Cottage Life
Families with cottages often ponder whether their weekend retreat justifies the cost and aggravation of owning a second home. Is it worth the two hour drive to unpredictable weather and the possibility of a wasted weekend? Do the high taxes and increasing cost of fuel really make it worthwhile? What about the aggravating stress of packing enough clothing or buying enough food for unexpected guests? Are you willing to risk being isolated from the security of your home in the city to have a peaceful and quiet time? Or could the entire weekend be ruined by the chance of the neighbours having a wild party all night? There is also the time consuming work of maintaining the property, the boats, and the waterfront. Despite all the negative aspects of owning a cottage, there are so many positive things that more than offset the pessimism often associated with cottage ownership.
The beautiful Muskokan days begin with the vivid sun rising out of the trees behind the bay. The sound of loons and early morning fishermen is faint in the distance. The water is a sheet of glass slightly scratched by a family of ducks slowly approaching the dock looking for their breakfast of bread crumbs and stale hot dog buns. Seasoned cottagers from all over the lake hop into their boats at an early hour and race off to the town bakery which always seems to have the best food imaginable. The leftovers are usually fed to any wildlife that happens to pass by. Whether it is ducks, deer, minks, beavers, fish or even dock spiders, everyone on the lake enjoys the bakery’s food.
One of the joys of owning a cottage is experiencing life away from the city. There are no traffic jams, busy shopping centers, or horrendous Tim Horton lineups. All of this is true, except on long weekends of course. Even on these long weekends, the chaos of thousands of people enjoying their favourite cottage activities still fills everyone with happiness and ecstasy.
You always know it’s a nice...
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