9th.  Most of the lake froze over that day. 

Satellite links

There are two ways to see what's happening daily.

 

One is to go to http://ottertooth.com/Temagami/News/10/sat10-24.htm, where the MODIS pictures are posted whenever we have a clear day. 

 

Or you can go directly to the MODIS satellite photo of the day  http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/index.php?subset=USA4.  This one takes a while to download, so it is easier to just check the ottertooth website after we have had a sunny day.

 

Here comes the Ice!

Five days of strong north wind in early December has super-chilled the lake.  It has started to freeze despite the wind.

Sauna Dock

The end of the Sauna Dock is covered with 15 to 20 cm of ice after 4 days of wind.  The rough ice in the background formed overnight, while the wind continued to blow.

Every little thing

Waves splashing on shore have coated every little thing.

Through thick ice

The ice here is at least 12 cm thick! You can see the grasses in the water below.

Kukagami Autumn News

Kukagami Autumn News

          Greetings all!  Given that long emails are hard to read, I've bolded the topic of each section, so you can scan the news and just read the parts that interest you.

          What an amazing summer we had!  It started in April, with the earliest ever break-up on the 3^rd, then carried on right through the early days of September.  The drought of spring coupled with some early summer lightning storms started two fires, one in the north end, and one inland just east of the middle part of the lake. A third fire in June burned the south tip of the island in front of our camp on the other side of the lake.  Check out our blog for lots of photos. Follow this link to see the Ontario Map of Fires for this year. Click on the out fires button below the map, then zoom in. Considering the extreme dryness of the forest, we were lucky there weren't any really big fires anywhere nearby.

          Mosquitoes had a brief fling in June, then all but disappeared through the rest of the summer.  Can't complain about the bugs this year!  Unless you are a bat, of course.  Bats eat bugs....so they must have had a tough time of it this summer.

          Now autumn is here, the leaves are just beginning to turn; the lake has cooled enough that we really need to have a hot sauna to inspire a swim in the lake.  Colours are well underway, and mushrooms are popping up everywhere.  The garden is still gifting us with bountiful tomatoes, cukes, herbs, beans and zucchini, of course.  

          We're just home from our annual trip south to pick apples for winter.  Once again, we brought home bushels of wild and organic apples.  Over the next few weeks we'll be busy making applesauce and dried apples to take us through the winter.

          Thanksgiving weekend still has spaces available.  If you haven't made plans yet, you might consider having a small family reunion here, and let us do all the cooking and dishes!  The fall colours promise to be spectacular this year.  As well, we'll do a nature walk and identify mushrooms!

          We listed the Lodge for sale last spring, but have yet to find a buyer.  Allan and I will take over the promotion for the next few months – and we need some ideas of where to advertise!  Hoping you can suggest some venues where we might find someone who would love to leave the trappings of civilization, and spend the next few decades living and loving life in the forest.  I'm thinking of Mother Earth News types of publications.  Or do you know of somewhere to advertize? 

          Our vision is to find the buyer over the course of this winter, then move to the camp across the lake in spring.  We will be delighted to help the new owners get settled.  And if they want to continue operating the lodge in winter, we'll be nearby to assist with trail preparation and such.  If you know someone who is ready to take this leap...let us know!

 

          Whether the lodge sells or not, this will be our last winter running the lodge.  We will surely miss seeing all our winter friends in 2012.  But we won't miss hauling in all the supplies, cutting the firewood, keeping the fires burning and on and on. So, if you have not yet made your winter reservation for this year...better do so soon!

          Kukagami Cookbook!  Well, it is not exactly ready to go to the printer yet... but I have promised to get the cookbook finished by the end of November this year.  Early estimates are that it will cost about $25.  The cookbook will be a rambling tale of what I have learned about cooking over the past 27 years of running the lodge; including details of the ingredients I use, how and why.  There will be about 25 recipes, plus variations on several themes.  I'm still looking for someone to so the illustrations!

          If you are interested in buying a cookbook, let me know!  This will help me figure out how many to get printed.

 

          Hope to see you here one more time in 2011!

 

Warmly,

 

Viki

 

www.kukagamilodge.com

705-521-6587

         

         

 

Fire on the island! July 2010

 

fire on the island near Allan's camp

local volunteers

 

Kukagami Lodge Summer News

Kukagami News!

 

    At last we have a wonderful rainy day, all day!  Unlike southern Ontario, it has been incredibly dry here for the past few months.  A lightning storm two weeks ago sparked two fires on our lake, one at the north end, and one just a few kilometres from here.  Yikes!  I've been testing our water pump, and sprinkling the grounds.

    The rainy day also gives me the opportunity to catch up on my computer work, because I hate being on the computer when it is sunny outside.

 

    Well, it's official!  Kukagami Lodge is for sale!  We are hoping to find an energetic young couple who want to live this wonderful lifestyle. Do you know anyone who is ready to give up the riches of city life for the riches of nature?  Have them call us!  We have no idea how long it will take to find the right people...but we are hoping it will be in the coming year.  Currently, we are planning to keep running the lodge at least through this summer and next winter.  After that...we'll decide next spring.

 

    The good side of all the warm weather we've experienced - since early March - is that the garden is promising tomatoes in late July!  I think I've figured out how to keep the lettuce growing throughout the summer, it should last well into September.  I've planted lots of cucumbers, herbs, potatoes, peas and beans.  Edible flowers too! Ah the garden, hope springs eternal.

    The wild things are also promising early and abundant harvest this year.  Blueberries, black currents, hazelnuts, yum!  And as always, the garden weeds are many and delicious.  I'm just barely keeping up to the harvest of lamb's quarters, amaranth, chickweed, chicory leaves, and now the purslane is coming up two weeks early.  And the wild oyster mushrooms are prolific. We are eating well!

   Our Edible Wild Plants Workshop has been scheduled for the first weekend in September this year.  Join us to learn about wild mushrooms, garden weeds, forest fruits, and wonderful wild ways of enjoying nature's harvest. 

 

    What about the Kukagami Cookbook???  Yes, well, I'm going to give it another try this summer. 

    My excuse is that for the past 2 years I've been busy with my volunteer work for wilderness protection.  Every 5 years, a new plan is written for local forest management.  For the past 20 years, I've been advocating the need to keep wild spaces on the landscape.  There have been some successes, but the workload was heavy.  There will be no cutting near the lodge, and we achieved a modest setback from some of the wilderness canoeing areas. 

    So now that the forest planning is done for another few years, I can hope to pull together the cookbook this summer.  Meanwhile, I'm happy to share single recipes via email...let me know if there is a favourite you'd like to have.

 

     If you haven't made you summer holiday plans yet...or if you know someone who would love it at Kukagami...please pass this newsletter on. 

    The August long weekend has just opened, as the group that had that time in previous years has moved to a later date.  We offer the 3-night package (F-S-S) for $420/person (double occupancy).  Other dates are available.

    As always, this includes all taxes, 3 meals daily, accommodation, and free use of our canoes, kayaks, sailboat, sauna, hiking trails, etc.  A summer bonus is the fresh salads from our organic garden! We also do guided nature hikes, and edible wild plant walks on request.      In summer, we bring folks in across Kukagami Lake by boat.  If you want to paddle in, we'll take kayaks and/or canoes over to the landing for you! 

 

    Here's hoping you would like to see Kukagami in the summer...a most beautiful time of year. 

 

Warmly, 

 

Viki

www.kukagamilodge.com  

 

Fire and Rain

Fire and Rain                                                                                            Viki Mather                                                     

Early June, quiet morning.  A gentle rain taps on the maple leaves outside my window.  Rain!  How we need it!  We've had a few days of rain in the past two weeks, but not nearly enough to wet the forest floor.  Let it rain some more!

Forest fires are springing up everywhere.  A couple of them within 10 kilometres of my little log cabin in the woods.  These have been small fires, started by lighting.  Many of these lightning fires appear long after the storm, after smouldering for days in the dry duff of the forest floor.  Thank goodness for the dedication of the flying fire fighters in airplanes and helicopters!

Lightning storms are awesome.  Truly, they fill me with awe.  There is such a thrill to see the brilliance of the light, to hear the shattering rolls of thunder.  One, two, three, fou……….boom!  That one hit just a kilometre away!  I enjoy these storms immensely.  But these days I have a bit of fear mixed in there too – for the fires that may be starting.

That joy of thunderstorms takes me back to being 7 years old.  I remember leaning on the wide windowsills of our big old brick house.  We worried about the lightning 'getting us' through the windows, but we just had to watch the storms.  We were drawn to the windows like moths to the flame.  We were only lightly reassured by the three lightning rods on the roof (does anyone have lightning rods anymore?) 

Now, more than fifty years later, I am still drawn by the power of the storm.  I love to hear the storm's approach.  I still count the seconds between the flash and the roar.  I watch spellbound, anticipating the next flash, scanning the sky, hoping that I'll be looking in the right direction when it hits.

The rain comes down fiercely, with a force that flattens the surface of the lake.  The rain pelts the lake, the ground, and the rooftop with a hammering force.  The noise is almost deafening.  I feel refreshed as the earth soaks up this moisture.  I can almost feel the plants taking in a long, cool drink of water.

When my daughters were young, I taught them to enjoy the storms as well.  When the first big lightning storms would come early in the spring, I would hold the little one close on my lap.  We would sit on the porch of the sauna so we could feel the power in the storm, and the wind on our faces.  As we watched the storm together, she could feel my joy, the excitement of and thrill of the light, the noise and the rain.

The really good storms are over quickly.  The sky clears, the day dawns anew.  I'm reminded of the many reasons I live here.  The quiet peacefulness, the lush forest, bountiful wildlife, and that moist, clean smell of the air after the rain.

 

Ice is Out!

Strong south winds in the night blew away all the ice on April 3rd. What's left is piled high on shore here and there.

 

 

Kayak tracks

The candle ice started out at 1 inch thick at the edge of the ice flow.  As I paddled deeper into it, the shards got to about 4 inches.  Still very easy to paddle through.

 

By noon, the ice pack began to move.  I could see it piling up on the far shore.  Wondering if there will be anything left Sunday morning?

Candle Ice

From the surface, the candle ice doesn't look a lot different from Tuesday, when I was able to walk on it.  Yet, this ice was only an inch thick.   Lots of fun to paddle through.

Saturday Morning

I had to paddle to the end of the bay to get a good look at the lake.  I made it just out of our bay before I was stopped by the ice close to shore again.  So I climbed the hill, climbed my favourite white pine, and had a good look at the ice.  Most of the lake was still covered, but most of the bays, like ours, were nearly free of ice.

Sunset season begins

You can just barely see the ice, about halfway out the bay.  I suspect tomorrow's heat and wind could take it all away.

Ice Breaker

Kate had a great time Thursday afternoon paddling in the thin ice. The cat started out in the kayak with her, but decided to walk home.

Breaking Trail

Breaking trail takes on a whole new meaning....

Since I  can't walk on the ice anymore, the desire to paddle increases!  A narrow band of water creeps along the shoreline, but not all the way.  I got through by powering up onto the ice, wriggling to break it, then backing up to take another run.  Still, I only got a half kilometre today. 

Tomorrow???

Waiting for Water

Pictured from the shoreline now, here's what's left of the pressure crack that formed by the island several days ago. (link to 1st photo).  By this afternoon, enough ice will be gone for us to get out in the canoe!

Home again

Last Sunday afternoon we crossed the lake on the ice to stay a few days at Mary's camp. The shoreline here at the lodge had solid ice, but at Mary's it was getting a little thin.(see March 28 posting). I took over a hundred photos while walking on the ice Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but by Tuesday afternoon, the ice was too soft to step off the rock anymore (as pictured here).

Wednesday afternoon we hiked 2 hours on the ski trail to get back home. After being away for 3 days, I thought the ice here would be soft too...but it is not. We still have 6 inches of solid ice right up to the beach at the sauna. However, with today's temperature predicted to be +20...it won't last long.

Candle Ice

Alas, when I checked the ice late this afternoon, it was too soft to walk on.  This morning my pole barely dented the ice when I whacked it - this afternoon it went through with little effort.  This is at the shoreline...I'm sure it is still solid further out. I just can't get there.

So, I'm a little sad that I can't walk on the lake anymore, and a little relieved.

 

This photo is a close-up of the candle ice from this morning.  The little round bits are about a quarter inch diameter. In the bigger pictures, this would be the 'black' ice.  Not all the ice on the lake has candled.  The pale ice is honeycombed, and stronger.

 

This afternoon the black ice within a hundred feet of land went white, as it finally melted away from shore and lifted.  It will go black again just before it's gone.

 

Warm days and south winds will have a big impact on the ice.  Still, there's no telling how long it will take. A week?  

The ice I walked on in the middle of the lake this morning was thick, and hard.  It's going to take some time.

Ice

Is the ice safe? Yes. I only know this because I'm out there walking on it every day. And because I know my lake. I would not walk on a lake I did not know at this time of melt.
99% of the lake has solid ice. I don't walk on the 1% that is not safe. And, I avoid another 5% that is near the ice that is unsafe. Still, I carry a long pole that would keep me from going all the way in if I did make a mistake.
I work very hard at not making a mistake.
My experience from many years of ice walking is that I must listen to my inner voice - which often cautions me. The few times I have made mistakes is when my desire to get somewhere overrode my inner cautious self.

We don't get wiser just because we get older...we only get older if we get wiser.

Pure beauty

Near the large pressure crack, this 'pool'.  At the edge of the pool, lace.

 

the far shore

This is where one of the major pressure cracks meets the far shore.  The ice I walked on to get there is well over a foot thick, and hard as ever...right up to the edge of the crack, and right up to the bedrock shoreline.  A skim of ice formed on the open water overnight, and was starting the crack again this morning. 

I will admit to more than a little adrenaline hitting my heart when a loud crack snapped right underfoot.  The fear only lasted a moment, because there is no way the ice can break right now. 

In some of the ice art photos below you can see these hairline cracks.  As I walk across the ice, I am fascinated by the various textures, and reassured by the depth of the cracks...which continuously assure me that the ice is more than 8 inches thick.

ice art

How thick is it?

The ice I walked on this morning was generally 7 to 12 inches thick. Except near shore, of course, where it thinned out to nothing at all.
How do I know that it is safe? I take great care, and I carry a long pole that serves as a poking stick. When I want to check any particular patch of ice, I give it a number of sharp whacks with the end of the pole. Most of the time, it barely makes a dent in the surface. Sometimes, just a few whacks will break through.
The colour of the ice gives some indication of strength. In this photo, the dark ice broke though with about 4 pokes. Yet, I could not poke a hole all the way through the paler ice a foot away. The ice at this spot was about 4 inches thick.

Colour alone is not an indicator of the quality of the ice. Some pale ice I walked on just a little closer to shore had a 'soft' feel as I stepped on it. It whispered to me, a little creeeek. I did not poke a hole there...no point making it weaker while I was standing on it! I went back to the quiet ice, and found a better place to walk back to the land.

Monday mornng

The beauty of the ice draws me out each day.  These photos are all of the same pressure crack, which includes a wide open water space at a rocky shoal. 

back to land....

This is where we stepped back onto the land at the end of our journey.  Normally, the ice would be tight to this point.  But this year, the pressure of the expanding ice last week pushed the ice against the shore, and some of it submerged, then melted.  We found a narrow patch of ice on the left side that was still tight to the rock.

Last crossing

Kate pulls the canoe across the pressure crack in the middle of the lake.  As you see in some of the other photos, these cracks are very beautiful. The ice shrinks and pulls apart, then the water in the cracks freezes, and the pressure builds again as the ice expands. 

Sometimes that expansion causes pressure enough to make the ice buckle.  It rises on one side of the crack, and dips on the other side.  And these up and down places ripple along the crack. The ice that gets pushed down melts faster, sometimes creating large pools of water surrounded by thick ice.

 

 

Pressure crack close-ups