Cottage Life

Being at the cottage means seeing wildlife that we don't have at home.  Sometimes, it's freaky.

I saw a mass in the Sweetgale by the lake, and thought something was making a nest, though it seemed awfully exposed.  When I leaned in to take the picture, I was unpleasantly surprised to find a Water Snake coiled in the shrub, about two feet off the ground.

I know snakes climb, but I had never seen one so comfortably esconced as this.

Sorry, but this is just creepy.

I don't kill Water Snakes (or any snakes, for that matter, as we don't have any poisonous ones around), but many of my cottage neighbours do. Water snakes have a (quite justified) reputation for being aggressive, and they will bite. You don't want to get bitten by a snake, poisonous or not. They get a wide berth from me, and I don't encourage them to stay around; there are lots of other places on the lake for them to go thatARE AWAY FROM ME!

 

We have a number of active and semi-tame rabbits living on our property and the neighbours'. They love to eat all my flowers, I'm sad to say, but that's wildlife. I'd love to have a little vegetable garden at the lake, just for fun, but it would be overrun by rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and voles. And probably mice. And definitely raccoons.

Jasper isn't sure what to make of this guy.

With Iain getting close to retirement, mostly working from home, and having Starlink (finally!) delivered, we were able to move to the lake in June. This has been my dream, for years: summers at the lake, like when I was a kid. Except I don't have the energy I used to.

The canvas roof for the gazebo tore when we were taking it down last fall, so we decided to not buy another replacement. Unlike the original product, the replacement roofs didn't fit as well, and didn't stand up as well. So, after 14 years, we disassembled the gazebo.

I can't stand to throw things away, so I was tickled pink that Iain was able to use it for a wood crib!  Once covered with a huge tarp (really TOO huge, we overdid it when we were estimating the needed size), it gave the wood from our much-lamented maple a good drying space.

Did I mention the Starlink finally arrived?  It was an easy install and, say what you will about Elon Musk, the product has performed as advertised.  Really a god-send for us.

We protected it well, in case any of our cottage pals decided the wires looked tasty.

 

Free TV

Pursuant to the next-to-last post:  the only thing we were missing, after putting the satellite feed on hiatus, was live sports.  Iain and I enjoy hockey, in particular, and were missing our Hockey Night In Canada fix.

I did some research on antennas, because I had heard something - somewhere - about over-the-air broadcasts.  When we started with Bell Expressvu, we purchased our PVR, and it has an input for OTA.  Some posts I read cast doubt on whether we could use it that way, but we decided to invest $30 (on sale) for a set of rabbit ears with a gain boost.  Iain actually understands this stuff; I just sort of wing it.  At any rate, he was willing to spend that much to give it a try.  It turned out to be money well spent.  Have a look at the picture above.  This is a shot of our television screen, when Five For Fighting was performing.  Not bad for rabbit ears, huh??!  This is the broadcast out of Ottawa; if we lived in Ottawa, we could pick up a lot more HD channels.  The only other one available here right now is SUN tv.  They show some movies...so we might turn it on occasionally.

My next mission is to write a letter to the CRTC, complaining about the CBC plan to shut down their repeater tower at Foymount.  I want digital OTA at the cottage, too!  And am not prepared to invest in a dish for a place where it will get so little use:  I want my free tv.  The thing about it is, I am already paying taxes to support the CBC, aren't I?  So I have, at least, the right to complain...right?

By the way, our opinion (I am speaking for Iain here, too), is that Five For Fighting is the best band name ever.

Wingscape Birdcam!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I was using pictures taken with a wildlife camera.  It's a Wingscapes model that was a gift from Iain's mom a couple of Christmases ago.  The usual use is for getting shots of birds visiting the feeders, but we have used it for other spots as well, most notably as a time-lapse of a few of our camping trips.  The camera is only usable in daylight hours, which is a minor drawback, but we have enjoyed it a lot.

Our camera quit working this August; I thought it was case of depleted batteries, but new ones made no difference, and when I ran a test the display showed an error message.  So I decided to contact the manufacturers, an American company, by email.  I hoped they would tell me where to take the camera to be repaired, if it could indeed BE repaired.  I went to their website, http://www.wingscapes.com/ , and wrote them a short "help!" letter.

I received a nice email back from Kim Creel, their customer service manager, and she explained that the error code meant there was a software problem, and the unit would have to be replaced.  She asked for my model and serial number, so they could send me a replacement.

Now, when I sent the info off to her, I thought I'd get an email back saying "Okay, now send money".  But I didn't.  They just found one like it at their factory, tested it to be sure it worked, and sent it off to me.  Gratis.  I had the replacement camera (which they sent with new documention, bungee cords, cables, and remote control, even though I already had these things) delivered by courier to my home in less than 2 weeks!

And because I'm in Canada and sending the camera back across the border would be kind of a hassle, they said "nah, never mind returning it; enjoy your new camera".  Absolutely outstanding customer service!

So if you ever plan to buy one of these cameras, don't pass on the Wingscapes because they are a little more expensive.  They're worth it.

A picture of Onyx enjoying the window seat... 

 ...and a picture of Snaps, enjoying the same spot!

Grrr..Telus is making me very angry.

For my birthday, Iain bought me a lovely new phone from Telus, an LG Keybo. It's really nice, and I thought I'd be very happy with it, but I'm starting to wish I'd stuck with Bell.

I'd heard good things about Telus, and thought I'd give them a chance. Plus I like the ads: brightly coloured reptiles and meerkats bring a smile to my face.

When purchasing the phone, one of the questions I asked specifically was "Can I use Windows Messenger?" The answer was yes. They lied. Or, at least, they exaggerated.

After trying to download the damn program about 10 times (yeah, I know the definition of insanity) I finally gave up and called Customer Service. After getting dropped once and going the round of the automated system about three times, I finally got someone who knew the answer. The answer was kind of like this:

"Oh, well, the Keybo, they don’t have messenger for it just yet, it was supposed to be ready by end of August, but it isn’t out yet....I can’t give you a date, unfortunately."

And the email (which also refused to download)?

"Yes, unfortunately it is also not available yet."

And Telus Navigator, which is supposed to be available for short periods, or for a modest extra monthly fee?

"Actually, that isn’t available for the Pay and Talk."

But your website says it is.

"Unfortunately, it is not available."

So, it seems I own a phone which is supposed to have a number of very desirable features - but it doesn’t really have any of them.

So now I have to cool off and try to decide whether to go back and demand a refund, or just be patient. But I’m not happy.

Labour Day weekend always seems to end up being very, very busy. Why is that? Well, partly because it's Kyle's birthday on Friday, my birthday on Sunday, and my mom's birthday on the 3rd (and due to the busy schedule everyone has with the Renfrew fair, we had cake and prezzies for her this evening), and much celebrating must be done all round.

I'm happy to report that Iain spoiled me on the whole weekend, starting out with a raspberry mousse cake, suitably decorated for the occasion, on Friday night. Saturday we attended a couple of auction sales, at one of which I purchased a very decrepit (but usefully large) cocktail shaker. Saturday night we had the best prime rib roast ever, barbecued by Iain using the Weber and with the assistance of an interesting bit of technology supplied by Carl.

On Sunday we came home from the cottage, dropping Mom off and heading into Ottawa to see Kyle and Sheila. First however, a little shopping! Iain gifted me this little item, and I am still getting used to how to use it. Lots of bells and whistles to explore.

Sheila treated us to a great dinner and we hung out for the evening, heading back to Renfrew this morning. Today was rest and relaxation!

Home town eccentrics

Do you remember Hawkeye in M*A*S*H reading aloud from his hometown paper, and the items were quaintly humourous, or perhaps small-town weird? I was reminded of that today when I read the local Mercury. Renfrew is home to some interesting people.
One item was a 4x6 ad announcing the upcoming federal candidacy of a man who believes he is on a mission from God (and no, his name wasn't Jake or Elwood). I've been told he was involved in the last election as well, but didn't win, so I guess he's trying again. His campaign slogan is "I Am The Way", and this campaign is to fulfil a promise he made to God as a child. He's giving a speech later this month, and tickets are available at a local convenience store. I'm tempted to go, just out of curiosity - but I won't.
The other thing that caught my eye was an article about an erstwhile chef (and he really did make the most awesome carrot soup) who believes he has invented a perpetual motion machine he calls a Perepiteia. He doesn't actually live in Renfrew anymore, but has ties to the area, so they interviewed him for the local paper. He was also interviewed by The Toronto Star, and you can read it here. Personally, I can't follow any of the mechanics or science involved, and trying to watch the video made me very sleepy after two minutes.
But they are interesting people, for certain.

A Very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! The last week I have been neglecting my blogging, due to the usual last-minute wrapping/baking/shopping binge, as well as party & visiting time. Saturday and Sunday we had early Xmas with Iain's family in Ottawa, returning on Christmas Eve so we could have a quiet evening at home after the candlight church service. Had a wonderful time in Ottawa, by the way - it's so great to see everyone, we do it too seldom.

Today we head off to Dodie & Myles' place for dinner and prezzies. We spent the morning opening our gifts to each other. Can't believe what Iain got for me - a turntable that hooks directly to the computer so I can upload all my vinyl (which we have to retrieve from the cottage, first, but that's a minor issue). I'm so excited to use it, as I have this vast collection of 70's progressive rock that no one else wants to listen to, so it is never on the radio, but that I still enjoy (I really am Living In The Past).

Have to post this pic of the lovely gift my friend Wanda (a.k.a. Martha) gave to us. When the gin is gone and all that is left is a beautiful blue bottle, it seems a shame to not use it somehow, doesn't it? Voila, a pretty dish soap dispenser!