Unlike my usual "it's not raining here", I am happy to report that it rained big time the last 24 hours. Why so happy? Because the mushrooms will bloom again. Excellent weather for such in the next few days.
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I saw today that the leaves are past peak colour. They are starting to fall, and so the landscape is starting to show the grey of bare branches. Early this year, by at least a week.
It no longer exists.
Anyone who was avoiding the area because it was too loud here that weekend in the middle of August can come back. WEMF has been sold to a bigger outfit, who is focusing on events in large population centres, aka cities. No more party all night, but as a cog in the DJ concert presentation industry, my client says it "suits all the girls who want to walk on stilettos with their tits out to there"...so it suits the scene. Concert over at 11 pm. If they had done that here, it would have been a fine event. Those of us who were not there could have had sleep and skipped the nervous breakdown after hours of thump, thump, thump. Or as I stated at the time, it is contrary to the Geneva Convention to refuse a prisoner sleep; that is a form of torture. All gone now. I just discovered that Google has made the town of Madawaska disappear. In doing a Google map search, one is directed to the Township of Greater Madawaska, which is 100 km east of here.
Ain't technology grand? The harder I work to make my place visible to the world, the more the powers that be bury my efforts. It has been noted previously that one of the GPS systems takes people to a dead end dirt road near Maple Leaf, which is also a long ways away. Please, follow my instructions to get here! Got my work cut out for today... Overnight there was a huge boost in the colour level of the trees in this area. I just went for a wee drive, to see what's going on in the bigger world. I estimate 20% colour level, that up from 10% a couple of days ago, the last time I was on the highway.
The sun is shining here. On the highway, I had to use windshield wipers. So, as happens so often, it's not raining here, but it is within 1 km. It's garbage day.
There are moose tracks beside the garbage cans. Fresh ones. Now it seems I can look out the office window, and likely see a moose at sunrise. BIG moose tracks. It's probably the same big boy that traipsed through the upper campground on a regular basis this past spring. Wasaga correspondent reports says rain is heavy on that side of the Park. It did sprinkle, not enough to water the fuschia.
Just posted to my campground page is an update on autumn rates. $30/night including tax for 2 adults and their children under the age of 18. Add $5 for any of the hydro sites. If you are hauling a rig, and it has electric heat, add $10.
Call for reservations. There are a couple of identified culprits, that is trees that are in shed mode. So stunned by the big cherry tree across from Joe's site, but indeed, it had no cherries this season. All of the other cherries bloomed and bore large, also the chokecherries, too bad I am not set up to make wine because it is one of the best fruits next to grape for wine, and the pickings are easy this year.
Yellows are falling, the willow, poplar, and cherry. So far the birch are still behaving. It's obvious that the leaves are starting to change. It's not that they are turned, but I have been able to see the underlying orange of the maples for most of 2 weeks already.
I don't recall seeing leaf change this way in previous years. As usual, there are some early, stressed changers. There is a flash of red and orange here and there, some yellows with downed leaves (poplar, willow). This part is typical for mid August. What I find unusual is being able to see the underlying colour while the trees are still green. Maybe it's just me? Anyone thinking of colours jaunts to the countryside this autumn should consider booking now. The bookings for September and October are way up from last year. I keep forgetting to mention, the berry thing is huge right now. The size of the blueberries improved after the rain last Thursday. Blackberries are extremely plentiful as have been the blueberries and Sugar Plum/June Plum/Saskatoon. Raspberries are understated. Strawberries are over. Pin cherry and choke cherry are abundant. Any wine makers out there? Chokecherry makes a fabulous dry wine.
It's that time of year again. The best meteor shower of the bunch is coming to a peak in the next couple of nights. With up to 100 meteors an hour, the Perseids, originating from the Swift-Tuttle comet, will be at their peak in the predawn hours of Monday August 12 and Tuesday August 13. Even though the constellation Perseus is in the northeast, the display is a full sky kind of thing. Lie down on a picnic table at your favourite dark resort, along with a blankie, and look up at the dome of the sky. Oohs and aahs allowed.
Anyone who enjoys thunderstorms, this has been THE place for the last 2 days, and there is more to come. Fabulous light show last night, ending in a crash of rain. Lots of fair weather between the storms.
Fishing has been good during this series of meteorological events. Nature makes people smarter.
http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/thinkaboutit_20130730_23221.mp3 With all the legislation and regulation in this (tourism) industry, how about some legislation to make people spend time in nature? For the good of all. After one, or was it two? oops, 11 day of local gasoline, there are signs back up on the pumps. No gas.
Remember to gas up on the way into Madawaska. Bancroft has best deal, the CanTire keeps the Esso hopping. There is gasoline available again in the hamlet of Madawaska. It can be found at Algonquin Bound Outfitters, on the north west corner of Highway 60 and Highway 523.
I try really, really hard to make my place easy to find. GPS is not helping...I have provided the coordinates measured in front of my front door. That should suffice. However, over the weekend 2 campers were taken for a tour in another county. Apparently there are 2 GPS systems, and they do not agree.
Please map your drive instead of relying on GPS. I cannot close the gap of faulty technology. Ah, for the old days, when a simple sentence got everyone to the door. My place is still located 2 km south of Highway 60 on Highway 523. I don't expect that to change in the near future... Those who follow GPS may take more than double the time to arrive as it should take, and may find themselves the recipients of my "Hansel and Gretel Award" for the vacationer who took the longest drive to get here, by following GPS. Mushrooms! I just set out to cut the grass in the east field, and found 3 big redheads! I'm going for a walk first.
The black flies are GONE! I've been outside cutting grass all day, and not a bite have I.
There was aurora last night, but we could not see them here due to the dark (cloudy) skies. This summer is likely to be a great time to see aurora, as we are at the height of the solar cycle. Last peak was 1991, and it was typical to see aurora 4 nights out of 7.
They're back.
WEMF August 12/13 long weekend, on the top of 2 mile hill at the Bush farm. That means we will be able to see the light show at night and likely hear them most of the time too. SO... that means expecting to have the regular peace and quiet of this sylvan paradise disrupted. Maybe it's a good weekend to have a russian dance party? WEMF was last in town July 13/14 2008, and we had no idea what to expect. Now we know. The bookings have begun for those attending the festival. Wow, things are just rolling along! The entire world is coming to Madawaska! After years of operating Red Deer, and trying to generate alliances, they are coming to me! We have a digital photography workshop by Digital Wilderness the weekend of July 8/9. Please contact them directly if you are interested in the workshop, I am just doing the accommodation part, and the workshop setting. Accommodation fees are per usual.
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February 2018
AuthorSince 1989, I have been known to many as The Red Dear. Most of the rest of humankind calls me Sandra. Categories
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