Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching in the south, to the western border of Algonquin Provincial Park in the east. A two-hour drive north of Toronto, Muskoka spans 6,475 km2 (2,500 sq mi) and has some 1,600 lakes, making it a popular cottaging area.
One of the benefits of life in Canada are the 4 seasons, and in particular experiencing the fall colors. This mini waterfall – 2 feet high! – is located next to the big High Falls on the north branch of the Muskoka River. Its a perfect example of nature’s colorful richness and solitude.Spectacular colors on Bigwin Island at Dorset, Lake of BaysJust in time for Halloween, I present to you the Haunted Halloween Harvest Moon for your spooky pleasure! Sure feels like ghosts and goblins are flying through the night. What we really have here is the Thanksgiving full moon passing behind leaves dangling from a tree around 11pm at night. Boo!!!Surprise! April 15 and we find 2 feet of snow at our friends cottage. We planned to open it up for the summer, however found ourselves tobogganing down the driveway, building snowmen and having snowball fights. Highlights was having a drink in a Muskoka chair surrounded by the frozen lake.Look closely at all the tree stumps in the marsh, giving evidence of a healthy beaver habitat. The locals say there is a cottage tucked into the forest at the back of the bog that only becomes visible once the leaves fall.The first week August at our friends cottage on Bay Lake, Muskoka, enjoying the night time view of the milky way while sitting by the fire.If you were watching me take this picture, you would think I lost my marbles! Driving along Highway 117 in Muskoka, I am passing this rock outcrop as I notice the sun shining off the leaves, a lone birch, and great color contrast. So I pull a u-turn park on the dirt shoulder and start taking pictures as other cars wiz past. A little crazy – yes. A nice picture – also yes!Smell that fresh air and soak in those colors! This is one of those moments to savor. Life does move fast, yet here everything holds still. Thanksgiving weekend, Echo LakeA ‘real life’ view of the Canadian flag’s maple leaf at the beginning of fall. The photo was taken using the new Lensbaby Velvet 56 lens in macro mode, creating a soft ethurial effect and completely blurring out the background (in case you are wondering why it does not appear in focus). The soft blue is a lake, while the yellow tint are other leaves.Loved how the birch trees stood out from a multi-color backdrop of huge color. Over exposed the trees for effect.A look across the half frozen lake from the neighbor’s snow covered dock. Mild winter has kept the lake from completely freezing, and not a lot of snow. The tobogganing was awesome – particularly under the moonlight, however no ice skating this year.What a difference a year makes! This is new year’s eve coming into 2015, with a fresh 2 ft of snow – so much fell that we chose to stay another day to play outside. Fast forward to this new year, and while we had lots of fun with our friends, it did not look quite like this. Happy new year to all.A really cool Muskoka scene where this bog butted up against the dense forest. Fall is about colors, depth, and contrast… and this place has it all. You will find the bog on the north side of HWY 117 just west of Baysville.“Come see this dad”, yell the kids, “and bring your camera!”. With the swim platform a few hundred feet off-land, I’m now looking at this majestic Heron standing on it… poking at its eye. Is he – or she – really doing that? Yup, he/she is!Like you, I have seen some awesome sunsets over the years – most being of the orange, red and pink color combination. Over the recent Thanksgiving weekend, we were treated to a truly unique blue sky with a yellow fireball. As the sun set, it left this reflective circular glow across Grandview Lake, Muskoka.Motorcycles. Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Freedom, raw power, elegance. While a Harley is not in the cards anytime soon, I do love photographic these bikes. They have such a presence in camera, like this one here. Taken at Santa’s Village (of all places – ha!) in Bracebridge, Ontario. Notice the sun sparkling off the air cleaner.The Thunderbird had its many highs and lows over the years (like the final version from 2005 – yuk!). This 1957 model is truly amazing, and this particular version on show in Baysville, Ontario was in mint condition. How about all that fine chrome across the dash! I really like what Tesla is doing, however there is something to be said for the simplicity seen here.Every wonder what a bee looks like on a Blackeyed Susan? Probably not! I didn’t either, but hey, it does look kind of cool doing its thing. Really neat how you can see the pollen on its feet and antenna. Photo taken with the new Lensbaby 56 – this is one super lens that is sharp and requires no post adjustments.Thanks for having a look. This is the last picture taken of the fall season at the cottage. Even with 2/3 of the leaves on the ground, it was still wildly spectacular to take in all the color and shadows. The day was bright, but cool, and completely still. Another reason to love Canada.How does 500 deg F. sound? Stuffed the stove with 7 logs to heat the cottage a few weeks ago and then thought the flame would make a fascinating picture. There is nothing like a hot fire, glass of wine, and time with the family on snowy winter weekend.One of the fireworks from Baysville, Ontario’s Canada Day celebrations back on July 1Three Broad-winged Hawks spent a couple of weeks in August on the cottage property before flyer off. They would perch atop the Birch trees along the shore, or behind the cottage at top off forest canopy like this one in the photo.Sweeping sunset across Conger Lake while kayak camping early September in the Massasauga Provincial Park with one of our daughters. Two excellent days with sun, mid-teen temperatures, and these fantastic skies after the sun went down.Birch trees mixed in with the requisite vibrant fall colors on echo lake this past thanksgiving weekend. Though never taking the change in colors for granted, it still is fun to see tourists arrive by motorcoach to look at what we Canadians see every year!On its way south this past September, this Monarch spent a day hoping between the flowers by the lake. Was very fortunate she/he was not easily scared by my proximity.Not that you will get far with this version of the DeSoto Adventurer, however it is still pretty neat to look at. Google this car and you will find enough of them still out there running. As for this one, its hanging on the side of a barn in Bracebridge.Good for them! It’s Canada Day and this couple went for a paddle and some fishing on one of the lakes, and she brought her phone. Nothing wrong with that (unless you fall in!) as long as you are outdoors and soaking in what mother nature has to offer.Chef David Friesen’s entree special featuring local pickerel on a bed of quinoa, tomatoes, peppers and wilted Swiss Chard, plated high like a tower. Riverwalk can be found in Bracebridge, Ontario overlooking the river.It was really this good! Calm, warm evening to watch the sun set from the kayak.We hit peak color this week in the Baysville area, punctuated by a bright sun and shadows of the forest. This is along Browns Brae Road, a gravel route connecting a few of the lakes in the Lake of Bays Township.Two horses paid a fair amount of attention to me as I walked by while at the fall fair. My own curiosity picked, I took a few pictures and then watched them watch me for quite some time. Looking at the picture afterwards, it sure feels like they want to start a conversation. Or maybe their trying to say ‘leave us alone’!
life art images 