July 5th: Temagami with the Petersons

 

Randy and Cindy picked me up at the old Temagami Train station, which is now the Northland Bus Company stop. Here's a link with a little history and a good picture. The train station is now the Chamber of Commerce Building and has a nice gift shop with First Nation Art displays. Temagami Train Station

Since Randy and Cindy were coming into town to get me they picked up supplies. We unloaded the truck into the boat and headed to the Lake house. It was great to be back. The smoke had cleared and it was a very nice evening.

I moved into the Bunky. Same place I stayed last year. It's a rustic cabin designed for sleeping only. 

The Bunky sits high on a small cliff with a great view.

Path up to the Bunky

The bed is very comfortable. I enjoyed listening to the loons before I fell asleep.

Then Nick and his son Liam arrived Thursday. I suggested we try fishing. I went down and caught a very nice smallmouth Bass.

I also caught a small Pike. Not a keeper but fun to catch. We caught a good number of smaller bass which we threw back also.

Pike

There are always projects on the island. A major project this time was working on the bathroom in the main house. A propane toilet was installed last summer. Randy also enlarged the bathroom so a shower could fit. 

  

Randy finished the wall siding while I planted some grass on two bare spots.

The shower will be installed at a later date and will cover the open spots.

Niki and Mea were to arrive the next afternoon. The next morning, Nick was up early and ran the plastic water pipes under the house to the bathroom. Cindy suggested, "Why don't you boys install the vanity and surprise Niki". This was no small project. It involved crawling under the house to cut holes in the bathroom floor for the pipes. Randy was under the house and a large rock rolled down from a stack under the foundation. Bonked him in the head and needed a bandage. He continued on. 

Attaching the water pipes

Nick took over the action under the house. I was mostly just the tool boy.

The work continued while Nick went to pick up Niki and Mea. It took some doing, but after Nick got back, the job was completed! It looks and works great!

Naula, Danny and Cindy

Saturday, Nick went into town to pick up his parents,  Danny, Debbie and Naula.. He surprised us with a beautiful picnic table Danny and Debbie got for the island. It is made of local wood and is very sturdy. I don't usually think of picnic tables as pretty but this one is!

This was July 1st, Canada Day. One of the cottagers hosts a Canada Day potluck dinner at her cottage. Everyone arrives by boat. It's a fun gathering with great food. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.

Canada Day Pot luck gathering

After the party, we went fishing off the dock again. Nick caught a very nice Pike and we also caught some more bass. Fish for dinner!

Nick also caught a tree. 

Nick and the trimming saw

It happens fairly often because we cast as close to shore as possible. That's where the fish hang out. But a slight wind can blow your lure into a tree. Fortunately, Nick has a power DeWalt trimming saw and was able to cut the branch off and retrieve his lure.

I was the designated fish cleaner. I apparently have the most experience, but it had been a while. We were catching a lot of Bass right off the docks. We caught so many fish that I became quite fast cleaning them. The electric knife helps a lot.

Danny on the river fishing

There is a nice river nearby where the fishing is excellent. Nick, Danny and I went out Saturday evening and did well. We were weighing the fish to see who could land the heaviest. Nick's pike was over 3 lbs. I think he'll win!

 

Nick's 2 lb Bass

Nick on the river

The river is very peaceful so Cindy, Nick, Liam and I went out again Sunday morning. The sun was very hot so Nick made good use of the umbrella. Nick prefers cold, very cold!

We each caught a keeper as well as some small ones. We now had a good supply of fresh fish.

Nick, Danny, Debbie and I went out again Sunday evening. Danny and Debbie were leaving Monday so this was the last chance for them. Debbie caught the biggest fish, 2.2 lbs.

Fish ready for Cindy to fry

There were now nine of us so a lot of fish allowed for a great fish dinner.

Cream Brule

Of course a fish dinner needs a great dessert! Nick fired up the torch and finished off our Cream Brule.

Some major tree trimming took place last season. The branches were piled up to dry over the winter. Nick brought a chipper up to turn the branches into wood chips which could be used on the trails. Everyone pitched in. Nick and Randy fed the chipper and the rest of us brought the branches to them. It worked great.

Danny, Debbie, Niki and Randy

Chipper going full blast

Chipper going full blast. Its great to have good equipment.

I was fishing off the dock and caught the smallest fish I ever caught. Especially on a lure. I told everyone I was pretty sure I'd win the smallest fish contest. I released it and it swam away. 

I was awarded an appropriate trophy that night for the smallest fish. It's a miniature fishing basket. I believe it was meant to be an ornament. Very cute, I'll hang it on my Christmas tree.
 

Mea and Liam

Life at the cottage includes non-electronic entertainment. Cindy, Liam and Mea worked on a puzzle.

Corn hole tournament

There was a corn hole tournament. We also played Can't Stop, Euchre and Uno in the evenings.

It was quite warm for a few days. The last two days of the heat wave it hit 90 degrees.  We spent a lot of time in the water and on the water toys.

Nick and Liam snorkeled way out to a shelf that is a boating hazard. The marker buoy needed some repair. They are standing on the shelf so you can see why it's a boating hazard.

Dragonfly Exoskeleton

I looked at the wall outside my cabin and saw this very cool looking exoskeleton. I had never seen one before.

I took a few pictures and showed it to Cindy. She knew it is a dragonfly exoskeleton. The dragonfly crawls out leaving this behind.

You can learn more about dragonflies at these links. The variety is amazing. 

Dragonfly facts

Dragonflies

Dragonfly pictures

Mea and Liam

I have always loved to sit on a porch swing. This swing is a great place to relax and enjoy listening to the birds and loons.

The projects continued. Some birch trees had been cut down to allow the sun to hit the solar panels. The stumps needed to be removed.

I started the project by digging around the roots as much as possible. Next I used the saber saw to cut the roots. I still couldn't budge the stumps.

I found a very large pry bar in the maintenance shed and thanks to Nick's exceptional muscle power he was able to pry them out of the ground.

Much to Cindy's delight, Nick agreed that it would be a good idea to install a washing machine. Hauling clothes/bedding to a laundromat was not fun. An old fashioned clothes line was installed for drying. It worked great. 

Except there was some concern about Cindy falling off of the deck while hanging the clothes. Nick suggested adding a small platform to stand on to
put the clothes on the line. Randy got it finished a couple days later.

Nick heard there was great fishing at an inland lake. It required a boat ride and then a long trek through the woods. There was a small waterfall/stream that led to the lake. We found the little waterfall. Nick and Liam hiked along very shaky rocks looking for the lake. Cindy, Randy and I decided we weren't going to chance the slippery rocks.

Nick and Liam returned a while later and agreed we made the correct decision. We headed back and Liam said, "Right there is a trail. I told you on the way up." Good job Liam. We found the trail and trekked through the woods up to the lake.

Rescuing the aluminum boat

Randy, Nick and Liam require very little to look for adventure. They spotted a little aluminum boat that had been washed down the river until it hit a beaver hut. They said, "If we can get that boat up to the lake we can fish from it."

Of course they succeeded or I wouldn't be telling this story. We found a couple sort of thick branches to use as paddles and headed out to fish. I had no part in rescuing the boat but Randy rarely fish and told me to go. I think the fact we had no life jackets might have been involved in his thinking. Nick, Liam and I are very comfortable swimmers. Actually I think he was mostly just being generous. 

We paddled a short distance and Nick caught a big bass.

Willa had no hesitation about walking out on this dead tree. Neither did Liam as he retrieved a lure that Cindy had hooked at the end of the tree.

There was talk of returning with a trolling motor, paddles, shore lunch, fishing gear, etc. I was reluctant given the hike through the woods with lots of mosquitoes. However, we found a much better trail on the way back. I was open minded for a return trip, it was a really nice bass Nick caught, and the area was beautiful and peaceful. No one else in sight.

Mrs. Linda, pontoon boat

July 10th is Linda's and my wedding anniversary. The group had a surprise for me. They told me to come down and look at the back of the pontoon boat. Strange but, whatever. I saw that the pontoon boat was now named Mrs. Linda. Liam and Mea decided the boat should be named after Linda! Great idea. As Matt, my son-in-law said, "A boat in Canada, Awesome."

Toast to Mrs. Linda

Linda was very close with the kids. They talk about her often and still miss her as much as we all do.  

Liam, Linda and Mea - 2017, Playing video games

Nick suggested we go climb the Fire tower in Temagami. Sounded like fun. The views were amazing and the climb wasn't bad. 123 steps. However, it was very windy and the tower was swaying, especially at the top.

Nick,Randy and Liam at 
the top of the fire tower

View from the fire tower

I was leaving Wednesday and it was Monday night. Nick said, "Let's go back up to the inland lake with paddles and try fishing. Why not. It was again a little bit of a trek but much better since we found the best trail. We launched the boat and had a great day fishing. We brought 5 very large bass home and had lost 5 because we didn't bring the net! Still, we had plenty of fish. By the time I cleaned the 5 we caught I wasn't sorry we lost some!.

We had gone into town and stopped at the plant place to get some plants for the area where we removed the stumps. I told Nick I would like to pay for a couple plants that would be good memories for me.

Linda left, Steve right

 He said okay, we would name them Steve and Linda. Nick is pretty sentimental, in a very good way!

So here are Steve and Linda.

  

So it was Wednesday morning. Nick and Liam and Niki arranged to take me back to Orillia, leaving at 2 PM. Nick asked what I wanted to do. I said, "Let's plant Linda and Steve." The project turned into a major upgrade of the area. Another birch stump was removed, thanks mostly to Nick. The area was leveled to a degree and looks great. More dirt will be added.

Linda planted on the left
Steve planted on the right

This is such a beautiful place. Here is a picture I took as we were returning back to the dock at sunset one night. We were trying to catch walleye. Maybe next time, but it was a gorgeous sunset. My visit with the Peterson family was wonderful and I left knowing I'd miss them.

I made it back to Orillia Wednesday evening. I found some more above the water leaks after some very heavy rain Wednesday night. I believe I have them all repaired now. I leave for Ireland Saturday. I'll meet my niece's family, the Toracks in Dublin. Looking forward to the trip.