October 3, 2005
Hello from the Kawarthas -
Early Fall Colours, Scarecrows
& Frogmen
Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons in Ontario when forests
light up in hues of yellow, orange and red. It's the perfect time
for drives in the countryside, to visit small villages, check out
farmer's markets, attend country fairs. We've had a long hot summer
this year, even as I write this we are expecting temperatures 10
degrees Celsius above average. As a result the fall colour season
is a little delayed, but that did not change the fact that it was
time for a country driving tour.
During the Servas conference
in Vancouver I made a great connection, I met a fellow Ontarian,
a lady in her 50s by the name of Julie who lives north of Peterborough
in Ontario's Lake Country. And as is the Servas tradition, she generously
offered her hospitality and invited me to come up and visit her
on Buckhorn Lake. I left on Saturday at around 4 pm and although
I got lost a couple of times, barely two hours later I arrived at
her beautiful house on Buckhorn Lake.
Tranquility on Buckhorn Lake
We spent a fabulous evening chatting and cooking a meal together
that was so delicious that I packed in two big servings. We talked
about many topics and touched on the transitions of life, who we
really are when you strip away job titles, material possessions,
our affiliations with our marriage partners - what is really left
at the end of the day. It was a really interesting discussion, I
always enjoy conversing with people who have more life experience
than I do.
Not surprisingly, Julie is a very interesting individual, she is
a "diversity expert" and teaches organizations how to
deal effectively with a multi-cultural workforce. She also participates
in a variety of volunteer organizations (including Servas),
plays tennis and volleyball, goes for long hikes, canoes, plays
the piano, sings in a choir, to name just a few of her activities.
I asked her if she ever gets lonely in the tranquility of Lake Country,
after having lived most of her life in the metropolitan hub of Toronto.
The answer was a definitive no, and once I heard of all her activities
I realized that with such an active social calendar it would be
very difficult to feel lonely or get bored.
What's always great about a personal visit is connecting with a
local expert, who really knows the area. Julie took me on a little
driving tour of her neck of the woods (literally) and showed me
some of her favourite spots, which include Fothergill Island, the
Gannon Narrows Conservation Area and the country drive to the village
of Buckhorn.
|
|
Early fall colours in the Kawarthas |
Turquoise Sandy Lake |
The Kawartha area is full of lakes, many of which are connected
and form part of the Trent-Severn
Waterway System that connects Lake Ontario with Georgian Bay,
part of Lake Huron, over a distance of 387 km through a serious
of lift locks. The Kawarthas are one of the three main popular getaway
areas for Ontarians which include Muskoka, the Haliburton Highlands,
and the Kawarthas. During our drive Julie pointed out one of the
landlocked lakes that is not connected to the lock system, Sandy
Lake, which has a bottom of sand and clay, resulting in an often
turqouise appearance, somewhat reminiscent of famous Lake Louise
in Western Canada. Sandy Lake is a very popular spot for vacation
homes and the entire Kawartha area boasts thousands of cottages,
camps and resorts, from simple house-keeping cottages to luxury
resorts and conference centres.
|
|
|
Cycling scarecrow |
Breakfast in bed |
Scarecrow wedding |
Of course fall is harvest time as well, Halloween is approaching
too, and one of the big autumn pastimes in cottage country seems
to be the creation of all forms of scarecrows. They were all over
the place, in front of private homes, bed & breakfasts, schools,
community centres, churches, even on bridges, and I started snapping
away with my camera to document this rural creativity. My favourite
scarecrow encounters included a wedding scene, "breakfast in
bed" in front of a B&B, and some "scarecrow hoodlums"
climbing the fence of a baseball diamond.
|
|
Scarecrow farmer |
Scarecrow baseball hoodlums |
After saying goodbye to Julie and thanking her for her great hospitality,
I decided to do a little loop around Buckhorn Lake and I checked
out the village of Burleigh Falls. I got out of the car and walked
down on the flat rocks beside the river which descends in cascades
into Stoney Lake. Burleigh Falls is a cute little hamlet located
at the confluence of Lovesick Lake and Stoney Lake, and has a few
restaurants and a variety of other accommodations.
One thing I did not realize is that Stoney Lake is a local scuba
diving spot. As I walked past the cascades and arrived at a little
clearing, I saw a scuba diver in full gear coming out of the water.
He explained to me that there were problably about 20 or so divers
in the lake, and that they explore the rocky lake bottom which apparently
also includes a deep trench.
|
|
Burleigh Falls |
Frogman exiting the waters |
From Burleigh Falls I continued my path south and stopped at Youngs
Point, which houses one of the locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway
System. This little town marks the start of the Canadian Shield
and was settled in 1825. The original lock here was built in the
early 1870's. I stopped at the Lockside Trading Company, which offers
cottage country apparel, home furnishings, a variety of souvenirs
and home decorating items, as well as some of the famous Kawartha
Dairy icecream, which of course I had to taste.
Youngs Point was my last stop on my way home, although I drove
through a series of cute villages including Lakefield, Bridgenorth
and Port Perry. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive through the rolling
hills of this agricultural land northeast of Toronto. The feeling
was apparently shared by a myriad of other travellers, some pulling
boats on trailers, others riding on their motorcycles. All in all,
it was a perfect early fall day and an ideal occasion to check out
Toronto's backcountry.
Useful Links:
Buckhorn
Area Tourism Association
Peterborough
and the Kawarthas Tourism
Kawartha
Lakes
Trent-Severn
Waterway
Related Articles:
A driving tour through the
Kawarthas with my brother and the European gang
A fall driving tour west of Toronto through Caledon,
Elora and Guelph
A driving tour through Niagara Wine
Country
Exploring Lake Ontario's Waterfront
Trail
My recent travel stories from Toronto,
hosting my European visitors
My recent travel stories from Victoria
and Vancouver
|