Watching my neighbours build their own cottages around the bay sometimes has me feeling that I missed out on something. Then I take on a project like building a deck, and I'm reminded of why I designed our cottage but left the construction to the pros. A deck is a modest project but still requires a fair bit of research and planning, not to mention the hard work. Greg and I put up this 12 X 14 deck off the back of the screened porch. It's a great spot to relax and enjoy the surrounding forest. See below for images before, during and after construction...
Greg calculated that the actual time working was just ten hours, but we spread it over a few days.
Captain Morgan was the supplier for the celebratory toast when we were done.
Happy Birthday Barb! Here she is trying out her new hammock on her new deck!!
Until this year, we have been proudly human powering all of our watercraft. Two canoes and two kayaks offer a peaceful and environmentally friendly way to navigate the many bays of the lake. However, sometimes it would be nice to have some motor power to take us quickly to one of the beaches, to offer guests a quick tour and especially when heading out to do some fishing. This spring, with the assistance of Kijiji, we found a 1980 aluminum boat and 7.5 HP motor. To our delight, not only are there no leaks in the boat, but the Evinrude motor started on the first try and has been running smoothly. And just last week, again with help from Kijiji, we bought a pedal boat. It'\s a very sturdy model and offers another option for casual touring or just floating around the bay with a book and taking in some sun.
Neighbour Neil (yes, one of four on the lake) was very generous in helping us by picking up the boat in Kemptville and towing it to the lake for us.
To get the pedal boat to the lake from where we bought it in Carleton Place, Emad kindly lent us his truck with a hitch and we rented a trailer for the evening. Below, Barb and Laura take it for it's first spin.
