[JULY2023] If you’re coming to enjoy the summer outdoors in central Ontario there’s gonna be bugs, though what kind and how bad will depend on both location and weather. (Related, see my previous blog post: Bug Wisdom). Where I am, it seems to be a heavy season for mosquitoes. I’m not quite sure why, though…
Category: Summer
Crown of Jewels
[AUG2022] It seems that every couple years there is a change in the predominant plant species on the cabin’s living roof. This summer, jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is leading the way. A beautiful plant in bloom, with its delicate orange flowers. And it also performs! The seed pods that are produced by jewelweed “explode” when touched…
Very Berry
[JUL2019] The wild berries are a bit late this year, I guess on account of the long spring and sometimes cooler summer temps, but now that they have appeared they are in bountiful abundance! Both red and black raspberries can be found all over the property, and are easy picking with a little patience. I…
Bug Wisdom
[JUN2019] If it’s summer and you’re anywhere in central Ontario, there will be bugs… no getting around it, that’s the price to be paid so it seems for enjoying the great outdoors. The main nuisance insects here are mosquitoes and deer flies (nothing to do with deer ticks, which can carry lyme disease). Black flies…
Super Stars
[AUG2018] I try to avoid using stock photographs (I think there is only one other on this entire web site) as I don’t have the equipment or the skills to capture a shooting star on camera. But what you see on the stock image above is pretty much what it looked like in the skies…
The Lazy Gardener
[JUL2017] I confess quite openly to my guests, I am a lazy gardener–at least when it comes to flower gardens. It’s not that I don’t enjoy floral beauty. It’s just that, for now anyhow, there’s only so much time and a lot of other tasks are higher up the TBD list. Yet despite my confession…
Blackcurrant Wisdom
[JUL2017] I had hung some laundry on the line today and was waiting for the next load to finish in the washer when I saw there were lots of ripe looking blackcurrants in the bushes nearby. I don’t really cultivate these blackcurrant bushes… that they keep coming back year after year is more in spite…
Starry Country Night
[JUN2017] One of the things I noticed very soon after moving to the country 8 years ago was the awesome night sky. Away from the light pollution and air pollution of the GTA, a clear evening brings countless numbers of stars, and a milky way clearly visible to the naked eye. It is truly magical….
Dog Days of Summer
[AUG2016] Back in the dark days of winter, I took a lovely trip to Costa Rica, staying at an off-grid eco-lodge named Rancho Margot near the Arenal volcano in the northwest of the country. It’s an amazing spot and, in a similar way to how the Cordwood Cabin guest accommodation here is nestled into the…
Off-Grid Retreat 