Cottage Life

s’more stuff

Life Below Zero: Canada We’re super excited to share our new series, a north-of-the-border take on the Emmy-Award-winning show. From long, dark winters to hot, bug-infested summers, watch these intrepid men and women battle predators and the elements. Coming to the Cottage Life channel in March, and meantime, enjoy the original on Tuesdays at 9 ET/PT. Go behind the scenes with us on Instagram Get a sneak peek at our photo shoots, the inside scoop on new issues of Cottage Life, and share your feedback and ideas—you might appear in the magazine! CALLING ALL NATURE LOVERS! If you enjoy getting outside at the cottage, love learning about wildlife, and care about the environment, you’re going to love The Great Outdoors, our new e-newsletter. It brings you nature profiles, amazing animal sightings, environment updates, outdoor…

cottage life

Editor-in-Chief Michelle Kelly Deputy Editor Liann Bobechko Managing Editor Jackie Davis Senior Editor Blair Eveleigh Associate Editor Alysha Vandertogt Editorial Assistant Marie Waine Art Director Bradley Reinhardt Associate Art Director Sandi Pilon Senior Designer Michelle Kenny Project Manager, Print Production Karen Evans Production Artist Kathleen O’Hare Editor, Cottage Life Digital Roxy Kirshenbaum Senior Videographer/Editor Adam Holman CEO, Cottage Life Media Al Zikovitz President, Canadian Media, Blue Ant Media Jamie Schouela Vice-President, Content, Cottage Life Michelle Kelly Director, Lifestyle & C0ntent Sales Rosemary Munroe Account Executive Mylène Tomkin Director, Consumer Marketing Travis Lunau Campaign Strategist, Consumer Marketing Jennifer Williams Consumer Marketing Coordinator Raynika Awotwi Retail Marketing Consultant Craig Sweetman Director of Marketing Aubray Boyd Marketing Manager Cynthia Mutheardy Vice-President, Digital Media Sue Haas Senior Director, Video Strategy Craig Junner Director, Consumer Shows Greg McLeod…

think warm thoughts

My three brothers and I had this game that we used to play as we drove away from the cottage after closing up each fall. We would systematically, using our most forlorn voices, take turns saying a specific farewell to each part of the cottage. Things we loved and lived on all summer: Goodbye, dock! Things that fascinated but scared us: Goodbye, snakes! And things that we used to fight over a million times a day that were completely insignificant to anyone but us: Goodbye, ABC towels! If only I knew then what I now feel in every bit of my bones: that this ritual was like a clock, slowly ticking by the innocent days of my childhood summers, as overdramatic as that may seem. We deeply lamented those goodbyes, and…

your letters

All the feels I was at the cottage reading the Oct. ’19 issue, and I couldn’t decide whether to cry or laugh…or maybe both! “A Box of Love” (Waterfront) reminded me of my dear stepdad who passed away 13 years ago. I used to love watching him putter in his garage at the cottage. Then my tears turned to laughter when I read “We Mocked the Signs.” Our cat stays home now since he has thrown up (or worse!) numerous times during transport. Thanks for the tears and laughter!—SUSAN WALKER, LONG LAKE, ONT. The great debate Who knew a question about poop would cause so much discussion? In “Call and Response” (Your Letters, Oct. ’19), Diane Marcou asked if the mystery “poop” could be seeds from maple keys. She’s right! We have a…

waterfront

Colour them protected Ontario’s Hydro One workers wear orange. Because it’s still the new black. Or maybe because it’s Hi Vis. Their outfits are also flame retardant. Flame retardant? “Well, we’re working around electricity,” says Bill Hackett, a front line manager and a 35-year veteran of the utility company. Workers climb up to 150 feet for hydro work and repairs. Power, out The most common cause of outages? Heavy, limb-breaking snow on trees, or ice buildup on equipment. If you lose your juice during good winter weather, it’s probably because a sick tree fell on the line. Hydro One monitors trees every three years, but, as all cottagers know, “even diseased trees can appear to be fine,” says Hydro One’s Tiziana Baccega Rosa. They like to climb it, climb it Poles, trees, tranmission towers. “Every day,…

they got game

About a year and a half ago, my daughter and I started talking about customizing a board game that would chronicle our family and our cottage on Beaver Lake, Ont. On the heels of my in-laws both (successfully!) going through cancer surgeries, we’d come to realize that we all needed the cottage—and the family time that goes with it—more than ever. Then we stumbled upon some Monopoly trivia. We read that the Policeman, who has been sending people to jail from his corner on the board since the game’s earliest versions, apparently has a name: Officer Edgar Mallory. Once we saw the Mallory name, we knew that we had to make our own version of the game. Out of maple and cherry, we created a six-sided, laser-engraved board with 48…