Cottage Life
June/July 2021The go-to source for cottagers, the award-winning Cottage Life offers valuable advice as well as profiles, how-to articles, recipes, essays, issues pieces, and lifestyle stories that help readers look after their cottages, entertain guests and, of course, kick back and have fun.
in this issue
s’more stuff
Returning TV shows Watch new seasons of What on Earth (June 7, 10 p.m. ET/PT) and Restoration Australia (June 24, 10 p.m. ET/PT) on Cottage Life! Find your channel at tv.cottagelife.com. The Cottage Life Podcast, season two New episodes of our podcast are coming! Expect the same great cottage news and views, plus some special guests. Catch up on season one while you wait, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Mission: Tossible One plan, three wooden throwing games, hours of fun. See this project and many others at cottagelife.com/projectplans to get yourself ready for outdoor hangouts. Follow us on: Subscribe to our enewsletters It’s the best way to stay in touch with CL between issues—straight to your inbox every week, for free! For more information and to sign up, visit cottagelife.com/newsletters.…
contributors
Tawfik Shehata “Basically, my life is all about food,” says Tawfik Shehata, who contributed recipes and words for “Stoked for Dinner” (p. 84). Tawfik is the executive chef at the International Centre in Toronto and a media spokesperson for Foodland Ontario. He also teaches culinary classes at George Brown and Humber colleges, and he recently launched Julia’s Child, a virtual family food school that is an ode to his mother, Julia, and the bond they formed in the kitchen. “Families don’t cook to impress, they cook out of love and the desire to nourish people,” says Tawfik. “Start with recipes you like and find easy, and build on that knowledge.” Tawfik’s work also appears in Canadian Living magazine and the Toronto Star. Patrick Hunter Two-spirit Ojibway artist Patrick Hunter grew up proud of…
editor’s note
Something to chew on QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU: why is the beaver Canada’s national animal? Officially, it has to do with the fur trade and how beaver pelts became hats for Europeans, thereby building the foundation of our country’s economy. And I suspect it didn’t hurt that the much-lauded characteristics of the beaver—hard working, industrious, never quits—are the same ones we weather-weary Canadians like to extoll as our own. But is this enough to make the Castor canadensis—a rodent, for Pete’s sake!—the symbol of our nation? That’s a big role. Is this critter up for it? After all, beavers can be downright dastardly. They pair their famously industrious nature with a serious set of ever-growing chompers to shear down shoreline trees across cottage country, which sends many of you, dear readers, to…
your letters
Thunder Bay, represent We just received the May ’21 issue of Cottage Life—they go straight to the cabin for reading on a rainy day—and I was happy to see the Thunder Bay camp (“A Square Deal”) grace the cover. Thunder Bay and the rest of northwestern Ontario have many lakes that are home to beautiful camps, cabins, and cottages. I’ve often said to my wife, “Why don’t we see more articles on camping in our neck of the woods?” Thank you for featuring the Leishman family and their innovative camp made of shipping containers. The future of cottaging in the northwest is as vibrant as ever, and forward-thinkers like the Leishmans are helping it grow even stronger.—Patrick and Cindy Miller, via email AED to the rescue I have been getting your magazine for decades…
canada’s most unwanted pests
The beaver Cottage pest or beloved national emblem? Probably both, since this buck-toothed rodent isn’t going to stop chewing on your trees or be removed from our five-cent coin any time soon. Well, if the beaver gets to be on Canadian currency, why not some of our other pesky critters? Here are 10 of Canada’s most maligned creatures—whether they deserve our wrath or not—monetized in ascending order of perceived annoyingness.* ¢25 coin Ant ¢10 coin Water snake ¢5 coin Porcupine $1 coin Crow Loud, loud, loud. But crows are very clever, possibly even smarter than primates. Respect. $2 coin White-tailed deer Deer might destroy your entire garden while spreading ticks. Thanks for that. Well, at least they’re cute. $5 bill Woodpecker (Of any sort. Take your pick, Royal Canadian Mint.) Yes, they annihilate your wood siding. But that could be because you have carpenter ants. The more…
boat safety, hot real estate with a wacky decor, and a hybrid mammal discovered
CHECKLIST? CHECK The recreational boating industry breathed a collective sigh of relief in late spring when Transport Canada announced that it was not going to scrap the Rental Boat Safety Checklist. In the fall, TC had proposed removing the checklist as “acceptable proof of competency” for boat renters who had not taken a boating course, citing safety concerns. Keeping the checklist is the right decision, says Sara Anghel, the president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association Canada. “Removing it wouldn’t make our waters safer, and it would punish boat rental companies already struggling under pandemic-related restrictions.” A HUNK ’A BURNING-HOT REAL ESTATE Flashback alert: the Conestogo Lake, Ont., theme-room cottage we profiled a decade ago (“The Rooms With the Views,” Spring ’11) went up for sale earlier this year. For $700,000, a lucky…
