Archive for the ‘our summer place’ Category
time at our cabin
Although we have had our cabin at the lake for almost ten years, we have spent a long time getting it livable and comfortable.
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This spring, we finally had the cabin insulated and gyprocked. With the interior done, it seems much more comfortable.
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The time we spend at the cabin is very enjoyable. Mostly we walk around, watch the birds and work on clearing the trails. In the cabin I work at my writing and my husband and I whittle away at a book we read aloud.
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The book we are reading now is ‘Vineyard Chill’ by Philip R. Craig, part of his mystery/detective series — a Martha’s Vineyard Mystery. We read this author because his main character, J. W. Jackson, is so believable. My husband likes the detail about island life — digging clams, rod fishing and boating. I like the way Philip Craig repeats small snippets of J.W.’s experience in every book. I have read this series for years and feel like I know Martha’s Vineyard, although we have never been there. Each story has its own charm and moments of drama. To get started at this great set of mysteries, have a look here.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
planting trees at our cabin
Last weekend, we planted about 30 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings at our cabin property. There are lots of trees there already, but we are thinking ahead.
We bought our seedlings at the Irving Tree Nursery in Sussex, $.50 each. We planted them with the help of a metal dibble stick made especially for planting young trees.
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Here is a photo of our cabin, taken from far away, on the other side of the lake in early spring. Lots of tree there already, you say? You can never have too many trees!
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We still have more trees to plant, including some Red Pine and Eastern White Cedar. Great time spent outside where the black flies are never very bad!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
something orange
I love the colour orange. It must be so – it is one of the most used ‘tag’ words in my blog postings.
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This is a rather whimsical ‘side-view’ watercolour of an orange mushroom I saw recently in our cottage woods. I published the ‘top-view’ in an earlier post.
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November 22, 2015 ‘side-view of an orange mushroom’ Jane Tims
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November 5, 2015 ‘woodland floor’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2105 Jane Tims
colour on the woodland floor
Today, we went for a walk along the trails at our camp. My favorite path runs along the boundary, next to our zig-zag cedar fence and among young white pine, grey birch, red maple and balsam fir.
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The weather has been very damp, so I expected to find fungi along the way. But I was surprised to see a beautiful patch of bright orange toadstools, each with a distinct orange-red center. They stood out among the red-brown leaves and green mosses.
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I am not good at the identification of fungi, but I think this is Caesar’s mushroom (Amanita caesarea). It is easily confused with the poisonous Amanita muscaria, so no one should use my painting as an identification guide. Just a celebration of orange and red on a fall day.
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November 5, 2015 ‘woodland floor’ Jane Tims
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Copyright Jane Tims 2015
summer spaces
Occasionally in these posts, I talk about our cabin. When I was a child, weekends were always spent at the cottage. It was a special place, partly because my Dad involved me in its creation. I still remember how proud I was to fill one of the foundation boxes with stones. It was a place where we could play in the woods and dabble in a brook. So it is no surprise that as an adult, having a cabin get-away has always been a priority.
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a view of the lake at our cabin property
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Our cabin today is built on a hill overlooking a lake. Originally, the property was a field overflowing with blueberry bushes.
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our lake property in 2005
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Today, it is a young woods, mostly of mountain birch and red maple. We keep the paths mowed with a bush hog pulled behind our ATV. The treed lane I once hoped for is now a reality. I still have a few patches of blueberries and lots of blackberry bushes.
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one of our many paths through the birch and maple wood
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Originally, we intended to build a much bigger cottage – we even chose the plans. But through the years the shed we built as a sort of garage has become our cabin. It is small, only 19 feet long by 15 feet wide. But it is big enough for my husband and I.
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building the cabin in 2010
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Earlier this summer, we hired a local company to finish the outside of the cabin. We still have work to do inside, but having the exterior finished takes us a long way towards the time when our cabin will be a home away from home.
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our cabin, all the windows in and siding complete, 2014
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We spent yesterday at the cabin. We did some work on our entry gate, sat in the cabin and talked, and watched the dragonflies and blue jays. Usually we also read, aloud, a couple of chapters of a book and have a picnic lunch. Life is fun!
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Do you have a cabin or a place to ‘get-away’?
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Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
the colour of November #1 (Winterberry red)
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Last week, we went out to our cabin to do some reading and cutting of the ever-growing vegetation. In spite of the mower and the thinning saw and regular prunings, the field seems to grow vegetation behind your back. When you turn around, an alder or a birch tree has filled in a patch you thought was only grass.
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As we planned a new path across the field, we considered each sapling before we cut. To our surprise, we found another bush of Winterberry Holly (Canada Holly, Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray). Many grow down by the lake, but up in the field by our cabin, we know only of one other.
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This time of year their leaves are bronzed and brown and their berries are orange-red. The berries will persist on the leafless branches all through the winter.
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The berries of the Winterberry Holly are so much fun to paint. I started with a layer of red, added orange and then layers of white, yellow and red in turn. I finished with a dot of black and a dot of white on the majority of the berries.
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October 27, 2013 ‘Winterberry red’ Jane Tims
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Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
Paper Birch
In the last five months, I have been learning how to paint with watercolors. I’ve painted with acrylics for some time, and I love to draw with pencil, but watercolors always seemed daunting to me.
If you are a follower of my Blog, you will know my early attempts at watercolor have been of views from my virtual cycling trip in central France and on the Ile de Ré. I have also done some studies of New Brunswick wildflowers.
Among the subjects I found fun to paint on Ile de Ré were the vine-covered trees that grow along the road.
This week, on a trip to see our camp, I studied some of the characteristics of Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), a tree growing everywhere on our property by the lake …
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Some of these trees are actually Mountain Birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh. var. cordifolia (Reg.) Reg.), a variety of the Paper Birch. This variety is quite common in eastern Canada. Its distinguishing characteristic is the heart-shape of its leaves, especially at the base of the leaf.
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The bark of the Paper Birch and Mountain Birch is predominantly white, although parts of the tree can be yellowish or quite black. Its bark strips readily from the tree, in sheets, leaving a reddish-orange inner bark which turns black with age …
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To paint the birch, I used Painter’s Tape to mask the trunks of the trees. Then I painted the background. Once the background was dry, I stripped the Painter’s Tape away and added the bark details in the white space left behind. Here are three paintings of Mountain Birch …
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June 21, 2013 ‘Mountain Birch’ Jane Tims
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June 22, 2013 ‘Mountain Birch #2’ Jane Tims
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June 23, 2013 ‘Mountain Birch #3’ Jane Tims
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
