Alex Carrick’s Blog

The weekend started off badly for me when Donna, my wife, announced she had purchased a couple of inflatable boats to take with us to the cottage. These were to help amuse two friends of Ted, our middle child, that we were bringing with us from Friday night through Sunday.   I hate rafts. They are […]

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Port Carling, Ontario is ground zero for money in Canada. It is dead centre in the heart of Muskoka, lying where the three lakes – Joseph, Muskoka and Rosseau – converge. The place reeks of privilege and entitlement.   There is a route that one can drive from Bala, through Port Carling, to the little […]

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Now that I’m in my sixties, I have to work a little harder to remember that snow has provided some of the best moments of my life. When I’m out walking our dog, Daisy, after a heavy downfall, the beauty can leave me awestruck and feeling young again. The smell of the ozone goes straight to one’s […]

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My wife and I had kind of a unique wedding. We sort of eloped, but then we also bought the farm on the same day –  literally, not figuratively. And our only child at the time, Tom, aged 12, was my best man.   Donna and I were due to get married, so we arranged for […]

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If you live in Canada, then you have to know a thing or two about driving in snow. The first thing I know is that I don’t like it.   In fact, I hate snowstorms. When I have to drive anywhere in a snowstorm, I mentally map out the easiest route. That means the flattest […]

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I walk our dog Daisy along the beach at our cottage early in the morning on weekends and holidays whenever I can. It’s absolutely gorgeous and mostly quiet and undisturbed, except for one thing − other dog owners and their canine pets.

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On a number of occasions and over quite a span of years, one or another of our three children has invited a young friend to spend the weekend with us at the cottage. This has always been fun, but it has also involved some interesting twists and turns along the way.

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Nothing symbolizes the start of summer in our neck of cottage country more than a mattress. And that’s not due to the strange alchemy and hormonal urges that meld dangerously when sand, sun and teenagers mix. No, it’s rather because June 1 is traditionally big garbage day.

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It has often been said there are two driving seasons in Canada, winter and construction. We are currently in the transition period from the former to the latter.   My wife and I were talking about this the other day as we made our way to the cottage on Georgian Bay for the first time in the […]

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