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.