... or "Cabin", for you south of the border. ;)
Went up for a few days with my family plus my brother-in-law (wife's brother) and his kids. Had to leave a day early because of predicted high winds and thunderstorms - the place is on an island and it is very easy to get trapped there by bad weather.
Some pics:
- The cottage itself - built in the early 1950s by my grandfather:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FsA3LV1V.jpg&hash=f19548ccf65d1c39b68f56401ff651ec708ef3fc) (https://imgur.com/sA3LV1V)
Below is the original draft of this poem:
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2000/11/18
The poem is about the burning down of the original cabin on the site (hit by lightning).
It has lots of original poems by my aunt decorating the walls. Miraculously, so far, no-one has broken in and stolen them, though the place has been broken into a few times:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqswIvaT.jpg&hash=03a7c7eea529c1619ac45be17f19adb3fa7423f1) (https://imgur.com/qswIvaT)
My wife, on the dock:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaPahgwI.jpg&hash=1cf8f63807bc2222bc7e9a2b2ca9c6c6327f6a48) (https://imgur.com/aPahgwI)
The kids boating:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FFzYwZVn.jpg&hash=91cd05ba9ac6afd6a54e45443535c0e35c580d86) (https://imgur.com/FzYwZVn)
Typical landscape:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqByT92A.jpg&hash=720458e8ec8e811353afb7b525d5bc866658eb1c) (https://imgur.com/qByT92A)
It looks a bit like Sweden. :)
That looks like good clean Canadian fun Malthus.
That island looks extremely rocky. I presume there is no electricity or anything like that in that cabin?
Quote from: Valmy on September 05, 2017, 02:48:09 PM
That looks like good clean Canadian fun Malthus.
That island looks extremely rocky. I presume there is no electricity or anything like that in that cabin?
Yup, the whole area is on what is known as the "Canadian Shield" formation - which stretches for hundreds of miles. All the soil was scraped away by glaciation, leaving nothing but bare bedrock with whatever soil has built up since the last ice ages. Bare rock shelves abound and it is very rugged. It is amazing to see the effort that goes into road-building in this area - lots of blasting of trenches in solid bedrock.
We are far from the grid (also, on an island), but we do have a tiny gas powered generator, enough for lighting a couple of lamps - this is a new innovation: we used to use nothing but kerosene lamps. They give nice light, but are prone to bursting into flames if the mantle is not closely watched.
Looks very hyggeligt!
What camera are you using? Maybe clean the lense :P
Quote from: Liep on September 05, 2017, 02:59:55 PM
Looks very hyggeligt!
What camera are you using? Maybe clean the lense :P
The shitty camera on my old phone. :(
I'm actually surprised the phone survived the trip.
I stupidly kept it, and my wallet, in my pocket on the boat trip over (I was driving the motorboat you can see tied at the dock). Part of the trip goes past what is known, for good reason, as "Windy Point". Conditions were bad, very windy, with lots of whitecaps and high waves. A few waves slapped over the side of the boat and I got soaked to the skin (I was wearing rain gear, but that didn't really help).
Phone survived though. :)
Quote from: The Brain on September 05, 2017, 02:42:01 PM
It looks a bit like Sweden. :)
I do miss that side of Sweden a lot.
I wonder if the Canadian version has saunas :hmm:
What a lovely place, Malthus. I'm intensely jealous of it, I'll be honest.
Quote from: Malthus on September 05, 2017, 02:34:44 PM
It has lots of original poems by my aunt decorating the walls. Miraculously, so far, no-one has broken in and stolen them, though the place has been broken into a few times:
Let's be real... the kind of people who'd break into an isolated cottage on an island are not going to be literature experts looking for original documents by a world-renowned author. But now that *I* know they're there..... :shifty:
Is it hard to sleep with no modern humming noises?
Bugs are way worse.
Quote from: merithyn on September 05, 2017, 03:39:41 PM
Let's be real... the kind of people who'd break into an isolated cottage on an island are not going to be literature experts looking for original documents by a world-renowned author. But now that *I* know they're there..... :shifty:
... you still have to find the place. "Northern Quebec" is pretty large. ;)
But seriously: despite its extreme isolation, tourists (usually of the 'aging grad student' variety) have, from time to time over the years, showed up while we were there, having tracked the place down. I guess the general species is pretty honest, because if they are showing up while we were there, they are no doubt also showing up while we were not there!
The break-ins are usually after stuff that is visibly easy to sell it is true - we've lost a couple of nice canoes. :( Probably not literature experts doing the break-ins, I'm guessing.
Lots of black flies I assume?
Cabin looks like a beautiful spot.
Quote from: Eddie Teach on September 05, 2017, 04:05:15 PM
Bugs are way worse.
I try to avoid being up there in late May through early July. :D End of August there are no bugs whatsoever - you can walk around naked if you like. Do that in June, you would require a transfusion. :lol:
Some years, early June is just unbearably buggy. Particularly just as the sun goes down. The sheer number of bugs is astonishing and horrifying.
Quote from: PRC on September 05, 2017, 04:16:04 PM
Lots of black flies I assume?
Cabin looks like a beautiful spot.
Again, varies hugely by time of year. You just don't go up during Blackfly season, unless you have no choice. End of August - there isn't a single one.
Quote from: Malthus on September 05, 2017, 04:12:15 PM
Quote from: merithyn on September 05, 2017, 03:39:41 PM
Let's be real... the kind of people who'd break into an isolated cottage on an island are not going to be literature experts looking for original documents by a world-renowned author. But now that *I* know they're there..... :shifty:
... you still have to find the place. "Northern Quebec" is pretty large. ;)
Your pictures probably have the coordinates in the code... just saying :ph34r:
I see the dock, but where are the spiders?
Quote from: HVC on September 05, 2017, 04:26:50 PM
Your pictures probably have the coordinates in the code... just saying :ph34r:
:lol:
Probably.
Anyway, it isn't really a secret, you could probably find the exact location without too much trouble. ;)
You're lucky that I'm such a fangirl that I wouldn't dare deface Ms. Atwood's private place... :wub:
Quote from: merithyn on September 05, 2017, 05:02:50 PM
You're lucky that I'm such a fangirl that I wouldn't dare deface Ms. Atwood's private place... :wub:
Just for you, some old photos ...
The three siblings at the cottage in the 1950s (the kerosene lamp on the table is still there - we use the same one).
http://margaretatwood.ca/photos-2/#jp-carousel-801
Same area, 1942, my grandfather and Peggy as a kid.
http://margaretatwood.ca/photos-2/#jp-carousel-804
Come on now, Mal. I said that I was a fangirl. You think I haven't seen those before? Give me something new, man! :D
Quote from: merithyn on September 05, 2017, 05:29:55 PM
Come on now, Mal. I said that I was a fangirl. You think I haven't seen those before? Give me something new, man! :D
Heh, my dad has some old slides that haven't been shown publicly. I may upload some, as soon as I figure out how.
Quote from: Malthus on September 05, 2017, 02:34:44 PM
... or "Cabin", for you south of the border. ;)
Went up for a few days with my family plus my brother-in-law (wife's brother) and his kids. Had to leave a day early because of predicted high winds and thunderstorms - the place is on an island and it is very easy to get trapped there by bad weather.
Some pics:
- The cottage itself - built in the early 1950s by my grandfather:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FsA3LV1V.jpg&hash=f19548ccf65d1c39b68f56401ff651ec708ef3fc) (https://imgur.com/sA3LV1V)
Below is the original draft of this poem:
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2000/11/18
The poem is about the burning down of the original cabin on the site (hit by lightning).
It has lots of original poems by my aunt decorating the walls. Miraculously, so far, no-one has broken in and stolen them, though the place has been broken into a few times:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqswIvaT.jpg&hash=03a7c7eea529c1619ac45be17f19adb3fa7423f1) (https://imgur.com/qswIvaT)
My wife, on the dock:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaPahgwI.jpg&hash=1cf8f63807bc2222bc7e9a2b2ca9c6c6327f6a48) (https://imgur.com/aPahgwI)
The kids boating:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FFzYwZVn.jpg&hash=91cd05ba9ac6afd6a54e45443535c0e35c580d86) (https://imgur.com/FzYwZVn)
Typical landscape:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqByT92A.jpg&hash=720458e8ec8e811353afb7b525d5bc866658eb1c) (https://imgur.com/qByT92A)
Yip nice. I could live there no problem.
Quote from: Malthus on September 05, 2017, 05:13:42 PM
Just for you, some old photos ...
The three siblings at the cottage in the 1950s (the kerosene lamp on the table is still there - we use the same one).
http://margaretatwood.ca/photos-2/#jp-carousel-801
Same area, 1942, my grandfather and Peggy as a kid.
http://margaretatwood.ca/photos-2/#jp-carousel-804
Wow you can really tell those are Malthus' people.
So...do you have to dig a latrine also?
Shitter's full.
That looks beautiful. How long does it take you to get up there?
Any giant spiders around?
Quote from: Valmy on September 05, 2017, 06:44:06 PM
Wow you can really tell those are Malthus' people.
So...do you have to dig a latrine also?
Well, there is an outhouse. Basically a shed built over a hole in the ground.
Quote from: Grinning_Colossus on September 05, 2017, 08:25:27 PM
That looks beautiful. How long does it take you to get up there?
From Toronto, around six hours driving, then another forty minutes by motorboat. Makes it not really worth going for the weekend.
It's like a 10 hours drive for me. :lol:
(I wish you wouldn't use imgur so I could see the pictures at work)
Quote from: Tamas on September 06, 2017, 07:32:11 AM
Any giant spiders around?
Yup.
http://www.cottagetips.com/tips/facts-about-dock-spiders/
They grow to an unnervingly large size - around 4" for the largest specimens.
Fortunately, they are basically harmless. They can bite, but their bites aren't dangerous, and they are pretty timid.
Unfortunately, they are fast. They can scuttle like lightning.
It is fun watching them hunt for little fish - another unusual thing about them, is that they can swim, like little spider submarines.
Everyone has, at one time or another, had an unnerving experience with Dock Spider eggs, releasing thousands of spiderlings when disturbed:
http://www.cottagetips.com/2012/07/dock-spider-nest/
Ok, I am not visiting.
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 08:07:53 AM
Well, there is an outhouse. Basically a shed built over a hole in the ground.
So yes!
Awesome.
The pictures make it look like your family spent a lot of time in the 1940s on the island as well. What did they live in before they built the cabi...er...cottage?
So no running water? You have to boil lake water on the stove?
Oh how does Carl like these trips to the backwoods? I wonder what my kids would think being so in love with their electronics.
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 08:37:39 AM
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 08:07:53 AM
Well, there is an outhouse. Basically a shed built over a hole in the ground.
So yes!
Awesome.
The pictures make it look like your family spent a lot of time in the 1940s on the island as well. What did they live in before they built the cabi...er...cottage?
So no running water? You have to boil lake water on the stove?
My grandfather built two earlier ones - an insect station a bit further up the lake (still standing!) which he sold - his family lived there all year round while he was tending to his forestry duties; and a "small cabin" near the current site, which later was hit by lightning and burned to the ground (hence my aunt's poem, above).
Water we get from a pump at the bottom of the hill, then carry up to the cabin. This can be drunk without boiling.
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 08:49:55 AM
Oh how does Carl like these trips to the backwoods? I wonder what my kids would think being so in love with their electronics.
He loves it. A lot more than I do.
Reason: every time I go up, I worry about things going wrong. It is very easy to run into trouble up there of a mundane sort, particularly when boating. The motorboat engine fails to start, or conks out when halfway across the lake; trapped by thunderstorms; high winds could swamp you. Or someone gets injured. All can be avoided or dealt with but I do worry about these things - there is literally no-one around if things go wrong, you are on your own.
Plus, it is tons of work - splitting wood, carrying wood, hauling water, cooking, cleaning, packing, unpacking, filling gas tanks, putting the boat cover on, hauling canoes around, etc. You can be very comfortable up there but it requires a constant set of work. Plus keeping an eye on the kids while they run around like barbarians, jump into boats, etc.
We went up with Carl, my wife, my wife's brother, and his two kids - a boy Carl's age and a little girl around 9. The kids were great and had tons of fun, and were perfectly willing to do the work we set for them.
My wife's brother - well, he said he was there to relax; we both got more than a bit irritated, as he simply refused to do any of the work. My wife got very sarcastic with him on this account. She spent a lot of her time cooking and cleaning, while I spend a lot of time splitting firewood and hauling water; he wouldn't even help do the dishes. If forced to do something, he'd do it so slowly and badly that it was just easier to do it yourself.
I basically asked him up because I wanted Carl's cousins up, so he'd have kids to play with, and the cousins were wonderful. Carl and his male cousin stayed in a tent some distance from the cottage, and they had a great adventure.
Next time, just take the kids.
and you wife, 'course.
Quote from: Grey Fox on September 06, 2017, 09:39:30 AM
Next time, just take the kids.
and you wife, 'course.
Yup, even my wife agrees with this now.
She is usually willing to make all sorts of excuses for her brother's overall worthlessness, but I think this trip cured her - at least temporarily - of that. :lol:
I mean, he's not a horrible person, he's just very irritating and lazy. He was driving us both crazy, another week and he'd have been living in the woodshed.
He does no work. He snores, loudly, all night. He constantly hawks and spits, which is gross beyond words - claims some sort of lung ailment. He's always talking and joking around, with talk that is dumb and jokes that are not funny, when all we want is to look around at nature. He complained about everything.
In short, his presence was like fingernails on chalk the whole trip. I tried not to let it bug me, but it did, all the more so because my wife was fuming mad much of the time.
To give an example: we left a day early because forecasts called for thunderstorms. So we had to pack up the cabin. My wife and I were working like crazy to get everything ready - packing up stuff, cleaning, carrying down to the dock, putting the generator away, etc. He just - disappears. Turns out he went for a walk around the island, leaving us to do all the work.
When we get to the cars, it is pretty late. So he starts loudly complaining about how we left going so late. I was annoyed, and my wife nearly bit his head off - pointing out that we could have left a bit earlier, if he had helped pack up.
I propose a languish camp out :P
Quote from: HVC on September 06, 2017, 10:47:07 AM
I propose a languish camp out :P
Heh, I'd take Lanuishites up ... but if you won't work, or otherwise are annoying, you can swim home. :P
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 10:54:16 AM
Quote from: HVC on September 06, 2017, 10:47:07 AM
I propose a languish camp out :P
Heh, I'd take Lanuishites up ... but if you won't work, or otherwise are annoying, you can swim home. :P
There is a good horror movie theme here, slowly the population of a forum is depleted................where are they going? What is happening to them?
deal. my people have a long history of swimming to shore after adventuring mishaps :D
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 08:07:53 AM
Well, there is an outhouse. Basically a shed built over a hole in the ground.
I had to use an outhouse like that in the mosquito infested Danube delta.
It was very very unpleasant.
As an aside, kudos to Malthus for breathing some life into this place.
Tell me more about this place on the Danube Delta. Was it just an outhouse or did you have a few other buildings as well?
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 10:54:16 AM
Quote from: HVC on September 06, 2017, 10:47:07 AM
I propose a languish camp out :P
Heh, I'd take Lanuishites up ... but if you won't work, or otherwise are annoying, you can swim home. :P
Well, I'm out.
Quote from: Maladict on September 06, 2017, 11:45:53 AM
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 08:07:53 AM
Well, there is an outhouse. Basically a shed built over a hole in the ground.
I had to use an outhouse like that in the mosquito infested Danube delta.
It was very very unpleasant.
Bah.
The summer of 1997 I did field work with Manitoba Energy and Mines. We were parked on a small island in the middle of Island Lake, Manitoba by a float plane, many miles from the nearest road.
Our "out house" was a shallow pit dug between two trees. Two logs were nailed to the two standing trees and a toilet seat was precariously set on top of the two logs. We had a tarp so that you couldn't see someone taking a shit from the camp site, but it was otherwise open to the air. And needless to say there were mosquitos everywhere.
Damn that was a good summer. But you dreaded having to take a dump.
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 11:47:37 AM
Tell me more about this place on the Danube Delta. Was it just an outhouse or did you have a few other buildings as well?
It's the low building on the right in the picture.
The red building is a kitchen and living space, also full of mosquitoes. We slept in tents.
You only went into the outhouse when you really had to, but being bitten dozens of times all over (including the most sensitive of places) while taking dump is not fun.
(https://i.imgur.com/KXXZk02.jpg)
Quote from: Maladict on September 06, 2017, 11:45:53 AM
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 08:07:53 AM
Well, there is an outhouse. Basically a shed built over a hole in the ground.
I had to use an outhouse like that in the mosquito infested Danube delta.
It was very very unpleasant.
Heh, no-one likes using the outhouse. Doesn't help that it is a favorite Dock Spider hang out, there is always a few about.
I remember one time sitting on the toilet when I saw a large Dock Spider shedding its skin directly over my head: the old skin split open, and the spider (now somewhat larger) crawling out.
It was about halfway through this process when it noticed my scrutiny. It angrily rattled its skin at me. Or maybe it was just panicked and tried to shake off the old skin quickly.
Either way, more amusing in hindsight than at the time. :lol:
Quote from: Maladict on September 06, 2017, 11:56:54 AM
Quote from: Valmy on September 06, 2017, 11:47:37 AM
Tell me more about this place on the Danube Delta. Was it just an outhouse or did you have a few other buildings as well?
It's the low building on the right in the picture.
The red building is a kitchen and living space, also full of mosquitoes. We slept in tents.
You only went into the outhouse when you really had to, but being bitten dozens of times all over (including the most sensitive of places) while taking dump is not fun.
(https://i.imgur.com/KXXZk02.jpg)
What's the work going on? Looks like an archaeological dig.
Yes, it's a late Roman/early Byzantine fort called Halmyris.
Quote from: Maladict on September 06, 2017, 01:08:09 PM
Yes, it's a late Roman/early Byzantine fort called Halmyris.
So, digging up the stuff dropped by the Romans when they got their backsides bitten by mosquitos. :D
"Dammit, Lucius, I dropped another sestertius in the hole slapping at these damned bugs!"
Quote from: Malthus on September 06, 2017, 01:11:42 PM
So, digging up the stuff dropped by the Romans when they got their backsides bitten by mosquitos. :D
"Dammit, Lucius, I dropped another sestertius in the hole slapping at these damned bugs!"
Pretty much :)
Just shows how little we learn from history.