Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2021 i Cottage Life

It never hurts to ask… You love to read the only-at-the-cottage questions that we answer in our Cottage Q&A column—now you can also watch Cottage Life Editor, Michelle Kelly, answer your burning questions. Check out a whole host of new topics that we just added: cottagelife.com/video. Hit us with your best shots With so many great submissions, it’s hard to pick the winners of our annual photo contest (p. 68). That’s why we post more of your beautiful photos on our Instagram. Give us a follow @cottagelife. Stream your fave shows Have you checked out Cottage Life on the Apple TV app? Catch up on the shows you love such as Ice Vikings, Engineering Catastrophes, and Shipwreck Secrets any time you want. Start your free trial today. Season premiere incoming!…

A recent review in the journal The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that members of the crafty corvid family—it includes crows and ravens—are ecosystem engineers thanks to their “scatter-hoarding” behaviour. These species routinely gather and stash more tree seeds than they can eat in a season. The nuts they don’t consume sprout and grow, allowing trees to colonize new areas. The tree-bird relationship is an example of mutualism. Oak and pine species, in particular, have large, yummy seeds that also contain a protective coating to keep them from rotting quickly. This means the birds are less likely to eat them right away, and the seeds are more likely to germinate and become new trees. Such bird-brained behaviour could help with habitat restoration. “This mutualism, which provides many plant species with long-distance,…

IT CAN BE A head-scratching moment for any cottage owner when you look around an empty room and wonder, “how am I going to furnish this space?” The good news: you might already have all the furniture you need. All that’s missing is some know-how to group long-loved (if temporarily overlooked) pieces or a new statement chair for maximal impact. Here are 11 of our favourite finds from cottages that we’ve visited—and why, with a little rearranging or a few key adds, a chair can become your living room’s new centrepiece. Open-air seating Sprawling out in a hammock, which has roots in the Caribbean and the Indigenous cultures of South and Central America, is a favourite pastime for many cottagers. A hammock chair (top right) provides the same free-wheeling, rock-about…

When Jon Turner received a giant tower of tumbling blocks for Father’s Day, his wife, Anne, knew immediately what to do: use the pieces as a canvas for a guest book at their cottage on Dog Lake, Ont. The Turners picked up painting as a hobby during COVID, and they now let guests use their art supplies to decorate the blocks. “My daughter’s friend was the first one to sign the guest book. She painted a quote about sunshine and a beautiful sunset,” says Anne. “She spent eight hours working on it.” Although the guest book is relatively new, Anne already has plans for when the blocks are full. “My dream is to keep adding more blocks and have the tallest tower out there.” Share your guest “book” photos on…

Christina Frangou Journalist Christina Frangou grew up with a passion for writing. She went from earning a degree in journalism to working for daily newspapers to freelancing while pursuing her master’s degree. “I love the autonomy of choosing the stories I write,” she says. In “Skate Your Heart Out” (p. 48), Christina discovered a connection with figure skater Elladj Baldé. “I love the area he is talking about: Lake Minnewanka in Alberta. It’s one of my favourite road cycling routes in the province,” she says. “I understand the magic of that place. You come off the highway, you take one turn, and you’re looking at this majestic lake with the backdrop of the mountains.” Christina is a National Newspaper Award winner and contributes to The Globe and Mail. Natalie Robertson…

IN OUR MAY 2021 ISSUE, we ran a story about cottager Tim Dodd, who died suddenly from a heart attack at his Panache Lake, Ont., camp, and whose family then raised funds to buy portable defibrillators for the lake (“The Captain of the Cottage,” Waterfront). Soon after, Cottage Life subscriber Robert Braiden reached out to us. He was moved by the account, and he wanted to do something to help other cottagers who might find themselves in the same situation. “It’s a shame people should die just because they are visiting or living outside of the city,” Robert wrote in his letter. He told us he was purchasing an automatic external defibrillator from safety equipment supplier Rescue 7, and asked us to help him find a suitable lake association as…

Exciting news for anyone looking for an energy-efficient fridge to replace the hydro-hogging dinosaur in their cottage kitchen. Vanilla Ice (remember that guy?) has partnered with tech giant Samsung to promote—via song—the company’s new green “Bespoke” refrigerator. Actual lyrics from “Reduce Your Ice, Ice Baby”: If there was a problem, yo, I’ve solved it; check out the hook while my fridge resolves it. It’s possible that this appliance news is mostly only exciting for Vanilla Ice. Because somebody is still paying him to do…whatever the heck that was.…

Kindling splitter Having kindling on hand is useful. Same goes for all of your digits. Load a log up to 8" in diameter into this cast-steel device, whack it with a mini-sledgehammer, and—ta-dah!—safely chopped kindling. $150, Canadian Tire Multi-tool Always at your side, the Wingman puts 14 tools, including needle-nose pliers, three screwdrivers, and a knife, in your pocket. $78, leatherman.com Radio/charger This rugged radio can run on DeWalt’s 20- and 60-volt batteries, or it can charge batteries when plugged into an outlet. Cue up a playlist from your phone and connect with Bluetooth, or charge that device too through the USB port. $249, Home Depot Impact wrench An impact wrench gives you the extra torque needed to set screws in concrete, remove bolts, and more. This 18-volt model from…

Q: I’m the president of a property owners’ association and we are looking at posting two signs at the entrance to our private roads. (The municipality does not maintain our roads. They’re maintained by the association dues we collect annually from each property owner.) In the last couple of years, we have noticed more activity on our roads by individuals who are not members of our association. More specifically ATV activity and people using the roads to access our lake. Does the association have a right to post a sign stating “Private Road No Trespassing”? Are there any ramifications in doing so and is there other wording we should consider?— M.J., Trent Lakes, Ont. A: Go ahead and post your signs. “If the road is a private road and is…

ELLADJ BALDÉ KNOWS ICE. One of Canada’s top figure skaters spent much of his life performing high-flying jumps and heart-stopping backflips on ice surfaces tailor-made for his skills. But Baldé, who retired from competition in 2018, wanted to know what it felt like to skate on wild ice, the frosty layer that forms over many Canadian lakes during the coldest months. Last winter, he got his chance. Alberta-based photographer Paul Zizka invited Baldé out for a photo shoot on Lake Minnewanka, just outside Banff, one chilly December morning. As Baldé glided across the lake’s icy crust, he discovered a new love for a different kind of skating. Since then, the photos and videos of his wild ice adventures have caught the attention of the world, garnering millions of views across social…

SPÄTZLE WITH BACON AND GRUYÈRE BY LYNN CRAWFORD AND LORA KIRK If you have never made spätzle, get ready to make it rain! This tiny, tender egg noodle is made by grating the dough into boiling water. At home, we use a perforated hotel pan, but using a colander or sieve yields the same pro results. What makes spätzle stand out from other pasta is its pillowy consistency (similar to gnocchi, but not as dense or chewy) and its ability to take on bold flavours. Lots of caramelized onions, bacon, and Gruyère cheese transform the spätzle into a creamy dish so good that it might move up the ranks to a main. Serves 4 to 6 1 cup whole milk or water4 large eggs2¼ cups all-purpose flour2 tsp kosher salt,…

Wake Up Happy Coffee Cake (Makes 8 slices) Streusel 2 tbsp all-purpose flour1 ½ cups pecan pieces, coarsely chopped⅓ cup each granulated and brown sugar (lightly packed)1 tsp cinnamon½ tsp ground cardamom3 tbsp butter, melted Cake 1 cup all-purpose flour½ tsp baking powder¼ tsp baking soda¼ tsp kosher salt½ cup unsalted butter½ cup granulated sugar1 large egg¾ cup sour cream½ tsp vanilla extract Glaze (optional) ½ cup icing sugar1 tbsp lemon juicePinch kosher salt 1 For the streusel, in a bowl, combine flour with pecans, granulated and brown sugars, cinnamon, and cardamom. Drizzle with butter; use a fork to evenly mix. 2 For the cake, lightly oil or line a 10-inch cast-iron frying pan with parchment paper. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking. For a two-burner gas grill, light one…

TRAINS VS FISH VS SANTA Someone’s on the naughty list. This September, the Canadian National Railway Company pleaded guilty to a charge under the Fisheries Act “in relation to the deposit of pesticides in or around waters frequented by fish,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada. In 2017, the freight railway was caught spraying pesticides along the rail corridor between Terrace and Prince Rupert, B.C. This route passes by the Skeena River and over several tributaries and wetlands; after an investigation, the ECCC concluded that the chemicals were harmful to fish living in those waters, and that CN Rail was therefore violating the Act. Now the company must pay $2.5 million to the Environmental Damages Fund, and its name goes on the Environmental Offenders Registry. For shame, CN Rail! Nothing…

DOES THIS PLUMAGE make me look fat? Birds that overwinter in cold climates—such as cottage country, brrr—have the ability to fluff out their feathers and trap pockets of air, warmed by their own body heat, to keep themselves toasty. It’s like wearing a puffer jacket (but less annoying, because they don’t have to try to hang it over the back of a chair when they’re in a restaurant). Birds do need to eat more in the winter (see “Who’s Hungry?,” opposite), but that doesn’t result in much extra body fat. See, Northern cardinal! You’re in shape. Round is a shape. Who’s hungry? Feeders are especially useful for birds in the winter. They’ve lost a lot of their natural food sources—insects, for example—and in very cold or icy weather, they really…

RIGID EXTRUDED POLYSTYRENE foam (a.k.a. Styrofoam) is durable, moisture-resistant, and has an insulative value of R5 per inch. But all you really need to know is that when it’s -30°C, the instant your bare butt touches a piece of EPS foam, it feels warm. As in toasty. As in heated seats in a Lexus. That’s why you need some to make a winter toilet seat for your outhouse. The easiest way to heat your heinie is to remove the existing toilet seat and lay a piece of foam over the hole. Then cut it out with a utility knife and sit yourself down. But EPS foam also machines well, so you may want to trace an actual toilet seat, cut, then use a router to round over the edges. I…

Q: We need to replace the hot water tank at our cottage near Burk’s Falls, Ont. We are interested in tankless-style water heaters, but we wonder if they will get the water warm enough. We use the cottage mostly in spring, summer, and fall, but do make one or two trips there in winter. Our heat is electric, and we are not interested in installing propane. Will the tankless models perform well this far north?—Sue Tereschyn, Middle Doe Lake, Ont. A: Our sources say no. That sounds like we asked a Magic 8 Ball, but we asked real people. “Burk’s Falls is cold,” says Paddy Wright-Harris, the business development manager at Muskoka’s Harris Plumbing. “The incoming water temperature—depending on the source—will be super cold,” she says. “The unit may not…

Grand Prize Peep-a-boo Jesse Villemaire, Lake of Bays, Ont. One morning after a rainfall, Jesse Villemaire was out in his backyard, tending to his garden, when he spotted something moving amongst the lilies. “Needless to say, my gardening ended, and my camera came out instead,” says Jesse. He immediately started taking shots of the spring peeper—a small chorus frog. Our judges were amazed that Jesse noticed the tiny amphibian in the garden, let alone that it stayed still long enough for him to take a technical picture. The green leaves, water droplets, and frog are all sharp, while the rest of the photograph is soft, creating a depth of field that draws your attention straight to the creature. Placing the frog at the bottom of the frame made our judges feel…

One of the great joys of winter is making the switch from light lagers to rich, malty beers such as Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock, an amber lager from Germany known as “the father of all strong beers,” or even “liquid bread.” Paulaner is also one of the few breweries allowed to sell beer at Oktoberfest in Munich, the original fall beer festival featuring plenty of spätzle. Anyone who loves smoky barbecue flavours will be happy to learn about Bow River Brewing’s Prairie Night Smoky Porter, a complex, malty dark beer with a nice hit of chocolate, made in Calgary. Outside of Alberta, many craft breweries make similar smoked porters, inspired by German “Rauchbier,” a style of beer traditionally made by drying the malt over an open flame. So delicious and filling…