Some pics of the 2014 closing

Well, it seems we (i.e., Paul) has figured out how I get aboard here.  So, here's a few of my own shots of a great long weekend at the end of September.

2014 Season Closing

Got up here around 1:00 on the 26th. Andy, Scott and Paul.

The weather has been abnormally warm. Has been in the low to mid 20's each day.

Got the bulk of the closing chores done yesterday.

The high water levels required a new means of storing the Lund.

This project started out as 3 guys having a look at the options for storing the Lund. Before we knew it, Andy was fetching ropes, and Scott was getting lumber. With the help of the winch on the ramp we pulled the boat and ramp up onto the rocks above. 

When we finished we realized we had screwed ourselves out of fishing for the rest of our stay.

Oh well, mission accomplished.

We'll have all winter to figure out how we're going to get it back in the water.

Thought we should also do something about the new dock as it was just inches above the water.

By tilting it up a bit we now have some clearance for the ice.

Looks like Matt has been doing some work at the camp. He had some guys  up helping stack the boats on shore. Won't be the same around here without the "Big Guy". Hope Matt can make a go of it.

I guess that's it for this year. Time for a refill. See you next year.


Sept 30/14 Update
According to an Old Timer at Wrights Matt isn't doing the work at GBFC. I think "Mike" was the name he mentioned, a friend of the family. Apparently they are planning to bring in a barge next year, to clean up the junk and then run it as as a "cabin rental only" operation.
Hey, maybe we can get a bit of space on the barge.

I also forgot to mention that we put up the long awaited windscreen blinds. They work great, made it very cozy regardless of wind direction. I can't believe you can't buy these things. Surely we don't have the only screened in porch that gets chilly this time of year.
Here's a picture with the blinds down.

A few other observations I forgot to mention in the original post :
Very few birds left on the island.
Saw a mother and 2 cubs swimming the narrows in the shortcut when we arrived last Friday. Didn't get a pic -they were gone as soon a they hit the shore.
Lots , I mean LOTS of flies, wasps, bees and other flying insects - maybe because of absence of birds. I got stung twice in the space of 10 minutes.
All the snails that were so prevalent in the summer are now gone.
Very few spiders left.

And one more item. I'm not sure whose lumber this is but it was headed west when we last saw it .........

Aaahhh....The Bustards!

The forecast for today was for overcast and showers. They were wrong.
It was one of those days where it looked nasty over the mainland but sunny out in the bay.
After several less than summer-like days we took advantage. Winds forecast light from the north in the AM  and 10 kts from the west in the PM. 
A perfect day to take the inflatable canoe out to the Bustard Islands and enjoy tailwinds both ways, theoretically.
On the way out we cut across in front of this guy. (We had right of way). A catamaran of unimaginable beam. Had to be 20 ft wide.

Once again, the water levels allowed us to get into places previously inaccessible. We had to tilt the motor and paddle in some channels. Here are a few of my favorite pics of the day.

We cut through a channel and ended up at the south western tip of the islands. 

Here's view of the lighthouses and the Killarney mountains, looking north-west.

The wind was coming up so we turned into Wicks Channel and found a shortcut to the Gun Barrel anchorage. It was a strange feeling, after several hours of not seeing a soul, in pristine wilderness, and then finding half a dozen yachts in a bay.

The trip back was wild! With the wind from the west now, the swells were up to 2 ft. but, as planned, were from behind. Canoe surfing, oh yeah!

Here's a shot of the GPS screen, showing our track on today's trip. If you're familiar with the Bustards, it will make sense. We covered about 15 miles today, burning about 3 litres of gas on the Tohatsu 6 HP four stroke outboard.

Mary and Bruce are up tomorrow. Looking forward to it. I always catch fish when I'm out with Bruce.

Feels like winter's coming

Woke up this morning to 12 degrees and wind howling from the north. By 4 PM the thermometer managed to claw its way up to 19 degrees. Still windy. Now for the bad news, tomorrow is going to be about the same.
Made some biscuits this morning just so I had a excuse to turn on the oven.

Tara is back to normal. Having some of the hair of the dog that bit her....?

Cosmo has taken to hibernating. See if you can spot him in this picture.

 Give up? OK, here's a clue

In the Plumbers Corner, I have tried something I've been contemplating for some time now.
Running HOT water in the kitchen. Moved the shower unit  to outside the kitchen, hooked up some hoses I brought from home and, Presto!

Really makes rinsing a breeze and no more boiling water in the big pot. Will probably reduce propane consumption too. If we want to use this setup we might consider getting a second water heater unit so we won't need to move it back and forth. Wouldn't hurt to have a backup unit anyways.

Be cool! (I know I will be)

Hectic Day

Woke up at 4 AM, Tara whining to go out. She's had the runs for 3 days now.
Looked up her symptoms on the web and decided better safe than sorry.
By 9 AM we were on our way to Parry Sound for an 11:00 appointment with the Vet.
The wind was a good 15 kts from the worst possible direction, southwest. Waves were a good 3 ft. and the spray was blowing right over the boat. 
Made it to the Vet 10 minutes late. Turns out she may have eaten something she shouldn't have, maybe a mushroom.  Got some antibiotics from the Vet and Tara will be eating Basmati rice for a while. (thanks for the rice Andy).
Got back to the island by about 3:30. Of course the wind had shifted so we were bucking a headwind on the way back too.
So, let's call today a write-off, with the exception of the time after 3:30, which is when the bar opened.

Yesterday was much better.
We took the canoe out and headed toward the French. It was windy so the challenge was to explore while not getting soaked. Found numerous channels that were impassable in previous years due to low water levels, that we can now get through.
We were able to float right up to the waterfall at the Rainbow Camp. I think this was dry for the past few years.

The waterfall at Rainbow Camp. 

Looks like the MNR has been busy with the new portage which replaces the tramway. The short portage is still rugged but it now has a dock at one end. If they put a boardwalk in here I just might get the canoe up into the French River.

The original dock (now private) is at the far left.

I.m hearing rolling thunder to the west even though the storm is still 40 miles away. Time to cover the boat and pour another one.

Day 5 ........A LARGE Day

We started the day with a heavy overcast and 15 degree temps. No one got up before 8:30, just too cold.  
After finding some cool (and simple) kite plans on the internet, we scoured the place for building materials and ended up with a garbage bag, a cedar plank, some poly string and a roll of, you guessed it, duct tape!
It took longer than expected  but by about 2 PM we had this:

Dave showing off our new toy.

We hooked it up to a Penn downrigger rod and reel and in 18 knot winds we let it go.
Holly crap! And "GO" it did! This thing just wanted to go up! And UP. And UP.

Dave staring into the sun

After about 20 minutes of flight we decided to bring it in and attach the GoPro.
That's when the 20 lb. test line broke. We watched our project disappear behind the cedars on its way to the Bustards, in perfect controlled flight I might add.
We took the Lund  to conduct a search, and against all odds, Dave found it virtually unscathed, floating about 500 yards south of the cottage.

We flew it again at sundown, in about 8 kt. winds and got it up to 600 ft. We brought it down and tried to fly it with the GoPro attached but the wind was dying and it was getting dark so after two near crashes,we packed it in. I think we mounted the camera too high on the frame, making the kite unstable.
Dave is heading home tomorrow. We must try this again some time. In the meantime we'll leave the kite in the cottage for anyone else who might want to fly it.


BTW the new fridge is working out fantastic. It seems to have unlimited space and keeps everything cold on a setting of 2 out of 5. AND......it doesn't freeze the veggies.

Went to have a shower last night and the propane water heater wouldn't ignite. After cursing and swearing and throwing things around for a while, it started working again. I am documenting this so if anyone else has problems with it, they'll know how to fix it.

In other news....and this is huge! I caught a fish!!! Nice walleye near the base of the Dalles.
Check this out.

Unfortunately it was just inside the slot, at 21", so we let him go.

Time to wrap this up, there's ice cream waiting for me in the freezer :)

Day 4 - Just puttering around the island

Kind of windy today, and hot. 
We replaced some of the components of the weather station, the rain gauge and the base unit.
It works again.

Ran Dave's GoPro up the flagpole today for something to do. It was either the flagpole or duct tape it to a kite. Dave chose the flagpole. Here is the result

Had some nice thunder and lightning around 6 PM. Not a lot of rain or wind though.
We may try to build a kite tomorrow. It will need to be large (and stable) enough to take the GoPro aloft. Haven't told Dave about our latest plan yet.

GB Movers, Two Men and a Boat

Finally got the new fridge up to the Island, the help of a good friend, Dave.

At the Marina

Dave keeping the fridge from getting wet

It's all downhill from here (well, mostly downhill)

The ride from the marina went well, but being on wheels, the fridge had a tendency to move around a bit.  It wouldn't fit through the front door of the cottage so we went in through the Bistro, and even then we had to remove the doors to make it fit.

It lights in seconds, vice grips no longer required. Even has a light inside, total luxury.

Went fishing yesterday and caught the usual.

Besides being a talented appliance mover, Dave is also an amazing photographer.
Here are some examples of what a good camera can do when in the hands of someone who really knows how to use it.

Hope you enjoyed them. Time to go fishing

It Takes a Rainy Day.......

Last year I started this blog on a rainy day, as there wasn't much else to do.
Guess what....   Ditto for this year's first entry.

Andy, Bruce and I  opened the place 2 weeks ago around the beginning of June.
Found everything in good shape.
We enjoyed great weather and Bruce brought up his newest addition to "the fleet".

Got the new dock raised to compensate for the higher water levels. Tools required were a bumper jack, some lumber and a wrench. Raised it 5 inches.

Here's a 2 in 1 picture of the newly raised dock and today's weather.

Lots of geese still visiting the island, leaving lots of things to step on.
Had some ducks in the back channel yesterday.

and saw a Sandhill Crane on the way back from the "SHS". Wonder if they're nesting there.

I'll probably be back at this later if it doesn't stop raining.