Cottage Country

At the beginning of June the Toronto Globe and Mail published the results of a new survey of Canadian real estate agents concerning cottage ownership. Although the cost of owning a lake front cottage in Canada is increasing rapidly, the majority of cottage owners and potential buyers don’t care. For them the benefits of the cottage lifestyle outweigh the costs. In several online blogs ‘going to the cottage’ is described as the quintessential Canadian cultural experience.

    Although my husband and I don’t own a cottage, my siblings do. In the last two weeks the hospitality of my family has allowed us to enjoy the benefits of Canadian cottage life on our summer hiatus from our jobs in Hong Kong.

      I spent my childhood summers at my parents’ cottage at Moose Lake. When my own sons were small a couple weeks at the cottage was part of every summer agenda. The ownership of our family cottage has now passed to my brother. He has done a great many things to add comfort and interest to cottage life, while carefully maintaining family cottage traditions.

       He took us for a boat ride to see the pair of bald eagles that have come to nest at Moose Lake every summer for several decades.  He’s added an outdoor cedar shower to the cottage. You have privacy, but since the shower stall has no roof you can stand under a black night sky ablaze with stars or a blue day sky filled with puffy clouds, and enjoy a shower in warm lake water that leaves your hair softer than you can imagine.

    My brother still has our old red canoe but he’s added a kayak, floating raft, speedboat and sailboat to the family boathouse. There are lots of great ways to enjoy the water. He’s also enlarged the deck so every visitor can sit ensconced in spacious comfortable wide armed chairs with the beverage of their choice and their current novel. Reading is somehow just better at the lake, especially when everyone in the family has their nose in a good book and you can discuss what you’ve all read later.

    My sister and her husband have inherited a family cottage on Louise Lake near Kenora and several days there allowed us to experience additional aspects of cottage life. We went fishing several times and each of us successfully landed a number of fish. We went blueberry picking. The rocky ground was covered with green plants heavy with powder blue berries. It didn’t take long for each of us to fill our containers. We took them back to the cottage and my sister made a blueberry pie for supper. I know it’s a cliché but honestly pie tastes so much better when you’ve picked the berries yourself.

     Sitting on the dock, the quiet interrupted only by the occasional call of the loon, or at the kitchen table with endless cups of coffee, my sister and I had some great conversations. Talking is somehow easier at the cottage- time slows down and you are relaxed enough so your mental ‘to do’ list evaporates and you can really concentrate on listening to others.

   Professor and anthropologist Julia Harrison is writing a book about cottage life in Canada. She wants to know what makes it so special to people. Why do Canadians keep spending their summers at cottages despite the time, money and hard work involved with having a lakeside retreat? Blueberry picking, fishing, the call of the loon, the flight of the eagle, water fun, reading, great conversations, time with family- I think I can give Professor Harrison a few ideas about what makes cottage life special to people.