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?