Ahhh...The Cottage Life!: September 2009

SkyWatch Friday!

Posted by Lorac Friday, 25 September 2009 15 comments

SkyWatch Friday is put on by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy . There are photos from all over the world. Each week a new host is introduced. Make sure you go take a look.

Cotton ball clouds reflected in the still waters of Kawagama Lake in Dorset.

A sky seems extra special when it meets and marries a body of water!

Blue, always looks bluer against the lush vibrant green canopy of tree tops!

Go over to SkyWatch Friday and enjoy the world!

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Where have I been? Well.....

Posted by Lorac Thursday, 24 September 2009 22 comments

It has been quite the time I have had in the past two weeks! I was put on an antibiotic for an ailment and and had a massive adverse reaction to the medication. That had me down for the count for all of last week, basically bedridden as I was weak as a new born puppy. I finally came back from deaths door on Sunday last, starving , as I hadn't been able to eat all week. On Monday I was offered a couple of days work for this week that I could not refuse! As I have been an entire slouch for 3 months now (getting up late) and I had just had that nasty turn of events, this tired me out quite a bit. It also was so nice to get out and do some work! I am not working today so can again, recuperate. Just before I became ill I had taken to the garden for a couple of Last of Summer pictures. In that week it turned into fall. I didn't do the write up I had planned but I will still show the pics.

I love the look of Goldenrod. In some areas it's a weed in others, it is sold as a wild flower. Light and airy, it's colour as brilliant as the sun, it is a late summer favorite of mine.

Wild Asters grow in abundance in the fields and on the road sides. A vibrant purple with delicate petals attract bees vying for the seasons last pollen to stock up for winter.

These little daisy like wildflowers grow in large bunches and give such a cheery look I can't help but smile when I see them.

Seasons end to the roses in a spectacular splash of colour and fragrance! These roses are called Tropicana and if you close you eyes and take a deep breath of the spicy fragrance from theses roses, you can, for an instant believe you are in a tropical paradise!

A dusty delicate pink tops the Sedum growing all summer for the final show of this soft abundance of tiny flowers on strong pale green stems. The Sedum has rubbery leaves, like a succulent, and is a perennial so I enjoy it every year.

Crab apples aplenty! I enjoy this tree year round. In the spring it is amass with fragrant deep pink flowers, in the summer an excellent shade tree and come fall loaded with crab apples! Wonderful for jam, but I just watch the squirrels and chipmunks vie for them.

Cattails have been a favorite since I was a child. We would cut them down for decoration in our grass and tree forts. When entirely ripe you can break them open and there are millions of tiny seeds each supported by a feathery white fluff. En-mass, it feels softer that velvet. Cattails grow in wet land areas.

I hope these pics off summers last gifts have put a smile on your face!

While convalescing last week, I spent some time sitting quietly on the deck and had some small wild life visitors. Tomorrow I will introduce them!

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Blue Monday

Posted by Lorac Monday, 14 September 2009 13 comments

The sun seems to set slowly at the cottage on the lake. There is a true "dusk" that I don't often see at home. I was sitting down at the dock, watching as evening set in, a cup of tea in hand. This end of the day was "blue" although the day had been brilliant. I felt "alone", almost lonely, though there were many people up at the cottage. It seems colours can affect our moods. A grey day and we feel "grey", a sunny yellow day and we feel cheery. So is it the weather? or the colour of the weather that affects us?

Go see Lizzy Frizzfrocks amazing moon shot for Blue Monday!

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Formula 1 Race Car Driving !!!!

Posted by Lorac Saturday, 12 September 2009 6 comments

Last Tuesday I was invited by my son to go race car driving. My first reaction was glee, then fear, then awe and back to glee! His company puts this on as a team and client building event twice a year and they had a couple of spots open. Hence the invite. He thought I might enjoy it. So after a lot of questions: 1) How fast do you have to go? 2) Where is it? 3) Do I have to drive fast? 4) Do you think I can do this? I thought it would be pretty cool to give it the old college try! When you arrive they fit you with a race suit and shoes, little booties shoes. The gentlemen running the races go through a ton of instructions. I was hoping I was retaining it all as I was hearing words like "huge ditches off to the sides", "spinning out", and "an injury in the spring of this year". The gentleman going through the instruction makes it very clear that after a minor accident last spring, it is very important to stay on the track! They go through the different flags they use in course and rules of driving.

You are then taken out on the track for a van ride with one of the organizers and an experienced race car driver. They go through the track shape and the markers explaining the meanings. When to brake, shifting down on a curve, and excelleration areas.

Now this was scary! The driver actually goes through the track as if he was in a race car. Speeding up, slamming on the brakes and skidding around corners. It was also a hoot! I loved it but was very glad I buckled up!

After that you are taken over to a tented area which houses one of the ormula1 cars. Here each is given instruction on getting in and out of the cars, (pretty tight fit), how to use the shifter, clutch and brakes. It is such a small area for your feet that they tend to hit the wrong peddles rather easily. I was glad I have much smaller feet than the guys there. Some of those guys had size 12's!

There was some concern about the foggy morning but as we were being given instruction it began clearing so all was well. This is set up in a huge paved area so at least it is nice and flat. The courses have a series of "s" curves and a nice straightaway to pick up some good speed. Every one has a drivers slot for racing so depending on you allocation you either go get a coffee after instruction or get you helmet on and get ready to roll. There are four cars set up and I was listed as #3 driver so I got my helmet on and went to the 3rd car. The assistant helps you into the car and buckles you in quite tightly! They make sure your feet can reach the peddles and that you are OK with shifting. The car is plugged in, the car placed in first gear (no neutral) and the assistant starts the car. Give it some gas, follow your track pylons and away you go..........!

My son loves this! He is at the ready and he really flies when he gets out there. I watched him spin around on the track and he ended up in the top 4 for the "cat and mouse" race at the end.

The fog has lifted so you can see the whole track now.

And soon it is a beautiful sunny day! One of the nicer days we have seen in this summer of naught.

The crew are always at the ready to rush out to the field to help if needed and to replace pylons when they are hit by the drivers. Some pylons went flying high! The rear wheels are wider than the rest of the car so if you cut the corners tight, as you need to to get a good time, you can easily hit them. You can see the different flags used to tell tell which laps you are on and when your race is finished of course you get the checkered flag!

Coming into the finish!

As the morning went on the races were timed and the drivers were picked for the final race amongst the fastest drivers. I, unfortunately did not make it into that prestigious circle.

The guys really poured on the speed for the final laps!

1st and 2nd place in the winners circle! Way to go guys!

This was a great day. I really had a blast. I was not the fastest driver there but was more than fast enough for my own comfort zone and then some. No I know the way it works and have confidence in the cars I would push it further as I did in my final laps. I would love to go again and I thank my son and my sons company, Digitaledge Print and Promotion for this wonderfully fun day!

SkyWatch Friday!

Posted by Lorac Friday, 11 September 2009 25 comments

SkyWatch Friday

At the cottage in Dorset, on Kawagama Lake on the weekend there was a little time while there was not the whisper of breeze on the lake. The lake became a mirror for a short time and softly displayed its counterpart, the sky.

Dappled clouds mixing with a turquoise blue sky. So very peaceful sitting alone on the dock enjoying the sunshine and the early fall warmth.

Looking through this bush into the water transformed into the sky. A soft ripple of a breeze and the sky becomes marbled.

Certain times the moon seems confused. It doesn't like to share the sky and needs to be pushed away to sleep by the rising sun.

The sun easily goes to bed and settles with a final beam of warmth into the approaching night.

So many beautiful skies and pictures await on the

SkyWatch Friday

Blog site. Go visit the wonderful hosts and posts there!

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Labour Day and Summer ? Where have you gone?

Posted by Lorac Thursday, 10 September 2009 8 comments

I have managed to have a "summer" holiday, have a great amount of fun for 5 days and then come home, finish my application for funding for college and have my final meeting with the counselor who assists you to get the funding request in. It is finally done!!!! I am pretty sure I will get the funding but the course doesn't start for 6 months. So I will still be around ladies and gents!

We were lucky enough to receive beautiful summer weather for the Labour Day long weekend here. It was hot and mostly sunny. No rain! My family and some friends went to the cottage on Kawagama Lake in Dorset. It was the typical weekend full of swimming in the lake, BBQ's and hot dogs and marshmallows cooked on evening bonfires! It is also a bit of a sad weekend as it signifies the unofficial end of summer. Even though we still have a few weeks left of summer, the kids go back to school right after this long weekend and families get back into the normal groove of work/school weekday life. It was especially nice to have great weather for the kids to enjoy this last blowout!

Mark (older sons lifelong friend, my "other son") and his girlfriend went up earlier in the day and had the cottage open and a fire ready to great us. We all love the bonfires! It had been raining earlier but stopped by the time we got there so were able to enjoy some time outside and around the fire.

The weekend started off lazy with a big breakfast for all and some quiet time for the girls. My oldest granddaughter had a friend up and along with little sis, they decided to do their nail polish and "just hang out".

My sons Jason and Mark are contemplating the ongoing stone work. We had said there was to be no real work this weekend and within a couple of hours of getting up the boys were at it! I tried scolding them, told them to just have fun! Their answer was that they were having fun. These two love to work together and feel great accomplishment when they have worked around the cottage. I will say, you can really see the difference once these two get going! All the girls(excluding me) had gone into town to do a little shopping for necessities. So I ended up being gofer for the boys. Go fer this , go fer that! I love working with them though. We have a good time.

The sun was wonderfully warm all weekend and the girls were able to go swimming and floating around in the lake.

If you look closely, you will see the leaves on the deciduous trees starting to change colour. Pretty early this year. Makes me think the fall will come early too!

As the sun set for the day it looked like rain might move in but the skies cleared and we enjoyed a lovely night around the fire pit. The stars were bright and there was a full harvest moon.

Family enjoying the evenings relaxing around the fire. We enjoyed spider dogs and marshmallows and the occasional beverage. Tunes play in the background and the crackling of the fire fits right in.

As the evening wore on,we all become quieter and it became apparent , as I looked over the edge of my drinking glass, that I was bushed!

(really tired) Time for bed!

The morning of the last day is very calm and bright. Warm breezes have not started yet. It makes the lake like a mirror. I was the only one up and sat on the dock enjoying some quiet time and a nice strong coffee to kick start my day!

We spend the day slowly cleaning and packing up. Still relaxing and taking time to have that last swim of the season. We like to leave later so we still enjoy our day there and tend to leave after dinner time. All too soon though the day is done and we are ready to go. The lawn area looks forlorn with out the lounge chairs and the kids toys strewn about.

Next time up will be much cooler. The tree leaves will slowly turn to beautiful fall colours and nights will get crispy. All too soon it will be Thanksgiving and time to take the boats out of the lake for storage and close up the cottage until the lake is frozen. There is no road access to where we are so in the winter the only access is over the frozen lake.

Summer? Where have you gone?

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SkyWatch Friday

Posted by Lorac Friday, 4 September 2009 26 comments

SkyWatch Friday

We finally, late in the season are having some weather that resembles summer. The difference is noticeable in the evening though when the temperature drops rather quickly. With wonderful clear skies that leads to a nice silhouette as the sun slips behind the trees and sleeps until daybreak once again.

The late evening sky gave a lovely lavender tinge to the landscape depicting a cool evening.

A robins egg blue sky reflected in my patio tables glass top. It is going to be a wonderful day!

Once again I am fooled as the sky very quickly turns to an ordered cloud formation, lining up to take their turns delivering rainfall to an already saturated earth below.

Make sure to visit the SkyWatch Friday Blog Site to see all the beautiful skies!

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