Week 3, Day 2: Sunrise

Morning fog

We woke up fairly early on Sunday morning. The air was cold. We had both slept somewhat fitfully; the ground was harder than our sleeping bags were soft and neither of us was used to the spartan padding. Spencer hadn't really suffered from the crisp temperature, but Sim's feet and toes were cold which made sleeping for her difficult.

Spencer arose before Sim and went to the ponds to prepare the morning fire. Sim joined him shortly thereafter and they enjoyed the warmth of the fledgling fire while watching the mist over the water under the morning sky, whose sun hadn't risen over the ridge to the west of Pond Superior yet. A little while later Luke joined them after having a less than comforting sleep himself. Although he typically has an unusually high metabolism and body heat, the cold dampness of the night seized on him unexpectedly. Perhaps he should have slept with more than just a single sheet...

We all enjoyed the morning and after a while went back to Tim Horton's for breakfast.

Our very own Dr. Doolittle

Returning to the estate we had no specific agenda. Instead we attended to one thing or another as our mood saw fit, including more sanding and staining and general cleaning around the cabin. Luke and Spencer spent more time in the river under the warm sky playing with the fish and other marine life.

Over the course of the day, and in fact the whole weekend, Luke had been busy channeling Dr. Doolittle. That is to say that he was at one with the animal kingdom. In short, he had befriended four fishes, two crayfish, one baby monarch butterfly, a little frog, and a snake. Quite impressive actually!

By late afternoon we were all pretty much done so we decided to pack it up once again and head out. It should be noted here that on our way home we stopped at A&W to enjoy their epicurean delights. One of many stops there to be sure - it's quickly becoming a family favourite.

Another satisfying stay under our belts. Twin Ponds was slowly changing a posse ad esse.

Week 3, Day 1: First Visitors

The distance between our condo and Twin Ponds from driveway to driveway is about 180 kms. The trip typically takes approximately two and a half hours. So far every trip has been with anticipation as to what experiences that day will bring.

Week 3 was particularly remarkable because it was the first day we invited guests to Twin Ponds to share with them the beauty of the environment there.

And then there was light

Luke drove up with us and Jasmine. It was a bright shiny morning as we arrived in the clearing before the cabin and it was obvious immediately after getting out of the car how much Luke liked the place.

Of course the first thing we did was open the front door - we had already expected the place to be clean, but the question was "how clean?" We were not disappointed. In fact, the removal of Peter's belongings had been done so thoroughly that we experienced an unexpected sense of elation. We first checked out each space in the cabin, then went outside and scanned the area around it, and then opened the metal and wood sheds. Everything was gone and we were delighted. Moreover, there was electricity! We had light in the living room and power in the outside outlet. It almost felt like day one - the first day we would be able to make some real progress. We wanted to waste no time doing so, but first we gave Luke a tour of the estate. Then we discussed the need for a few supplies from town, including a shovel and a rake.

This posed a bit of a problem since we were expecting Julie and we did not want her to arrive with no one home. Sim agreed to remain, so Spencer and Luke popped into town and procured what they needed. By the time they got back Sim had already had a bit of a freaky incident (she heard manic laughing emanating from the forest behind the cabin) and Julie hadn't arrived yet.

Building bridges

So we got to work. The small area to the left of the cabin was encompassed with overgrowth and had to be cleared, but it wasn't anyone's specific task to do it. At one point Sim was making preparations for sanding the adirondack chairs and Spencer was doing something else and when they turned to look to their surprise they saw that Luke had cleared the overgrowth. There was a nice little area next to the cabin that could be used for a variety of things (we are thinking of laying stone there and using it as a barbecue pad or something). To give the little area some definition Luke and Spencer pulled some large rocks out of the surrounding ground and lined them up neatly giving it a nice little boundary.

Over the next little while you could find us either relaxing on the deck or taking turns with the sander. After a bit we heard a car coming along the lane towards the cabin and Julie arrived. As we'd done with Luke, we showed her the highlights of the property and then just hung out for a while. After a while Luke and Spencer took the chainsaw to the trail beyond the river to build a couple of makeshift "bridges" over particularly boggy parts of the path. Meanwhile Julie and Sim worked on sanding the adirondack chairs.

After the hot and sweaty work of cutting down (already dead) trees and building bridges Luke decided to brave the frigid waters of the river. He stripped down and jumped into the water with much exclamation!

A little elbow grease

The chairs were of special interest because despite their apparently rundown condition they worth worth salvaging. To replace them would be expensive (and unnecessary, if some time and energy were invested in them). Thanks to Luke and particularly Julie (who relentlessly endured the vagaries of the dust), we managed to sand and stain three of the six over the course of the weekend. Not too shabby at all.

By early evening we were getting hungry and Julie had to leave. So by car we all headed out and when we reached the main highway Julie headed south towards Toronto and we headed north towards town. We ended up having supper at Tim Horton's, which we note from all our trips there seems to consistently be the most popular spot in town.

Unfortunately Sim wasn't feeling well, so when we got back to the cabin she rested for a while. It is appropriate to mention at this juncture that this was the first weekend we were spending overnight. The cabin hadn't yet been fully cleaned, so the plan was for Luke to sleep in the bedroom and for us to spend the night in sleeping bags inside our new tent (which Julie and Luke had graciously helped erect earlier that day). Thus, Sim went to the tent, snuggled into one of the sleeping bags, and tried to get some rest.

On duty

As dusk fell Luke and Spencer busied themselves with this and that and then sat on the deck and chatted about possible plans for the cabin and the property. Meanwhile Jasmine was meandering about as she is wont to do. Then Luke and Spencer heard a sound in the forest which seemed to come from just a few yards past the tent. It was as if a hush suddenly blanketed Twin Ponds. Jasmine stopped in her tracks and stared intently, ears up, in the direction of the sound. Something was there and it was not just a bird. We heard the sound of movement again. From Jasmine's unflinching attention it was sure that mere meters away there was some kind of animal which we could not see.

Jasmine then started circling around the tent where Sim was sleeping. Every few feet she would stop and mark the spot thereby fashioning a sort of territorial, protective boundary around the tent. It was very remarkable to see such a domesticated creature return to her animalistic instincts. It was also incredibly touching to see that kind of loyalty in a pet. There is no doubt that if whatever was in the woods had emerged as a threat, Jasmine would have defended us with her life. We never did find out what it was. Probably better that way.

First moon

About an hour later Luke and Spencer decided to prepare what would be the first campfire and after Sim had arisen from her recuperative nap we ceremoniously lit that puppy up. It should be noted that we aren't predisposed to building campfires boy scout style. What's the point of starting with little kindling and nurturing a fire into a blazing conflagration over the course of say, 45 minutes to an hour, when all you really need is some relatively dry pieces of wood of varying sizes, a lighter, and a container of gasoline. Need we say more?

That first campfire was a tremendous success. We had a fresh bag of marshmallows, the night was clear and beautiful, and the moon shone brightly over Pond Superior. As the hour became late and the fire died we ultimately retired to our respective sleeping arrangements and enjoyed falling asleep to the sounds of nature and the cool, crisp air.

Week 2: The Journey of 1000 Miles

Our driveway

Although we certainly cannot be considered advocates of communism, we have to admit that Mao was right: the longest journey does begin with one step. It then continues with many more.

On our second trip to Twin Ponds we had already arranged to meet with its former owner - a gentleman named Peter. We had been notified the week after closing that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was starting chemo treatments. Accordingly, we had decided to say nothing about his belongings still being in the cabin and elsewhere on the property until we knew exactly what was going to happen. Given his condition, it's particularly extraordinary that he took the time to pay us a visit.

A slight digression is necessary here. On our way up north on Saturday morning we stopped at the Home Depot in Guelph and sought out a few tools and other items, not the least of which was a power sander which we wanted for the adirondack chairs since they really needed to be spruced up (they're made out of pine). More on the sanding later.

We were also shopping for a chainsaw and chainsaw accessories. This was no small event. Spencer had made it known to Sim that for as long as he could remember he'd always wanted a reason to have a chainsaw. So, knowing we intended to buy one (we'd previously seen some at Canadian Tire but had decided to wait) Sim had done sufficient consumer research to help us decide on the make and model. Luckily for us Home Depot had our target model in stock and we took no time in pulling the last one they had out from under a shelf (and it is noteworthy that to get it we had to cut across a store-long line of people waiting, all of whom were purchasing toilets on special for $39 - never seen anything like it).

Now some of you who know Spencer are probably saying to yourselves, "Spencer and a chainsaw. Not a great combination." All we can say is we'll see. We'll see.

So what has that got to do with Peter? Well, Spencer was busily trying to assemble the chainsaw (remember, it was his first, so he was being gentle/careful) when Peter and his companion Carol arrived. Sim was at the ponds at that moment so Spencer left his task to go greet them and called Sim over. Peter excused himself for not being able to speak very well due to his cancer, but he needn't have bothered. He was kind and polite and we were eagerly awaiting the morsels of background on Twin Ponds without any concern about the quality of his voice, so long as we could understand him.

Out standing in his field

Peter was a sweetheart. It quickly became clear from talking with him that he loved Twin Ponds (which, in case it isn't clear, is the moniker we chose) and the surroundings. He had plenty of tidbits of advice for us as well. The most interesting was his austere warning to always remember that although we might be owners in the community, we "would never be one of them."

He told us about the various wildlife on the property and that we could expect to see wild turkeys, coyotes, bears, white-tailed deer, beavers, muskrats, grouse, and especially rabbits. We learned of the conservation plan affecting the property and that it was actually good for the forest to cut down trees intermittently. Also, in Field of Dreams fashion Carol imparted to Sim some advice about tending the fish: if you feed them, they will come.

One thing which dismayed us was the vandalism that Peter described. He showed us how vandals had broken some of the front window panes and had kicked in (and split) the front door. Hunters had also shot holes in his paddle boat. We thus decided that we would take measures to minimize such wanton destruction - a subject on which we will have some discourse in due course.

Be that as it may, it was a very pleasant visit. Peter promised to have his forces remove his decades of collected miscellany, except of course the bed and the adirondack chairs. There were some parting pleasantries, among which was Peter's kind words of gratitude for buying the property "for the right reasons." He and Carol had disclosed how they had had many family activities at Twin Ponds and wished us many happy memories too. They drove away slowly down the lane, almost as if they were asking themselves whether this would be the last time they would see the place, and then were gone.

Sim had intended to work on the sanding, but alas there was no electricity (more on that in another post perhaps), so her plans were foiled. Meanwhile Spencer returned to his chainsaw. Seeing as how he had assembled it just prior to Peter and Carol's arrival, the only thing left to be done was to fill it with 2-stroke gas/oil mix, don protective eyewear and earmuffs and let 'er rip, which is exactly what he did.

Once again, for those of you who know Spencer, you're probably asking yourselves (and if you're not, you should be), "What can go wrong?" To most of you the answer would seem obvious: he's going to maim himself or cut off his {insert name of body part here}. Well, nothing quite that dramatic happened. Instead, while triumphantly wielding the chainsaw in true "watch me conquer the world" fashion for Sim to see...

...the chain fell off...

and Spencer was standing there holding a chainless chainsaw against a dead tree limb watching it bounce back and forth as uselessly as a screen door on a submarine.

Thinking about sanding while watching the chainsaw show

After assessing the problem and determining its cause it became clear that the chainguard had not been properly secured. You see, that was what Spencer had been in the process of doing when Peter and Carol had arrived. And that was what Spencer had forgotten he'd been doing by the time Peter and Carol left.

Several minutes later (after having successfully become intimate friends with the forest floor while scouring it for a missing bolt), the chain was back on and ready for action. Spencer once again wields the chainsaw, brings it down against the tree limb, and desperately holds on to the chainsaw when it bounces off. Again.

In his frustration Spencer had installed the chain assembly upside down, which meant that the chain was backwards and was once again as useful as a bandaid on a corpse. Luckily, the situation was remedied quickly and after only a few more minutes there were copious amounts of sweat, cut lumber, and sawdust everywhere. How glorious it was (finally)!

No doubt much more could be said (including how Spencer ignored Sim's advice about what to do with the tree clippings and then paid the price), but you probably get the picture.

After watching the fish for a while and (Spencer) taking a quick dip in the river to clean off the sawdust and sweat, we packed up our stuff and, feeling rather accomplished, headed back to the Big Smoke for yet another week. We shouldn't fail to mention, however, that on the way back to the cabin from the river we stopped to see the fish in Pond Superior. It was then that Spencer suffered his injury. Walking towards the pond he jammed his right shin into a tree root sticking out of the ground. Congratulations - you can wield a chainsaw but you can't walk. Time to go home.

Take that, Mao. Two steps forward, and only one step back. Ha!

Week 1: Intimidation

You know how sometimes when you have a big project at work you look at it and feel like you don't know where to start?

We went to Twin Ponds the day after closing, prior to which we'd come to an agreement with the former owner that he would make sure all his stuff was removed (with a few specific exceptions). This was no small issue for us - when we saw the place on day 1 it looked like the owner was a bit of a collector. There were all kinds of things in each and every corner of not only the cabin, but the yard, the metal shed, and the wood shed. The stuff was mostly ancient and dustbound, although it could be said that it was transgenerational (read: originating from various times between the Korean war era and today). Perhaps what was so imposing was the quantity. Very overwhelming.

So it was with a slight amount of trepidation that we opened the front door of the cabin that first day after closing, not knowing whether the place would truly be ours or whether there would be lingering traces of previous occupation and ownership. And there it was. Almost exactly the same as it had been when we first saw it.

The thing is that while we harbored no ill-will for this regrettable turn of events (after all, the seller was very patient with us and even agreed to close with a week's notice once we finally secured funding), we did not feel like Twin Ponds truly was ours. Instead there was some unspecific discomfiture. Part of it was doubtlessly related to the fact that while the other guy's stuff was still there we couldn't make any progress. We were in neutral with no stickshift.

It wasn't a complete wash though. We had a couple of minor but remarkable experiences that first day.

First, on our way to the cabin we stopped at Canadian Tire for some supplies, the most important of which were the rubber boots, the hatchet, and the axe.

Second, to quell our curiosity about the property we went exploring. It was a great little outing: in our rubber boots we started out by following what seemed more or less to be a path and on our return kinda got lost. There were a few moments there where it was touch and go, but we had a general idea about our geography and, being two relatively intelligent people (ha!), we figured it out before dark set in. Jasmine wasn't lost at any point - she just put up with us and rolled her eyes. Spencer had fun with his hatchet, even though he tried cutting a branch off a tree lying on the ground and the blade of the hatchet struck a rock instead.

Having crossed the bridge over the river we headed back to the cabin. To our delight Sim noticed fish in Pond Superior. And they looked like koi! Both ponds have them and in good numbers. What a bonus.

Thus, our first visit to our cabin was a little short-lived. Having nothing more to really do, we went back to Toronto.

In the Face of Adversity

So within an hour of seeing Twin Ponds for the first time we were in Ed's office making an offer to purchase the property. Little did we know that the certainty we had about this acquisition would in short order become anxiety thanks to the unreliability of a certain financial institution which shall remain nameless (we're looking at you, ING) and other factors beyond our control.

Luckily for us the stars were properly aligned and everything that we needed to fall into place for the financial arrangements to work out did indeed come together. It took a little longer than expected, however. We had to delay our closing for over a month and, to our chagrin, had to agree to let the seller sell it to someone else if the seller found another buyer in the meantime.

Fortunately that didn't happen. Our arrangements came together and then faster than you could shake a stick, Twin Ponds was ours.

Birth of an Adventure

It started with the seed of an idea and grew into a big reality. One hundred (that's right - 100!) acres of reality. To put it into perspective that is equal to 100 football fields. Just thinking about that now is a bit mind boggling. What the hell are we going to do with that much land?

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's go back to the real beginning.

Last spring Sim was serving as a bridesmaid for a friend's wedding. One of the pre-nuptial celebratory events was a weekend bachelorette held in a rural setting, which corresponded to the "cowboy/cowgirl" theme the other bridesmaids had thought up. Sim was so impressed by the peaceful environment that when the weekend was over she decided to delve into the properties in the area that were available.

Sim found a number of promising prospects, but only one really stood out as a great looking place with great value for the money. Plus it had twin ponds and a river. So she showed it to Spencer and it was an immediate hit.

By the following weekend we had already arranged for a broker, Ed, to show us the place. He was very nice and in fact agreed to take time out of his Father's Day to do so. So we got up early that morning and drove north to see what this place was really like.

We had arranged to meet Ed at a place called the Varney Inn. We arrived a little early so we hung out and let Jasmine run around while we waited for Ed to show up. Once he did, we were on our way. In just a few minutes we turned off the main highway onto a gravelly and bumpy local road in keen anticipation of seeing what could possibly be our first cottage property.

Upon our arrival we drove slowly down a long, tree-covered lane which brought us into the heart of the property. We stopped and just to our right in a small clearing in the impressive forest stood the A-frame cabin, beckoning us to come, take a look, and fall in love.

And fall in love we did.