If A Tree Falls In The Forest...

Oh, we heard it alright!

We were sitting out on the deck with the kids when we heard it start. A crash, splintering wood, more crashes... "It hit the boathouse!" yelled David and let out a whoop. "Let's go see!"

I couldn't understand why David and Jenn seemed so thrilled but I followed them down the hill to the lake.

The tree, an ancient silver birch, had fallen and just nicked the roof of the decrepit old boathouse. "One foot to the right would have done it" said Dave. Apparently there is some issue with building new structures at the edge of the lake. You can't get a building permit to completely replace a structure unless the old one has fallen down... I don't understand this, but it has something to do with preserving the shoreline. If the old boathouse had been destroyed, insurance would have kicked in some money and a new boathouse could be built in the footprint of the old one.

We are in Parry Sound, Ontario, at the kid's cottage on Virtue Lake. They have a large double lot, and the neighbours are all well out of sight behind the trees and around the curve of the lake. It's completely private and quiet here. Since I'm standing beside the water, I'll show you a couple of shots of the dock and the lake. I'm in full cartoon mode today - I like it for story telling. Perhaps I'll slip in one real photo today. Let's see if anyone notices.

Looking up the hill to the cottage.

We arrived here three nights ago, and last evening the kids had to make the three-hour drive down to Toronto in order to show up for work today.

David has been rebuilding the old cottage, starting with a complete new foundation. The entire underside of the cottage had been dug out to replace beams and footings. The structure now rests on a dozen cement pillars which connect into solid bedrock. To my untrained eye, the whole thing looks like a house of cards.

"Don't worry" says David. "The cottage has never been less likely to slide downhill into the lake."

"So, when we were here two years ago..."

"Don't ask" replies David.

I'm so impressed with my son for creating the blueprints, getting engineering approvals and permits... running heavy equipment to do the excavation... somehow not knocking down the cottage while doing the job. These are all things which I could never in a million years do myself. David has a year left on the permits to get it all done. Every spare moment goes into the work.

If you're reading this post, it means we are in town, and connected to some coffee shop wifi while waiting for clothes to dry at the laundramat. eSteem Surfer lets me create a draft post while offline, but it seems I need to be online to attach the photos. I've got 'em all picked out for ya. :)

We had such a wonderful time with our son David and his wife Jenn - and their two Australian Shepards. We will stay on a couple days longer, resting up and recuperating before moving on to our next stop.

Nine-year-old Rubby is still the world champion tennis ball retriever!

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Coming soon:
We inch closer to Toronto, visiting friends and family along the way.
Next stop - Wasaga Beach, the worlds longest white sand, fresh water beach.... complete with warm water for swimming thanks to the shallow depths of Georgian Bay, Ontario.