Gibban

This past Monday was a holiday here in Ontario, the so-called "Family Day Long Weekend" so we spent the brief break up at our cottage in Huntsville. Lots of winter fun was to be had outdoors, but my boy was enamoured with the bark canoe model made back in '08 that is now decorating the wall. He wanted to take it out for an imaginary canoe trip throughout the place and loaded up the 3 foot, 1/4 scale model with a mini bark basket, his mini cherry paddle and two of his stuffed toys, Colin and Todd from the Monster Factory (a cute stuffed toy company started by a family friend). Prepping for the trip After lots of pushing and pretend paddling all over the kitchen, the bedroom, and the main floor, the bark canoe is no worse for wear. If these craft can handle the vigorous play of 2 1/2 year old and survive, they aren't nearly as delicate as people think. Colin and Todd have taken up their positions in the canoe as part of the wall display ready for the next trip... Unfort...

SC joins me this morning. It is a grey and calm day. Rain woke me early in the morning, but that has let up although the heaviness of that event remains in the air. Before we leave the house, I show SC some of my drawings and maps for the area. He is a bit a bit of a nature boy, like myself, but we will be looking at some stuff that he is not so familiar with. We walk the Harrison portage to the big lake, and as we paddle north, I point out how the lake is 10 feet lower than it was in 1915, how the seawalls prevent good habitat from forming, and I identify the various ducks as we go. SC spends time on salt water, so the fresh water birds are less familiar to him. Our first stop is the Big beaver lodge. The goose nest looks great. We push back into the edge of the beaver forest behind the lodge. SC is quite verbal, so I know how much he is enjoying this. I point out how every bit of wood has beaver teeth marks. We find a branch with a crop of false pixie cup (lichen). This is a great tr...