Recently, we closed up the first full season at our new cottage on Rice Lake. It was a wonderful season, and we spent as much time as possible (much to the annoyance of our cats) at the cottage. I've posted many separate projects of my photographic journey, but I thought it would be fun to pull together a "best of" collection from all three seasons. The cottage season essentially encompasses 3 of the 4 seasons in Ontario - spring to autumn. Even with editing (not easy) this project is still fairly lengthy. I do hope you enjoy it though, and my thoughts that accompany each season.
Other than breaking the images into the main seasons, I did not sort them in chronological order.
Fall 2014
A parting glimpse of the resort from last fall, shot with my iPhone. The cottage was only put in place in late October of 2014, right around the time the resort normally winterizes the units. But we managed one weekend up there and made several day trips through to the end of November just bringing stuff up in preparation for the 2015 season.
Spring 2015
The spring of 2015 was very exciting; it was the start of our first cottage season! I made many images around the property, but also made short photo excursions along nearby side roads to really capture the spring feeling. This was a habit I got into for the summer and autumn as well.
The beach quickly became my favorite spot at sunrise. It meant waking up very early, but each time I made the effort, I was rewarded with something, well, magical.
Sunset, conversely, did NOT happen over the lake, but if I planned things well enough (meaning, I wasn't tending to the BBQ), I could battle mosquitoes at a nearby farm field, to capture images that were equally special.
Summer 2015
Ahhh, summer. The peak time for cottagers to escape the city and enjoy fresh air, relax, have a glass of wine . . . then another glass...
I was blessed overall with a "picture-perfect" summer at the Fortress of Moderate Solitude. My camera and I certainly made the most of it, day or night, whenever I was able to get away. In all, I think I missed two weekends through the entire summer and both of those were work-related.
While this may not look very special, in truth it's shot near midnight on the evening of the blue moon. I don't take many "selfies" but I thought this one was worth adding to the collection.
Fall 2015
In truth, autumn is my favorite time of year. The change in colors, the cooler nights, the lack of bugs, and the harvest that literally surrounded us in rural east-central Ontario where the cottage is located, all add to the special character that is fall in Eastern Canada. Yet this beauty is coupled with a sense of sadness, knowing that the cottage season is coming to and end.
