Call Us at 1-877-635-2575 (toll free Canada and the US) or email: info@loggingchainlodge.on.ca
Saturday, August 25, 2007
We've made it!! We are now in the final week of the summer holiday break from school! Only just over a week until our school-aged children return to class on Tuesday, September 4th (9 days left, to be precise :-)). Of course, I start the back to school days countdown as soon as school lets out at the end of June and just drive the kids crazy here by putting the countdown in my 3-times-a-week Summer newsletter!!
We finally had some much needed rain this past week... The fire risk rating is now back down to "Moderate" - much to our great relief. Our grass actually has started to get green once again. I noticed on my drive to Huntsville a few days ago, that some of the trees have started to change colours - a very early sign that the summer was pretty rough for the maple trees.
Here's a link for the Fall Colour report and the estimated percentage of the colour change for Algonquin Park: http://www.parkreports.com/fall/region.php?region=alg. Although we are only a 15 minute drive from the West Gate of Algonquin Provincial Park, the Park is actually about 1000 feet higher in elevation than our cottage resort. What does this mean - other than your vehicle will be climbing a bit to get to Algonquin Park?? Well, it means that the fall colours begin sooner in the Park than around Dwight - so we actually get the benefit of a longer Fall colour season.
Did you know that many of our guests from Germany actually call the Fall Colours - Indian Summer? In Canada, if someone says that it is Indian Summer, it means that we are having a heatwave out of season - particularly when referencing the Autumn season. No matter what you call it, seeing the change in leaf colours is simply spectacular - fire red, startling yellow, flourescent orange!!
A great kid's craft for Autumn: take the most vibrantly coloured leaves that you can find; take two large pieces of wax paper; place the leaves on one sheet of wax paper - arrange them nicely around the sheet, leaving some space between the leaves; place the second sheet of wax paper on top to match the bottom sheet; place a piece of cloth over the wax paper - careful not to leave any wax paper exposed!; now, take a pre-heated iron (on medium - no mist) and iron the whole thing! When you remove the ironing cloth, the top and bottom pieces of wax paper will be melted into each other with the colourful leaves inside. Punch a couple of holes in the top of the paper, feed through some clear fishing line, and hang up your fabulous piciture in a window so that the sun can catch the colours!!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
We finally had some rain!! A bit of cooler weather is in store for us at the beginning of this week, but then back up to mid 30's C by Wednesday. Sleeping has been great - nice cool nights!
Our guests this week are from Canada (of course), Germany, Israel, and Italy.
There has not been a lot of wildlife sightings - well, out of the ordinary critters, I mean.
It's amazing how fast the summer has gone. In about 2 weeks, the children are back to school - with 2 of our own now going full time this September, I have to admit I'm very excited to get some "undisturbed" time back. Lots of projects to do before the snow flies - not to mention I'm taking 2 on-line courses. I also do a bit of consulting - I'm a certified trainer and am working toward my Canadian Human Resources Professional designation, hence, the courses. In the winter season, I'll be taking my focus away from the daily resort work and consulting with local small and medium sized businesses - setting up their HR policies/procedures and HR solutions. Once my website is up and running, I'll create a link in our LCL blog. I'd love to hear from any other HR consultants out there who work with small businesses (and are perhaps affiliated with HRPAO).
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Summer is officially half over! Last night we had a great event at Dwight Beach - our Annual Firefest! This is an annual event that takes place on the Saturday of the August long weekend to raise money for our local volunteer fire fighters. The Northern Lights Steel Band played fabulous music for almost 5 hours, there were OPP boat rides for the children, a BBQ, and lots of visiting with old and new friends (not to mention my favourite part - candy floss eating!). The evening wrapped up with a great fire works show in the bay - surrounded by at least 100 boats with their lights shining on the water. When the show was over and we were walking home, we saw the most brilliant, clear sky literally filled with stars. A great evening!
This week we welcome back four families who have stayed with us previously, and we welcome for the first time three new families (well, 2 families and a honeymooning couple from the U.K. - but if they're not careful, it could quicky become another family... :-) ).
The weather is still very hot - in the 30'sC. The lake water is now around 82F (~29C). Still no rain - the ground is so dry!!! There is a forecast for possible thunder storms over the next few days.
We still have a few cottages remaining during the last 3 weeks of summer - there's still time to book a getaway!! Give us a call - 1-800-635-2575.
