Defining Muskoka, Doesn't Work

SEEKING THE DEFINITION OF MUSKOKA - WHAT PERPLEXES GOVERNMENT - THE SPIRIT THAT WON'T CONFORM

IN HISTORY, THERE WAS AN ALLURE TO INVESTIGATE THE MYSTERIES OF OUR REGION OF ONTARIO, SAID TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SPIRITUAL PLACES ON THE CONTINENT. BUT THEN WHO PAYS ATTENTION TO POET-PHILOSOPHERS?

IN THE LATE 1850 AND 60'S, THE SPORTSMEN, WHO TRAVERSED THROUGH THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, WROTE THEIR OPINIONS OF THE VAST HINTERLAND, AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES. THEIR INADVERTENT PROMOTION OF THE DISTRICT, DID GENERATE INVESTMENT INTEREST. LONG BEFORE THE BARDS WANDERED THE LAKELAND PATHS, THOSE FINANCIAL ADVENTURERS, WERE LOOKING TO THIS UNTAPPED REGION, TO ADVANCE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.

WHEN THE SETTLERS ARRIVED IN THE REGION, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 100 ACRE ALLOTMENTS OF FREE LAND, THOSE SAME CAPITALIST GAMBLERS, UNDERSTOOD WHAT CAPTIVE AUDIENCE WAS ALL ABOUT. THE RICH AND POOR INTERMINGLED EARLY IN THE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, AND THERE WERE IMMENSE FAILURES ON BOTH SIDES. NOT EVERY FINANCIAL VENTURE WENT AS PLANNED, JUST AS HOMESTEADERS FAILED TO MAKE FORESTS INTO THRIVING GARDEN PLOTS. HISTORICAL RECORD SHOWS THERE WERE ENOUGH SUCCESSES, EVEN THOSE THAT WERE OF MODEST PROPORTION, IN EACH AREA OF INVESTMENT, TO KEEP MUSKOKA OPEN FOR BUSINESS. IT WASN'T ALWAYS AN EASY PLACE TO DO BUSINESS, OR HOMESTEAD, AND THE CHALLENGES, AT TIMES, SEEMED TOO MUCH FOR EVEN THE SLIGHTEST ANNUAL PROFIT…..THE MOST MEAGRE OF HARVESTS FROM THE THIN, ROCKY, FOREST WREATHED FARMSTEADS. THE CITIZENS OF ALL ECONOMIC STRATAS PREVAILED, DESPITE MODEST GAINS, TO HELP THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, AND ONTARIO, OCCUPY THE OPEN LANDS OF THE NEW NATION. OF THIS, WE WERE, OF COURSE, EXCEPTIONALLY SUCCESSFUL. THE GOVERNMENT ADMITTEDLY SET IT ALL UP AS A GAMBLE. THEY KNEW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS GOING TO BE, BEFORE THEY ISSUED THE LAND GRANT INCENTIVES. THEY KNEW SOME WERE GOING TO PERISH, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE MISTRUTHS THEY WERE INSPIRING…..ABOUT THIS LAND OF MILK AND HONEY. DISCUSSION OF HARDSHIP WAS WELL REMOVED FROM THE STORIES OF SUCCESSES.

DURING THE PERIOD OF TRANSFORMATION, IN THOSE FIRST FORTY YEARS, THE TOURISM INDUSTRY AND THE POET-PHILOSOPHERS, AND ASSORTED MYSTICS, SPIRITUALISTS, AND SOOTHSAYERS, MERGED, YOU MIGHT SAY "POETICALLY," INTO THE DESCRIPTION OF MUSKOKA THAT BEST SUITED THOSE WEARY, LOST SOULS FROM THE CITIES OF NORTH AMERICA, AND ABROAD. MUSKOKA WAS EXCEPTIONALLY WELL PROMOTED, AS AN INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION, BEST SUITED TO THOSE REQUIRING RESTORATION OF GOOD HEALTH AND VIGOROUS SPIRIT. THE FACT MUSKOKA WAS BEING AGGRESSIVELY MARKETED AS BEAUTIFUL PLACE, IN THE 1800'S, WAS BY FAR MORE COMMERCIAL, THAN FOR ITS ETHEREAL QUALITIES TO POETS, PAINTERS AND MUSICIANS, CAMPED BY ITS SHORES. THERE WAS MONEY TO BE MADE, SELLING THE PICTURESQUE QUALITIES OF THE "TAMED" WILDS. SOME CREATIVE FOLKS WHO CAME IN THE PERIOD OF THE LATE 1800'S, SAW MUSKOKA FROM THE GRAND VERANDAHS OF LARGE AND ELEGANT RESORT ACCOMMODATIONS. THEY WALKED ALONG CARVED-OUT PATHWAYS COBBLED AROUND THE LAKE SHORE, AND THEN NAVIGATED ROWBOATS UP THE SHADOW RIVER, IN ROSSEAU, TO FIND THE ENCHANTMENT THEY HAD BEEN TOLD EXISTED BY THE BUCKET-FULLS. THEY WROTE ABOUT IT. AND I HAVE READ MOST OF IT, OVER MY YEARS AS A REGIONAL HISTORIAN. WHILE THESE PIECES, AND ABUNDANT PAINTINGS FROM THE PERIOD, ARE IMPORTANT IN THE STUDY OF OUR REGION, THEY HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, BY CONTROLLED, CATERED ADVENTURE. THEY STUDIED MUSKOKA BY IMMERSION IN THE EMBRACE OF THE THRIVING TOURISM INDUSTRY, VACATIONING IN OPULENT SURROUNDINGS, AND BEING CATERED BY STAFF THAT SEEMED, AT TIMES, TO OUT-NUMBER THE GUESTS.

I AM FAR MORE LIKELY TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE INTELLECTURAL WORK OF THE MUSKOKA ASSEMBLY, OF WRITERS, WHO GATHERED IN THE SUMMER SEASONS, DURING THE 1920'S AND 30'S, TO DISCUSS LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY, AND ACTUALLY IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN NATURAL MUSKOKA, AS IT RELATED TO THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CANADA ITSELF…..MUCH AS WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE WITH THE GROUP OF SEVEN ARTISTS, EXPLORING NEW WAYS TO REPRESENT THE NATIVE LANDSCAPE……THE SEASONS, THE UNIQUENESS OF THE LAKELAND. THEY WERE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN THE LORE AND LEGENDS INHERENT TO THIS LAKELAND, THAN PROFITING FROM ITS EXPLOITATION. THEY WEREN'T THERE, ON TOBIN'S ISLAND, FOR THOSE CONFERENCES, THE RESULT OF A STRATEGIC TOURISM INITIATIVE. THEY WERE LITERARY ADVENTURERS, DETERMINED TO EXPLORE THE SPIRITUAL QUALITIES AND QUANTITIES OF THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE. IF THERE WAS FINANCIAL GAIN, ON THEIR PART, IT WASN'T TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE PROFIT BEING MADE BY RESORTS, THE STEAMSHIP INDUSTRY AND BOAT LIVERIES. THEIR PROFIT WAS EXPERIENCE AND INSPIRATION, GARNERED FROM A FEW WEEKS IN ONE OF THE MOST PICTURESQUE PLACES ON EARTH. WHEN POET WILSON MACDONALD WROTE A POEM ABOUT MUSKOKA, IN HIS BOOK, "OUT OF THE WILDERNESS," IT WAS HARDLY EXPLOITATION AT THE REGION'S EXPENSE. IT WAS JUST ONE POEM IN A LARGE TEXT. HE DID WRITE A SECOND POEM ABOUT HIS ENJOYMENT OF VISITING LAKE ROSSEAU, AS IT IS KNOWN, HE RETURNED MANY TIMES LATER, TO STAY WITH FRIENDS AT A TOBIN'S ISLAND COTTAGE.

EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, I WILL FIND SOME EDITORIAL PIECE, IN THE LOCAL PRESS, THAT QUESTIONS WHAT MUSKOKA IS ALL ABOUT. THERE ARE FREQUENT EXAMINATIONS OF ITS ECONOMIC POTENTIAL, AND HOW IT CAN BE EXPLOITED FOR GREATER, SUSTAINING PROFIT. IT WILL OFTEN BE THE CASE, THAT THE QUESTION WILL SEEK OUT CITIZEN INPUT ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD PROCEED AS A REGION, AND RE-DEFINE MUSKOKA TO BETTER SUIT OUR LONG RANGE INTERESTS. I CAN ALMOST IMAGINE, THAT INTUITIVE, LEARNED GROUP OF CANADIAN WRITERS, FROM THE PERIOD OF THE WRITING ASSEMBLY, BEING STUNNED BY THE RIDICULOUS BID OF DEFINING SOMETHING, FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, GOVERNMENTAL PURPOSE, THAT CAN NEVER TRULY BE CONFINED TO A SENTENCE, A PARAGRAPH, A BOOK, OR A LIBRARY. AS IT IS NOT NECESSARY. APPRECIATION AND STEWARDSHIP ARE TWO WORDS THEY MAY HAVE BANDIED ABOUT; CHARLES G.D. ROBERTS, BLISS CARMEN, WILSON MACDONALD, AND MARSHALL SAUNDERS, ALL ADMIRERS OF MUSKOKA WITHOUT EVER ONCE REQUIRING A HANDBOOK ON THE REQUIREMENTS TO ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE. MUSKOKA NEVER REQUIRED THE MEDDLING OF LITERARY OR ARTISTIC MINDS, TO EXPLAIN ITS GRANDEUR……DECIPHER ITS NATURAL, SPIRITUAL RESOURCES. THEY ADMIRED IT, WERE INSPIRED BY IT, AND INDEED, WROTE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE…….WITHOUT FEELING ANY SHORTFALL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, WHEN AT THE END OF THE CONFERENCE, THEY HADN'T SOLVED ITS MYSTERY. IF THE GREAT BARDS DIDN'T WASTE THEIR TIME, TRYING TO ANALYZE THE WORTH OF MUSKOKA, THEN WHY DO WE PERSIST TODAY, TO CREATE THE INCLUSIVE, ONE-BOOK-SOLVES-ALL GUIDE, TO LIVING, WORKING AND VISITING MUSKOKA?

THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE, MY FIRST HOMETOWN IN THE DISTRICT, 1966 TO 1989, MOST RECENTLY ENTERED THE QUEST FOR IDENTITY…..AS IF HISTORY HAD BEEN ERASED AS A BAD MEMORY, IN A BID TO SEEK OUT A NEW PLAN, AND A SHINY, MODERN ERA CHARACTER……TO BE INFLUENCED BY MANY RESPONDENTS WHO HAVEN'T BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE TOWN FOR MORE THAN A DECADE OF RESIDENCY. AS A LONG TIME MUSKOKAN, AND MARRIED TO A PARTNER WHO CAN RIGHTFULLY CLAIM HER FAMILY HISTORY HERE, BEGAN WITH THOSE FIRST HUMBLE SHANTIES IN THE 1860'S, IT IS OFFENSIVE, WHEN IT'S DEEMED ACCEPTABLE, TO RE-ASSESS BY DECREE, WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE WANT TO BE, WHAT OUR DISTRICT SHOULD COME TO SYMBOLIZE, AND WHAT THIS REGION SHOULD REPRESENT TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. DO YOU THINK, THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS, BEHIND SUCH A PROJECT, WOULD THINK IT SENSIBLE, AND APPROPRIATE, TO BUNDLE REGIONAL HISTORIANS, LONG-TIME CITIZENS, AND THE ARTS COMMUNITY TOGETHER, TO DISCUSS, AS A PREAMBLE, THE NECESSITY OF TAMPERING WITH WHAT IS ALREADY NATURE'S PERFECTION. IT HAS NEVER BEEN IMPORTANT IN THE PAST, AND WON'T BE IN THE FUTURE.

I DO VERY MUCH DISLIKE THE REALITY, MANY ELECTED OFFICIALS REPRESENTING THIS AMAZING REGION OF ONTARIO AND CANADA, ARE SIMILARLY UNTUTORED ABOUT THE TRUE HISTORY OF MUSKOKA, AND THEIR IDEA OF STEWARDSHIP IS SO NARROW FOCUSED, IT TOPPLES OVER TIME AND AGAIN, WHEN FACED WITH A DEVELOPER'S DETERMINATION, TO TRANSFORM OUR TOWNS AND REGION, TO SUIT CAPITALISM……NOT ITS HISTORIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, LANDSCAPE SENSITIVITIES. THE CITY ATTITUDE IMPOSING UPON PARADISE, THAT MUSKOKA CAN BE SO MUCH BETTER…..IF WE CAN MAKE IT INTO THE DANCING BEAR THAT MAKES US MONEY.

WHEN I READ ABOUT THESE LATEST, MOST REVEALING MISSIONS TO DEFINE MUSKOKA, I WANT TO RESPOND. I WANT TO VISIT OUR REGIONAL POLITICIANS, AND TALK OPENLY WITH INVESTORS AND DEVELOPERS, WHO FEEL IT NECESSARY TO DEFINE WHAT CAN NOT BE DEFINED…..AND INFORM THEM WHAT I HAVE LEARNED IN THE PAST 35 YEARS, OF IMMERSING MYSELF IN EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY IN THIS AMAZING REGION…..THAT THEY SHOULD KNOW THROUGH PERCEPTION AND INTUITION. NATURE IS A LIFE FORCE. NOT A PLATFORM, CONSTRUCTED BY ORDER OF COUNCIL. HAVEN'T WE LEARNED ANYTHING FROM NATURAL DISASTERS….THAT NATURE DOESN'T WORK OFF A PROGRAM, OR ADHERE TO BYLAWS AND DECREES. THEN WHY DO WE FEEL IT INCUMBENT, KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW……TO FOLLY IN THE ABSURD, TRYING TO PROVE WE CAN FORCE NATURE TO COMPLY WITH THE INTERESTS OF SOCIETY…..WHEN TIME AND AGAIN, SOME GREAT ERUPTION OF A VOLCANO, AN EARTHQUAKE, OR TYPHOON, WILL KNOCK ABOUT AND BURY, WHAT WE BELIEVED WAS CAST TO ENDURE THE RIGORS OF CATASTROPHE.

I HAVE WATCHED FROM MY VERANDAH, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, WHEN SOME JERK, WILL PULL A TRUCK BESIDE THE HOLLOW OF WILDFLOWERS, ABUTTING THE WIDER BOG, AND PROCEED TO DUMP GARBAGE, FROM OLD PAINT CANS AND OIL BOTTLES, BROKEN GLASS, AND OLD ASPHALT. AND WHEN YOU CONFRONT SUCH A PERSON, AS MY WIFE SUZANNE AND I DO FREQUENTLY, THE LOOK OF DISDAIN ON THEIR FACES TELLS IT ALL. THEY FEEL ENTITLED, YOU SEE, AS IF THIS BOG WAS MADE FOR THEM, TO MEET THEIR DISPOSAL NEEDS. THEY DON'T APPEAR EMBARRASSED THAT THEY'VE BEEN CAUGHT, AND SOME OF THEM HAVE TOLD US, IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, TO GET LOST BEFORE WE GOT HURT. WELL, WE'VE NEVER BEEN THWARTED BECAUSE OF A THREAT OR TWO, AND IT'S AMAZING WHAT A PEN AND PIECE OF PAPER CAN DO, WHEN IT CONTAINS LICENSE PLATE INFORMATION. THE POINT IS, THERE IS A WIDESPREAD DISREGARD FOR THIS NATURE OF OURS. IT COMES IN PART, BECAUSE OUTDOOR EDUCATION, IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, IS GROSSLY UNDER-FUNDED, AND UNDER APPRECIATED BY THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCHOOL BOARDS, AND THE TOOLS OF GOVERNMENT, WHO CAN NOT SEE WHAT THESE INEFFICIENCIES OF EDUCATION, ARE DOING TO THE LANDSCAPE…..THAT BY THE WAY……IS OUR LIFELINE……AND OF THAT, THERE IS NO DISAGREEMENT. I CAN'T IMAGINE HOW MUCH POLLUTION IS DUMPED IN THE LAKES, RIVERS, WETLANDS AND ROADSIDES OF THIS REGION. SO WHEN I HEAR ABOUT TAGGING GARBAGE BAGS, AS A WAY OF CUTTING DOWN EXCESSES AT THE LOCAL LANDFILL SITES, OH, HOW I WOULD LOVE TO MEET THIS DULLARDS, AND INVITE THEM TO SEE WHAT THEY CAN'T…..ABOUT PRESENT ABUSES THAT NO ONE CAN STOP……THAT'S KILLING US ALL BIT BY BIT.

I DO NOT HAVE FAITH IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AS EFFICIENT, CAUTIOUS STEWARDS OF THE NATURE OF MUSKOKA. THIS I CAN DEFINE IN ONLY A FEW WORDS.

Muskoka, House on The Hill

THE HOUSE ON THE HILL - I COULDN'T FORGET

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

IT WAS ON DAYS JUST LIKE THIS, THAT I USED TO DON THE CROSS COUNTRY SKIS, AND HEAD OFF OVER THE CONNECTED PASTURES, THROUGH THE SNOW-LADEN WOODLANDS, DOWN A NUMBER OF INTERCONNECTING FARM LANES, LONG OVER-GROWN….AND ARRIVE AT THE HILLSIDE WHERE THE ABANDONED, VICTORIAN ERA FARMHOUSE STOOD. IT WAS A HAUNTED PLACE EVEN IN THE BRIGHT SUNLIGHT OF A FEBRUARY MORNING, JUST LIKE THE BRILLIANT GLOW SHIMMERS OFF THE SNOW THIS MORNING, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW.

I HAD ONLY JUST GRADUATED UNIVERSITY, AND COULDN'T BE BOTHERED HANGING MY FRAMED DIPLOMA ON THE WALL…..THE ONE THAT GAVE ME SOME FORMAL RANKING FOR HAVING SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED STUDIES IN CANADIAN HISTORY. ENGLISH AS A MINOR CONSIDERATION. THE HISTORIAN / WRITER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO. AS I WASN'T QUITE AS EMPLOYABLE, AS I ASSUMED, WHEN HANDED THE RIBBON-SECURED SCROLL, AT GRADUATION, TO A MODEST MUFFLED APPLAUSE, I FELT A FEW TREMORS OF FEAR ABOUT THE FUTURE. I DIDN'T HAVE MANY CHEERLEADERS THAT SPRING DAY AT YORK UNIVERSITY'S OUTDOOR VENUE. FRANKLY, WHILE MY MOTHER AND FATHER APPEARED MODERATELY PLEASED, BY THE OUTCOME OF THEIR FINANCIAL INVESTMENT IN MY EDUCATION, MY GIRLFRIEND SEEMED QUITE PENSIVE, ABOUT WHAT A DEGREE IN HISTORY WAS GOING TO MEAN IN A FISCAL REALITY. AS EMPLOYERS WEREN'T EXACTLY POUNDING THE DOOR DOWN, TO SECURE MY EMPLOYMENT TO THEIR FIRM. GAIL, AT THE TIME, WAS IN A COURSE AS A COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SPECIALIST. EVEN BEFORE GRADUATION, SHE HAD BEEN RECRUITED BY NUMEROUS CORPORATIONS IN ONTARIO. SHE HAD EVERY REASON TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT HER MATE; AS HAVING A DEGREE IN HISTORY WAS NICE BUT NOT PROFITABLE. WITHOUT OF COURSE, STAYING IN SCHOOL A LITTLE LONGER, TO SECURE AN ADDITIONAL DEGREE; SUCH AS IF I HAD DECIDED TO ENTER THE TEACHING PROFESSION. I'M NOT A PEOPLE PERSON. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A WRONG TURN WITHOUT QUESTION.

IN MY MIND, ALL I WANTED TO DO, WAS EXPLORE THE PLACE I HAD CHOSEN TO LIVE, AND LET THE PIECES FALL INTO PLACE OVER THE COMING YEAR. AND THEY DID. GAIL DIDN'T PREFER THE COMPANY OF A HINTERLAND POET, PHILOSOPHER, WRITER-KIND, DESTINED TO A LIFE OF SACRIFICE AND POVERTY, AS IF A RELIGIOUS CHOICE. I'VE NEVER HAD A SINGLE REGRET ABOUT MY CHOICES. I WOULD HAVE PERISHED, IF I'D DECIDED TO LIVE AND WORK IN THE CITY. I NEEDED THIS LAKELAND. OF THAT THERE IS NO QUESTION. AND IT'S THE COLLECTION OF MEMORIES, ABOUT THOSE EARLY OUTDOOR EXPLORATIONS, FRESH OUT OF SCHOOL, THAT CONTINUES TO REMIND ME I MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE OF DIRECTION AT THAT PERSONAL CROSSROADS.

WHILE I WAS BURDENED SOMEWHAT BY THE CONCERN, I HAD SPENT A LOT OF MONEY TO SECURE A DEGREE, THAT DIDN'T GUARANTEE ME A JOB, I WASN'T GOING TO WASTE MY TIME FEELING BYPASSED BY OPPORTUNITY. I HAD, AFTER ALL, OPENED AN ANTIQUE SHOP PARTNERSHIP WITH MY PARENTS, AND ALTHOUGH IT DIDN'T OCCUPY ALL OF MY TIME, AND WASN'T ENOUGH TO EARN A LIVING, I KNEW THAT I NEEDED TO IMMERSE MYSELF IN THE REGION I PLANNED TO REMAIN. EVEN IN MY EARLY TWENTIES, I KNEW I WAS GOING TO LIVE AND WORK IN MUSKOKA. IT DIDN'T MATTER THAT THIS WOULD MEAN SETTLING FOR LESS INCOME. MY INTEREST WAS IN A FULFILLING LIFE, NOT JUST THE PURSUIT OF MONEY AT THE RISK OF EVERYTHING ELSE, I FOUND INHERENTLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE. I LOST A GIRLFRIEND AT THE SAME TIME, BECAUSE I REFUSED TO LIVE IN THE CITY. I HAD REGRETS AT THE TIME, BUT NOT BECAUSE I'D MADE THE DECISION TO REMAIN IN MUSKOKA. I FELT ALONE, THAT'S FOR SURE, CONSIDERING OUR FRIENDS SIDED WITH HER, LEAVING ME TO MY TYPEWRITER AND THE SKIS……AND THIS NON-JUDGMENTAL PLACE DEEP IN THE MUSKOKA FOREST.

THE FACT THAT MY WIFE TODAY, WILL HAVE TO COME AND FIND ME, WHEN I STAY TOO LONG OVER AT THE BOG, IS JUST A CARRY-OVER FROM THE WAY I'VE BEEN SINCE THOSE DAYS, RETREATING INTO THE SEMI-WILDS, TO ENJOY THE GENTLE SOLITUDE OF THE ENVIRONMENT. WHEN I'D STRAP THE SKIS ON, AND TAKE THOSE FIRST FEW SLIDES ON THE ICED-OVER TRAILS, IN THE WARM SUNGLOW OUT IN THE OPEN FIELD, IT WAS A TRULY LIBERATING EXPERIENCE…..QUITE INTOXICATING IN FACT. I'D SKI FOR ABOUT FORTY MINUTES, THROUGH ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING FROZEN TERRAIN……DOWN OVERGROWN FARM LANES, OUT INTO THE EXPANSE OF FORMER PASTURELAND, ADJACENT TO HUGE ROCK CLIFFS COVERED IN HANGING ICE, ALONG HEAVILY FORESTED PATHS, TAKING ENCHANTED SHORTCUTS THROUGH THE PINE FORESTS. WHEN I'D POP OUT OF THE THICK EMBRACE OF EVERGREEN, AND ARRIVE AT THE BASE OF THE LANE, HEADING UP TO THE OLD HOUSE ON THE HILL, IT WAS VERY MUCH THE SENSORY PERCEPTION, I HAD JUST THEN, STEPPED THROUGH SOME PORTAL BETWEEN THE PAST AND PRESENT. IT WAS A HAUNTINGLY STRANGE MOMENT, WHEN I'D TAKE MY SKIS OFF AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LANE, AND INITIATE THOSE FIRST STEPS UP THE HILLSIDE. OTHERS HAD BEEN HERE BEFORE ME, AND THERE WAS A WELL-WORN PATH IN THE HARDENED SNOW. IF I HAD WONDERED ABOUT THE REASONS I'D TAKEN HISTORY AS A MAJOR, IN UNIVERSITY STUDIES, IT WAS TO PUT ME ON A LEVEL WITH WHAT I SAW AND FELT EXPLORING THIS HILLSIDE. JUST SEEING THE RAMSHACKLE CONDITION, OF AN OTHERWISE BEAUTIFUL FARMHOUSE, EVOKED FEELINGS OF SADNESS. INSPIRED QUESTIONS THAT HAD NO DEFINABLE ANSWERS. THERE WAS NO NEED FOR EXPLANATION. IT WAS A SENSORY EXPERIENCE. I OBTAINED MY OWN ANSWERS BY IMMERSION ALONE. THERE, POSITIONED ABOVE THE FARMLAND IT DEFINED, THE HOUSE HAD SIMPLY, ROUTINELY ANCHORED A LIFESTYLE. IT HAD SHELTERED A FAMILY FOR A CENTURY, PERCHED LIKE A BEACON, HIGH ON A HILL, OVERLOOKING A HUGE AND IMPRESSIVE VALLEY, BORDERED BY A ROCK BLUFF ON THE SOUTH SIDE. IT MUST HAVE BEEN A BREATH-TAKING VIEW, WHEN THE WREATHING OF EVERGREENS HADN'T BEEN QUITE AS IMPOSING, AND OVERGROWN, AS THEY APPEARED ON MY WALKS. WHY HAD IT BEEN ABANDONED?

I THINK WHAT HAS ALWAYS ENTRANCED ME, ABOUT VISITING PLACES LIKE THIS, AS ONE MIGHT EXPERIENCE IN THE WALK UP TO AN ALLEGEDLY HAUNTED ENGLISH CASTLE, WAS THAT IT SERVED AS SUCH AN ENDLESS SOURCE OF INSPIRATION…..DESPITE ITS MELANCHOLY AT FIRST GLANCE. EVERY TIME I CREEPED UP THAT ICY HILLSIDE, BELIEVE ME, I EXPECTED SOME APPARITION TO EITHER PASS BY ME, OR THROUGH ME, ON ITS TYPICAL SPIRITUAL WALK-ABOUT; OR FIND SOME GHOSTLY FACE, LOOKING OUT FROM THE LAST REMAINING PANE OF GLASS, IN AN UPSTAIRS WINDOW. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS HAD MANY SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTERS OVER A LIFETIME, THIS WAS A WILDLY HAUNTED PLACE, YET IT WAS THE SAME SENSATION, ANYONE WOULD HAVE FELT, IN MY FOOTSTEPS. OF BEING ALONE, WITH THE SAD REMAINS OF A FAMILY HOME, THAT ONCE HAD A FLICKERING FIRELIGHT COMING FROM THE KITCHEN STOVE, AND A ORANGE FLAME IN AN OIL LAMP, PLACED AS A GUIDE, IN THE FRONT WINDOW AT DUSK.

I THINK ABOUT ALL THE LIVES THAT HOUSE, ON THE HILL, PROTECTED FOR MANY YEARS, AGAINST STORM AND COLD, WIND AND RAIN. ALL THE CELEBRATIONS, MILESTONES, FAMILY HISTORY MADE WITHIN THESE STILL UPRIGHT WALLS OF THE MAIN HOUSE. I DEFINITELY KNEW I HAD PICKED THE RIGHT COURSE OF STUDY AT UNIVERSITY. I UNDERSTOOD THIS PLACE BECAUSE OF IT…..APPRECIATED ITS DECLINE, AS A MATTER OF FAILED ECONOMY, AND THE INHERENT RISKS OF FARMING IN A HARSH ENVIRONMENT, WITH THE THIN ARABLE SOIL, ON ROCK, MUSKOKA IS FAMOUS FOR. I UNDERSTOOD ITS SUCCESSES HERE, AND COULD ALMOST SEE IT AGAIN, PAINTED AND NEATLY LANDSCAPED AT THE TOP OF THE HILL, WITH LILACS PLANTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WINDING LANE. I COULD SEE THE SNAKING OF THE RAIL FENCES, AND HEAR THE CLOMP OF HOOVES, AS THE HORSES PULL THE FARM WAGON THROUGH MEADOW CART-WAY. I COULD EVEN HEAR THE VOICES OF THE FAMILY FROM AROUND THE HOUSES, WHEN IN FACT, THERE WAS A MOST UNUSUAL, PREVAILING SILENCE…..AS IF AT THAT MOMENT OF MY VISIT, EVERYTHING HAD COME TO A STOP….THE BIRDS AND SQUIRRELS THAT HAD BEEN CHATTERING ONLY SECONDS BEFORE, HAD CALMED INTO A UNHERALDED SOLITUDE. AS IF THE HOUSE WAS SPEAKING TO ME, BY MOOD ALONE, THERE WAS NO DENYING THAT THERE WAS A PREVAILING SADNESS HERE. THERE WAS THE OBVIOUS DESTRUCTION TO A BEAUTIFUL OLD FARM HOUSE. IT PREVAILED UPON VOYEURS TO WITNESS THIS OBVIOUS LOSS OF DISTINCTION, FOR ITS FORMER PLACE IN HISTORY. BUT IT WAS THE SPIRIT THAT MOVED ABOUT THIS PROPERTY, THAT INSPIRED A SORT OF ETHEREAL ATMOSPHERE OF RESOLVE, THAT PROVIDED ME WITH SO MUCH ENTHUSIASM, TO THEN WRITE ABOUT MY SOJOURNS WITHIN ITS PROVOCATIVE, GENTLE EMBRACE.

LAST EVENING, IN GRAVENHURST, I TOOK THE LONG WAY HOME, AFTER PICKING UP OUR BOYS FROM WORK. JUST TO DRIVE AROUND TOWN, ADMIRING THE BRILLIANT MOONSCAPE, ESPECIALLY AS IT PRESENTED OVER THE HOLLOW OF GULL LAKE. IT REMINDED ME OF THE COLD WINTER EVENINGS, WHEN I'D FIND MYSELF STILL AT THIS OLD FARMSTEAD, JUST BEGINNING MY RETURN SKI BACK HOME. I ADORED THESE MOONLIT CROSS COUNTRY SKI ADVENTURES. FUNNY THING ABOUT THIS HALF-FALLEN HOUSE, ALMOST INVISIBLE AMONGST THE OVERGROWN TREES…..THAT IT ALWAYS SEEMED MUCH LESS HAUNTED, ON THESE SAME WINTER NIGHTS, ILLUMINATED BY THE FULL MOON OF FEBRUARY……WHEN THE VOYEUR MIGHT EXPECT THE OPPOSITE. IT WAS PERCEPTION. MY PERCEPTION AS A NEW HISTORIAN, WITH A DESIRE TO WRITE ABOUT MY ADVENTURES IN THE MUSKOKA LAKELAND. AND ALTHOUGH IT'S BEEN MANY YEARS SINCE I LAST VISITED THIS LONG FORGOTTEN FARMSTEAD, I CAN CONJURE IT UP, IN IMAGINATION, ANY TIME I WISH. JUST AS THIS MORNING, SITTING HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW, LISTENING TO THE SQUIRRELS BOUNCING OFF THE OVERHANGING BOUGHS, ONTO THE ROOF, ABOVE MY WINDOW, THE CAT PURRING ON MY LEG, AND THE DOG BITING AT A ROGUE FLEA ON ITS BEHIND. I SUPPOSE I WAS HAUNTED BY THAT PLACE, IN A MOST ACCEPTABLE WAY. IT IS WHAT I WISHED TO HAPPEN. THOSE MEMORIES AND SENSATIONS OF NEARLY THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO, SERVE ME AS WELL TODAY, AS WHEN I RETURNED HOME, EXHAUSTED, WITH A FROST BITTEN NOSE…..AND A WILD DESIRE TO SIT AT MY TYPEWRITER, TO REPRESENT THE HISTORY OF A MUSKOKA FARMSTEAD.

IN THE EARLY 1980'S, I CO-PRODUCED A BOOK OF SHORT STORIES AND POEMS, WITH ONE OF MUSKOKA'S WELL KNOWN PHOTOGRAPHERS, TIM DuVERNET, ENTITLED, "MEMORIES AND IMAGES," AND HAD OUR CELEBRATED BOOK LAUNCH AT UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO'S HART HOUSE. FOR BOTH OF US THEN, IT WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE, AND BOTH OF US HAVE GONE ON INDIVIDUALLY, TO PRODUCE MANY OTHER PUBLISHED EDITORIAL AND PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS. FOR ME, THIS SMALL, UNASSUMING LITTLE BOOK, WAS DEDICATED TO THE OLD HOUSE ON THE HILL……AS IT WAS FULL OF REFERENCES TO THE MANY HOURS I SPENT STUDYING ITS SOCIAL, CULTURAL HERITAGE. BUT IT WAS AFTER ALL, JUST AN OLD HOUSE, LONG PAST ITS PERIOD OF USEFULNESS. SEEDING INTO THE LANDSCAPE FROM WHICH IT WAS INSPIRED. ONE DAY THERE WILL NOT BE A SINGLE TRACE OF THAT FARMHOUSE OF ONCE. NOT EVEN A BRICK WILL REMAIN, TO REMIND THE TRAVELLER IT EXISTED AT ALL. IT WILL HOWEVER, ALWAYS SURVIVE FOR ME, IN THAT PLAY OF MIND AND REMINISCENCE, AND BE INCLUDED AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, IN MOST OF WHAT I WRITE, LEADING I SUPPOSE, TO MY OWN DESTINY OF IRRELEVANCE, AND PLANTING INTO THE GROUND…..AS A WRITER / HISTORIAN ONCE UPON A TIME.

I SHALL BE HAPPY TO HAUNT YOUR RECOLLECTIONS, OF A WRITER YOU USED TO KNOW.

The Poets of Old Muskoka

FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE GREAT BARDS? MAYBE WE SHOULD!

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

QUITE A NUMBER OF CANADA'S BEST KNOWN BARDS…., THE POETS, PHILOSOPHERS AND ASSORTED OTHER CREATIVE MINDS, FOUND THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA A PARTICULARLY INSPIRING PLACE IN WHICH TO CREATE. IN FACT, THEY GATHERED AT THE FORMER MUSKOKA ASSEMBLY, ON TOBIN'S ISLAND, LAKE ROSSEAU, (NEAR WINDERMERE), AS PART OF THE ROAMING CANADIAN CHATAUQUA PROGRAM. ANY ONE WHO KNOWS THIS LOCATION, WOULD AGREE WITH CLAIMS, ABOUT ITS PICTURESQUE QUALITIES.

THE POOLING OF POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS, WAS AT ITS PEAK IN THE 1920'S AND 30'S, AND INCLUDED SUCH IMPORTANT CANADIAN WRITERS AS WILSON MACDONALD, BLISS CARMEN, CHARLES G.D. ROBERTS, MARSHALL SAUNDERS (BOOK, BEAUTIFUL JOE) PLUS MANY OTHER LITERARY RISING STARS. MUSKOKA OFFERED A SORT OF SPIRITUAL CONNECTION, AFFORDING AN AWAKENING OF THE SENSES. I TALKED WITH A WRITER, WELL ACQUAINTED WITH THE CHATAUQUA MOVEMENT, AND ITS STAY IN MUSKOKA, AND SHE WAS VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE FACT MUSKOKA IS, AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE, A VERY "SPIRITUAL PLACE." IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN FOR ME, BUT THEN I'M NOT A GREAT BARD, OR REVERED PHILOSOPHER.

AT DAYBREAK THIS MORNING, THE MOON ON THE WESTERN HORIZON, WAS CUT BY THREE THIN, EVENLY SEPARATED LAYERS OF CLOUD. IT LOOKED MORE LIKE AN EMBLEM ON A FLAG, THAN A GENUINE NATURAL OCCURRENCE. IT HAD AN AMAZING WHITE GLOW AND PINK BACKDROP OF SKY. REFLECTING OFF THE DIAMOND-LIGHT OF THE DISTANT, UNDULATING SNOWSCAPE, AND THROUGH THE BRANCHES OF THE MAPLES IN THE YARD, IT LOOKED QUITE FASCINATING TO THE INADVERTENT VOYEUR. I'M SURE THE POET-KIND MIGHT HAVE MADE COPIOUS NOTES ABOUT THE MORNING SKY, AND TURNED IT INTO SOMETHING POETIC…..SOMETHING REFLECTIVE OF LIFE AND BEYOND, AND THE UNIVERSALITY OF IT ALL. I HAVE LONG BEEN A READER OF THEIR WORK. I HAVE FELT MANY TIMES, THAT THESE POETS, FROM OUR PAST, SAW SOMETHING IN THIS REGION THAT WE HAVE COME TO IGNORE. IN THIS DAY AND AGE, WITH TECHNOLOGY SEEMINGLY OUR NEW REASON TO WORSHIP AND HOPE, THE WORK OF THE POETS HAS BEEN RELEGATED TO DARK, DUSTY, COB-WEBBED CORNERS OF LIBRARIES. AT AN ESTATE SALE, OR AUCTION, WE MIGHT BE LUCKY ENOUGH, TO FIND A FEW COPIES OF THE BOOKS WRITTEN AND SIGNED BY WILSON MACDONALD, WHO SPENT CONSIDERABLE TIME IN OUR REGION, WELL BEYOND THE DAYS OF THE MUSKOKA ASSEMBLY. HE WOULD DO READINGS AT SCHOOL AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND SELL HIS OWN BOOKS AFTER HIS PRESENTATION…..OFTEN TO VERY SUBSTANTIAL AUDIENCES. HE WOULD SIT AND AUTOGRAPH ALL THE BOOKS HE SOLD, WITH A LITTLE NOTATION ADDED AT THE TIME….OF HIS OWN CREATION, AND POTENTIALLY EVEN A LITTLE GRAPHIC INCLUSION…..IF YOU WERE TO ENGAGE HIM IN DISCUSSION, WHILE HE STILL HAD PEN IN HAND. I HAVE QUITE A NUMBER OF BOOKS HE HAND-ILLUMINATED, WHILE SITTING, AND TALKING WITH HIS READERS.

I KNOW, AHEAD OF TIME, THAT MOST PEOPLE I TALK TO THESE DAYS, ABOUT MUSKOKA HISTORY, WILL HAVE NO IDEA WHO WILSON MACDONALD WAS….OR THE OTHER POETS OF HIS DAY. YET LIKE THE ARTISTS OF THE LEGENDARY GROUP OF SEVEN, WHO GAVE US A NEW AND EXCITING WAY OF LOOKING AT OUR COUNTRY, THESE WERE THE WRITERS, GIVING THIS COUNTRY ITS LITERARY HERITAGE. MUSKOKA FACTORED HEAVILY INTO THIS LITERARY HISTORY. BUT IT'S NOT LIKELY THAT WILSON MACDONALD, OR BLISS CARMEN OR CHARLES G.D. ROBERTS, WILL EVER AGAIN BE NAMES BANDIED ABOUT, OR ON THE TIP OF ANYONE'S TONGUE. SADLY, IT IS A LOSS TO OUR REGION, BECAUSE THESE POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS, AND ARTISTS WHO PAINTED AROUND OUR LAKELAND, DID RECOGNIZE THE HIDDEN SPIRITUALITY OF THE ALLURING HINTERLAND. THE ACADEMICS OF THE PAST, FOUND REASON TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MUSKOKA WAS A NURTURING GROUND FOR PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT. I HAVE NEVER ONCE, AS A LONG TIME WRITER AND HISTORIAN, SERVING THIS REGION OF ONTARIO, FOUND ANY REASON TO DISMISS THEIR OBSERVANCES ABOUT THE SOURCES OF INSPIRATION, MUSKOKA OFFERS ITS CREATIVE RESIDENTS. ONE NEED NOT GO FURTHER THAN THE LIST OF ACTIVE MUSKOKA ARTISTS AND ARTISANS, WHO HAVE FOUND IDEAL PORTALS ONTO THE HINTERLAND, FROM WHICH TO WORK. YOU CAN FIND MANY OF THESE FOLKS, MEMBERS OF THE MUSKOKA ARTS AND CRAFTS ASSOCIATION, OF WHICH I HAVE ENORMOUS RESPECT. WE ALL HAVE OUR SPECIAL WINDOWS OVERLOOKING THE NATURAL ATTRIBUTES OF THIS DYNAMIC REGION.

THERE ARE REASONS WE TAKE THE NATURE OF MUSKOKA FOR GRANTED. IT DOESN'T SEEM AS IMPORTANT AS THE FUNCTIONING OF OUR DAY TO DAY LIVES. IT DOESN'T SEEM, AT TIMES, ANYTHING MORE THAN A FRUSTRATION TO DEVELOPERS……WHEN OPPONENTS USE ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY TO BLOCK EARTH MOVERS AND TARMAC. WE PASS BY THESE WOODLANDS BY DAY AND NIGHT, AND THINK OF THEM AS A PRETTY BACKDROP ON A SUNNY MORNING, OR MOONLIT NIGHT. WHEN WE HEAR A CHAINSAW SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANCE, WE ASSUME A TREE THAT IS DEAD, IS BEING FELLED FOR SAFETY REASONS. WHEN WE READ IN THE DAILY NEWS, OR ONLINE, THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIFTED WITH A SPRAWLING NEW DEVELOPMENT, A BOX STORE OR STRIP MALL, WE INITIALLY GET EXCITED THAT MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES WILL BE CREATED. WHEN WE SEE THE DUMP TRUCKS RUMBLING BY, WITH FULL LOADS OF MOTHER EARTH, WE ASSUME OUR REGION IS FINALLY COMING OF AGE. WHEN WE FIND OUT THAT A MARINA EXPANSION WILL OCCUR, WITH MORE DOCKING SPACE FOR BOATS, IT'S USUALLY ONLY THOSE WITH A VESTED INTEREST, AS NEIGHBORS, WHO FEEL ANY SENSE OF CONCERN ABOUT FUTURE CONGESTION, AND ISSUES OF WATER QUALITY. WHEN WE GET SNOWED IN, WE COMPLAIN ABOUT HORRIBLE WINTERS. WHEN OUR EVENTS ARE RAINED OUT, IT IS NATURE'S FAULT.

I MISS THE RAMBLINGS OF OLD POETS THROUGH OUR WILD PLACES. I MISS THE WAY THEY INFORMED US, THE STAKE-HOLDERS OF THIS AMAZING REGION, THAT WE SHOULD OPEN OURSELVES TO ITS INHERENT SPIRITUALITY…..LET IT SOOTHE AWAY OUR WOES…..INSPIRE OUR FUTURE EFFORTS. I MISS THE EMPHASIS THEY PLACED, ON NATURAL QUALITIES, AND REALITIES WE NEED TO BE CONCERNED. I MISS THEIR CREATIVE ENCOURAGEMENT, TO INSPIRE US TO LOOK BEYOND WHATS PRESENTS AS REAL AND PERPETUATING, TO SEE LIFE AS A GREAT WEALTH….AS AN ENDURING RESOURCE, TO BE USED AND CELEBRATED. ALAS, THE WORK OF THE GREAT BARDS, THE PHILOSOPHERS OF A YOUNG COUNTRY, ARE SELDOM, IF EVER RECALLED, EXCEPT BY SENTIMENTAL FOOLS LIKE ME…..WHO STILL DEPEND TOO MUCH, I SUPPOSE, ON THE SPIRITUALITY THEY FOUND DURING THEIR ADVENTURES. NOW IT IS A NEW SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, FOR TODAY'S INVESTORS ARRIVING IN THE LAKELAND…..TO EXPLOIT WHAT THEY SEE ONLY AS AN UNTAPPED RESOURCE…..NOT A CIRCULATORY VEIN OF ENLIGHTENMENT, SUCH THAT STEWARDSHIP SHOULD OUTWEIGH CAPITALIST FERVOR. WE ARE IN FOR A FUTURE OF EXPLOITATION, BUT NOT BASED ON THE REGION'S SPIRITUAL ESSENCE. BASED ON MARKET VALUE.

"COME NOT THE LEISURE OF THIS DRIFTING MOON, NOR BLAME THE LAZY LOITERING OF STARS, THAT PASS ABOVE THESE ISLES OF BEARDED STONE; NOR WONDER SHOULD THE SLOWLY WHEELING CARS OF ALGOL AND ARCTURUS CRAVE THE BOON, TO EVER REMAIN - AND NIGHT PAUSE LIKE A NOMAD WHO HAS FOUND, IN WOODLANDS STRUNG WITH MOONLIGHT WHOSE PALE RAIN, DESCENDS TO EARTH WITH NEITHER SCENT NOR TONE, THE HAVEN WHITHER AGELONG SHE WAS BOUND.

DARK ARE THESE GROPING WATERS, DARK AS WINE, FROM A WILD CHERRY'S HEART; A LIGHT WIND COMES, WITH SPEED OF FIRE AROUND A WOODED TURN, WITHIN WHOSE DROWSY HAUNTS A PARTRIDGE STRUMS, IN DREAMS, DISTURBING SLUMBER OF THE PINE. HERE THE WHITE POPLARS BOIL, ABOVE THE MOON-FIRES KINDLED IN A POOL, WHEREIN THE DYING HEMLOCK POURS ITS OIL, AND WHERE THE BROWN, DECAYING FRONDS OF FERN, LIE IN A DREAMLESS SLUMBER, SWEET AND COOL."

THE POEM, ENTITLED SIMPLY, "MUSKOKA" WAS WRITTEN BY MADONALD, PUBLISHED IN HIS 1926 BOOK, "OUT OF THE WILDERNESS," INSPIRED BY HIS DAYS SPENT ON TOBIN'S ISLAND, LAKE ROSSEAU.

Poor Economy, Stress and Natural Places

THE STRESS, THE LIFESTYLE, THE MONEY OWING, THE PERILOUS FUTURE -

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

BACK IN THE EARLY 1990'S, AS I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT MANY TIMES PREVIOUSLY, OUR YOUNG FAMILY HAD TO ENDURE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE REAL ESTATE COLLAPSE OF THIS PERIOD'S LENGTHY RECESSION. WE HAD LOST AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT OF THE VALUE OF OUR NEWLY PURCHASED HOUSE, AND THAT WAS JUST ON PAPER. IN REALITY, NO ONE WAS BUYING. REAL ESTATE SHARKS WERE HITTING AT BIG DEALS, BUT WE JUST COULD DROP OUR PRICE THAT LOW. THE MOST TRANSACTIONS, IN THOSE YEARS, WERE BANKS REPOSSESSING HOUSES WITH HEAVY MORTGAGES. ON TOP OF THAT, SUZANNE HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT, ON MUSKOKA ROAD FOUR, IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND ALTHOUGH THE CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN-OFF BECAUSE OF ITS AGE, THE ADJUSTOR AT THE TIME, DECIDED IT WAS REPAIRABLE. AS WE STILL OWED QUITE A BIT OF MONEY IT, AND HAD A LARGE MORTGAGE PAYMENT EVERY MONTH, WHEN WE GOT OR CAR BACK FROM THE SHOP, THE ALMOST MONTHLY RETURN TRIPS TO THE GARAGE, MAXED-OUT EVEN OUR CREDIT CARDS. YUP, I'D NEVER KNOWN STRESS LIKE THIS BEFORE. IT WAS GROWING AND NOTHING WE DID, SEEMED TO REDUCE THE DAY TO DAY FINANCIAL INTENSITY. OUR CORRECTIONS OFTEN ONLY MADE THINGS WORSE, AND SERIOUSLY REDUCED CASH LEFT FOR DAY TO DAY LIVING. FAMILY MEMBERS DIDN'T REALLY KNOW HOW BAD IT WAS, AND SOME THOUGHT WE GOT WHAT WE DESERVED, WHEN THEY DID FIND OUT BY INSIDER GOSSIP……AS IT WAS WRONGLY ASSUMED, WE HAD BEEN LIVING LIKE THE RICH AND FAMOUS. I SUPPOSE, IN SOME REGARDS, THEY WERE RIGHT. BUT THEN WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THEIR HELP, SO WE DIDN'T SEEK OUT THEIR CRITIQUES EITHER.

THERE WERE EFFICIENCY, COST SAVING MEASURES THAT STRIPPED A COUPLE OF JOBS, OUT OF THREE I WAS BALANCING, AND THE THIRD JOB WAS A WALL OF POLITICS I COULDN'T STAND ANY LONGER. THAT LEFT A SMALL ANTIQUE SHOP PARTNERSHIP, AND A GENERALLY LOW INCOME FROM THIS MAIN STREET BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. SUZANNE WAS STILL A FLEDGLING TEACHER, AND WE ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT REDUNDANCIES EACH SPRING, WHEN ENROLLMENT NUMBERS STARTED TO MANIFEST FOR THE FOLLOWING SEPTEMBER. SHE COULD HAVE BEEN LAID-OFF, OR SENT TO A SCHOOL AT THE OTHER END OF THE DISTRICT. HAVING TWO SMALL KIDS, A BROKEN CAR (UNPAID FOR), A HOUSE THAT WAS WORTH LESS THAN WE HAD PAID FOR IT, THREE JOBS FALTERING IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND WE WERE TAPPED-OUT WITH NOWHERE TO TURN…..GADS, COULD IT GET ANY WORSE? THERE WAS ONE PLACE TO TURN. IT WASN'T RELIGION.

I CAN REMEMBER COMING HOME AFTER WORK, ABSOLUTELY DRAINED FROM THE DAY'S WORRY. NOT THE WORK. THE WORK WAS EASY AND FOR THE MOST PART ENJOYABLE. I WAS WORKING IN THE ANTIQUE FIELD, AND FULFILLING A DREAM TO BE IMMERSED IN HISTORY. I WAS ALSO WRITING CONSTANTLY, AND AS BUSINESS WAS PRETTY SLOW THEN, I WAS ABLE TO WRITE NUMEROUS MANUSCRIPTS, AND COMMENCE A NUMBER OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL NEWSPAPER COLUMNS WHICH LASTED THROUGH THE DECADE. BUT THE LOW PROFIT MARGIN OF THE SHOP, DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE RECESSION, AND THE AMOUNT WE OWED MONTHLY, MEANT THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE OVERLY HAPPY ABOUT AT THE END OF EACH DAY.

AFTER DINNER, EVERY NIGHT, I'D WANDER OUT ON THE VERANDAH, OVERLOOKING BIRCH HOLLOW AND THE BOG, AND HANG OUT OVER THE RAIL, IN SERIOUS CONTEMPLATION ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO US. ALTHOUGH WE NEVER ONCE MISSED A MORTGAGE PAYMENT, AND ALWAYS PAID OUR CAR LOAN REQUIREMENTS, WE HAD TO PURPOSELY DEFER PAYMENTS LIKE HYDRO, AND TAXES, AND EVEN THE CREDIT CARDS, JUST TO AFFORD FOOD AND GAS. WE LIVED IN GRAVENHURST BUT OUR BUSINESS WAS IN BRACEBRIDGE, AS WAS SUZANNE'S PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT. I CAN REMEMBER ONE NIGHT, AFTER A PARTICULARLY DEPRESSING DAY, ARRIVING UP OUR LANE, TO FIND A BRIGHTLY COLORED TAG ON OUR DOOR. IT SAID THAT, UNLESS HYDRO WAS PAID IN FULL, FOR WHAT WE OWED THEM, OUR HYDRO WOULD BE CUT-OFF WITHIN THE NEXT 48 HOURS. THAT WAS A NIGHT, I REALLY NEEDED TO HANG OVER THAT RAILING, AND LOOK DEEP INTO THE WOODLANDS FOR INSPIRATION. EVEN THEN, IT SEEMED LIKE A THIN OFFERING, BECAUSE I NEEDED A HEAPING AMOUNT TO OFFER EVEN A GLIMMER OF HOPE WE COULD RECOVER FROM OUR DEBT-LOAD.

THIS ISN'T A BLOG ABOUT HOW WE SURVIVED OUR OWN PERSONAL DEBT-CRISIS. IT'S ABOUT THE POSITIVE INFLUENCES MY PERSONAL WALDEN, HAS HAD ON ME, EVER SINCE THOSE DARK AND THREATENING DAYS. SOME TIMES, I WOULD DISAPPEAR FOUR OR FIVE TIMES A NIGHT, AND SUZANNE ALWAYS KNEW WHERE TO FIND ME. AS I HAD, AS A CHILD, I FOUND SOLACE AND INSPIRATION LOOKING OUT OVER THAT BEAUTIFUL LOWLAND, THROUGHOUT THE FOUR SEASONS. IF I'D BEEN STARING, INSTEAD, OUT OVER A SEA OF OTHER RESIDENCES, AND HEARD THE ROAR OF LAWNMOWERS, INSTEAD OF HEARING OWLS AND LOONS, I MIGHT NOT HAVE MADE IT THROUGH THIS UNFORTUNATE PERIOD OF POOR ECONOMY. I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEARCH IN THE HEART OF THIS THRIVING LOWLAND, AND FOUND THE MYRIAD OF WILDFLOWERS, AND AMAZING MUSHROOMS THAT PREVAILED UPON THE FOREST FLOOR. I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM LISTENING TO THE TINY, HIDDEN CATARACTS, THAT MADE SUCH A SOOTHING, GENTLE SOUND, THAT ALMOST HYPNOTIZED THE FEAR AND LOATHING FROM MY HEART. I COULD ARRIVE OUT ON THIS VERANDAH, FEELING AS IF MY LIFE WAS OVER, AND THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THAT COULD REPAIR THE DAMAGE DONE, AND WITHIN JUST A FEW MINUTES, THE SIGHT OF A HUMMINGBIRD AT A FEEDER, OR THE GLIMPSE OF A FOX TROTTING DOWN ONE OF THE WOODLAND PATHS, WOULD DEMONSTRATE THE TRUE IMPORTANCE OF EACH MOMENT OF EVERY DAY.

WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE TERRIBLE SITUATION, MANY YOUNG PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES TODAY, IN THE STRANGULATING GRASP OF MORTGAGES, LINES OF CREDIT, AND CREDIT CARD BALANCES, I FEAR FOR THEIR FUTURE WELL BEING. WHEN WE BOUGHT OUR HOME, HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, AND OPERATED LIKE THE WELL-TO-DO COUPLE WE WERE, BY INCOME AT LEAST, IT SIMPLY DIDN'T SEEM EVEN THE SLIGHTEST RISK, THAT A RECESSION COULD SO EASILY KNOCK US OFF OUR FEET. FROM LIVING THE GOOD LIFE, WITH LOTS OF RESOURCES FROM WHICH TO OPERATE MONTH TO MONTH, WE WALKED INTO THE VORTEX OF OUR OWN PERFECT STORM. THERE ARE MANY, MANY FOLKS, LIVING JUST LIKE WE DID, IN THOSE PRECARIOUS YEARS. ONE OR TWO MISFORTUNES OF ECONOMIC SECURITY, AND THE HOUSE OF CARDS COLLAPSES ON ITSELF. AND THERE WILL BE CASUALTIES. I HATE TO SEE THIS. BUT IT WILL HAPPEN, THAT REAL ESTATE VALUES WILL ADJUST, SOONER OR LATER, REGARDLESS WHAT SPARKS THE CHANGE OF PACE. THE CONSEQUENCES, I BELIEVE, WILL BE SEVERE, AND THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE, GRAVE. I KNOW OF NUMEROUS PEOPLE WHO TOOK THEIR OWN LIVES, RATHER THAN DECLARE BANKRUPTCY. THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF WARNINGS NOW, THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE IN 1989, SO CORRECTIVE MEASURES, TO SOME DEGREE, CAN BE TAKEN BY THOSE AT GREATEST FINANCIAL RISK. I HOPE THEY WILL TAKE THESE WARNINGS SERIOUSLY, OR THE LOSSES THEY WILL INCUR GENERALLY, WILL AFFECT EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR LIVES. NO ONE TOLD ME IT WOULD BE A DIRE CIRCUMSTANCE, BUT IT WAS. AND TRUTH BE KNOWN, THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE OWED AT THE PEAK, AS COMPARED TO DEBT LOADS OF MORTGAGES TODAY, IS A FRACTION OF THE MODERN DAY DEBT REALITIES. FOR PEOPLE IN A PARALLEL CIRCUMSTANCE, AS WE WERE IN 1989-1990, THERE'S STILL TIME TO FIX THINGS UP.

I HAD THE WOODLANDS, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. IT BECAME THE GREATEST SINGLE ASSET WE HAD, BUT AT THE TIME, SUZANNE WANTED FINANCIAL RELIEF, MORESO THAN EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL RESOLUTION. WE TALKED A LOT, ABOUT THE IDEA OF SELLING EVERYTHING WE OWNED, AND LIVING WITH LESS IN OUR LIVES. TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, WE COMPROMISED ON THIS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME, TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST OF A HOME LIFE THAT HAD MANY ATTRIBUTES, INCLUDING ACCESS TO A THRIVING LITTLE URBAN HINTERLAND……WHICH OVER TIME, WAS OUR SAVING GRACE. WE TURNED TO NATURE AS AN OUTLET, AND IT EVEN LED US TO MANY LOW BUDGET CAMPING TRIPS, TO ALGONQUIN PARK….WHERE OTHERWISE, WE WOULD HAVE TRAVELLED TO FLORIDA, OR TO THE CITY, STAYING IN NICELY APPOINTED AND EXPENSIVE HOTELS. BEING IMMERSED IN THE WILDS RE-CHARGED OUR AMBITION TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR LIVES. WE BEGAN ENJOYING OUR PROPERTY, AND AFTER FLIPPING SEVERAL HOMES IN THE PAST, DECIDED THIS WAS GOING TO BE OUR…..HOMESTEAD, FOREVER. IT WAS THIS PLACE, IN SOUTH MUSKOKA, THAT SAVED OUR LIVES. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN CAUGHT BY THE RECESSION THEN, REGARDLESS, NO MATTER WHERE WE RESIDED. IT WAS THAT START-UP TIME IN FAMILY LIFE, WHEN YOU WORK HARD AT SELF IMPROVEMENT. I CAN'T IMAGINE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH DIFFERENT IN MANY OTHER SCENARIOS. WE HAD TO BE TAUGHT ABOUT LIFE VALUES. IT HAD LESS AND LESS TO DO WITH MONEY, THE MORE WE LEARNED TO ENJOY THE IMMENSE POTENTIAL OF A HOUSE…..AS A HOME!

THIS HUMBLE LITTLE ABODE, ACROSS FROM A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE OASIS OF CAT-TAILS AND VENERABLE OLD PINES AND MAPLES, WITH ITS LOVELY WILDNESS, THE DEER, FOX, SQUIRRELS AND BIRDS…..THE ENCHANTMENTS I STILL FIND AS AN ADULT, THAT STILL INSPIRE ME….., CALM ME, ABOUT THE PERILS OF THE MODERN WORLD. NO, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD HAVE COPED, WITHOUT THIS HEALING ELEMENT TO OUR ENVIRONS, THAT TOOK STRESS AWAY…..LIKE THE CONSTANT CLEANSING OF THE LOWLAND, BY THE LITTLE CIRCULATORY CREEKS, HIDDEN UNDER THE MATTED GRASSES OF THE SUMMERS BEFORE…..THAT WE HEAR, WASHING OVER THE TINY CATARACTS, DOWN THE SLOPING LANDSCAPE TOWARD THE BEAUTIFUL LAKE GLISTENING BELOW. THIS IS MY CHERISHED RESPITE, EACH DAY, AND IT HAS SERVED ME WELL FOR ALL THESE YEARS……AS IT HAS FOR SO MANY OTHER RESIDENTS, WHO ENJOY THE EMBRACE OF NATURAL MUSKOKA, TO CALM THE TURMOILS OF WHAT PREVAILS UPON US, TO NAVIGATE YET ANOTHER DAY.

I CAN STILL BE SEEN ON OCCASION, SHOULD SOMEONE BE WATCHING, HANGING OUT OVER THE RAILING OF OUR VERANDAH, HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW. CONNECTING TO WHAT I FIND SO AMAZING AND RESTORATIVE ABOUT LOWLAND SPACES, AND WOODLAND PATHWAYS, AND ALL THE REGENERATION THAT OCCURS WITHIN…..THAT RESTORES WHAT THE NEW SEASONS DEMANDS. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AT THE MERCY OF THE SEASONS. I WILLINGLY SUCCUMB TO ALL ITS INFLUENCES.

NATURE CAN BE AN AMAZING STRESS REDUCER…..IF YOU GIVE IT A CHANCE.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING THIS MORNING'S BLOG FROM BEAUTIFUL GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO, IN THE NATURAL EMBRACE OF SOUTH MUSKOKA.

News Reporting in Muskoka

THE REALITIES WE CAN NOT ESCAPE, BUT IF WE COULD

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

SUZANNE USED TO ASK ME, WHILE I WAS WORKING FOR THE LOCAL PRESS, IF THE NEWS OF THE DAY EVER DEPRESSED ME. AT THE TIME, THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY DEPRESSED ME WAS SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO WORKED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THOSE PAPERS. THE REPORTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE A PRETTY TIGHT KNIT COMMUNITY, AND THIS INCLUDED OTHER NEWSPAPER STAFF FROM THE COMPETING PUBLICATIONS. WE HANDLED OUR STRESS LIKE MOST OTHER REPORTERS. A LOT OF TIME WAS SPENT AT THE LOCAL WATERING HOLE. NOW I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT BOOZE WAS EVER OUR ANSWER, TO DEALING WITH THE PROBLEMS OF THE DAY, BUT A SLOWLY CONSUMED PINT, LISTENING TO JAZZ, WATCHING OUT THE WINDOWS OVER THE MUSKOKA RIVER, WAS JUST PERFECT AFTER A DAY ON THE NEWS HUSTINGS. IF WE HAD A BAD DAY, PARTICULARLY ON TUESDAY NIGHTS, WHEN THE HERALD-GAZETTE WAS "PUT TO BED," (SENT TO BE PRINTED), BRACEBRIDGE'S RIVERSIDE INN WAS THE PLACE TO RETREAT. STRANGELY ENOUGH, IT WAS THE PLACE WE FIRST HEARD ABOUT THE SHOOTING DEATH OF JOHN LENNON. I REMEMBER BRANT SCOTT, MYSELF AND PHOTOGRAPHER HAROLD WRIGHT, TOASTING LENNON FOR MOST OF THAT NIGHT, HUMMING SOME OF HIS MOST MEMORABLE SONGS.

IF IT HAD BEEN A SORT OF MIXED WEEK, WITH A MINOR AMOUNT OF FRUSTRATION, WE WOULD FIND OURSELVES HOLED-UP AT THE HOLIDAY HOUSE, ON DOMINION STREET. A BAD DAY. THE HOTEL PATTERSON. AN AWFUL DAY, THE ALBION HOTEL BY THE TRACKS IN BRACEBRIDGE. BUT THE UNDENIABLE TRUTH WAS, WE DID REQUIRE WIND-DOWN PLACES TO RETREAT. MUCH LIKE I NEED THIS BOGLAND, AT BIRCH HOLLOW TODAY.

WHEN I HEAR THE MORNING NEWS, THESE DAYS, MIUCH OF IT SEEMING TO POINT TO EITHER WORLD WAR OR ECONOMIC CALAMITY, I THINK BACK TO THOSE REPORTING DAYS, AND THE KIND OF TURMOIL WE ENDURED TO GET A MODEST PAY CHECK. I'VE WONDERED MANY TIMES IF THE JOB WAS WORTH IT…..CONSIDERING THE DOWN TIME WE NEEDED IN THESE LOCAL WATERING HOLES. EVEN IF WE WENT FOR A ROUND OF GOLF, OUR BAGS WERE LOADED FULL OF BEER AND WHISKY, SHOULD THE GOING GET TOUGH. WHEN YOU WATCH WHAT REPORTERS ARE COVERING TODAY, IN THE WORLD'S MANY HOT SPOTS, WELL SIR, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO SWITCH PLACES WITH THEM. IN COMPARISON, OUR JOBS ON A WEEKLY PUBLICATION, DON'T EVEN MAKE THE SAME SCALE, AS WAR CORRESPONDENTS; BRAVELY FACING POTENTIAL DEATH EVERY DAY THEY ATTEND THESE TUMULTUOUS ZONES, WE HEAR ABOUT IN CRISIS, ALMOST DAILY. AND IT'S GETTING WORSE.

I KNOW THAT I WOULD STAND AT ACCIDENT AND FIRE SCENES, WHERE THERE HAD BEEN A LOSS OF LIFE, AND FEEL AS IF I WAS THE POOREST CHOICE FOR A NEWSPAPER REPORTER. I'VE HAD OCCASIONS WHERE I'D STEP THROUGH BLOOD AT SOME AWFUL HIGHWAY CARNAGE, AND SEE THE BODIES STILL IN THE CARS, BEFORE THE TARPS COULD BE POSITIONED. THERE'S A POINT WHERE ADRENALIN KIND OF PUSHES THE BODY AND MIND THROUGH THE EVENT, BUT THE COLLAPSE WILL COME WHEN IT ALL SINKS IN……THAT THERE ARE NO SURVIVORS. I CAN REMEMBER BEING AT THE SCENE OF A POLICE SHOOTING, AND HAVING TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF OFFICERS USING RAKES TO SIFT THROUGH THE SNOW, TO FIND THE BULLET CASINGS. A PICTURE FELL OUT OF A BOOK THE OTHER DAY, OF AN IMAGE I CAPTURED ON THAT BITTER WINTER DAY….AND I SAW WHAT I HADN'T BEFORE. THE OFFICERS LOOKING BACK AT ME WITH SUCH CONTEMPT, THAT SOME GHOUL HAD THE GALL TO HIGHLIGHT THIS AWFUL MOMENT IN AN OFFICER'S CAREER. I HATED EVERY MOMENT I WAS OUT THERE, AS I SIDED WITH THEM. I WANTED TO KICK MY ASS, BUT LIKE THEM, I HAD A JOB TO DO, AND IF I TURNED UP AT THE NEWSPAPER WITHOUT THAT IMAGE ON FILM, WELL, THEN I WAS GOING TO LOSE A CAREER I THOUGHT I LIKED.

ON THIS DAY, I HATED MY JOB. I HATED THAT WHAT MY NEWSPAPER NEEDED, TO WIN THE LOCAL CIRCULATION WAR, WAS A PICTURE LIKE THIS FOR THE FRONT PAGE. YES, IT WAS THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW, BUT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN IN EDITORIAL COPY, WITHOUT THE NECESSITY OF ME JAMMING A CAMERA AT SUCH A SENSITIVE SCENE AS WAS UNFOLDING. ON TOP OF THE RAW EMOTION OF THE SCENE, MY FILM KEPT SNAPPING APART IN THE BITTER JANUARY COLD, AND I HAD TO KEEP JUMPING BACK IN MY CAR, TO PUT IN ANOTHER ROLL. THEY WOULD JUST STOP RAKING AT THE SNOW, AND STARE AT ME, TO BASICALLY SHOW THEIR DISAPPROVAL THAT I WAS OUT THERE TO CAPTURE THE MISERY, OF A FALLEN OFFICER, AND A MOURNING POLICE FORCE. I THINK THIS OCCASION WAS A CAREER CHANGER FOR ME, BECAUSE I FOUND A WAY TO STAY AWAY FROM SCENES LIKE THIS, FROM THAT POINT. IT DOESN'T MEAN OUR PAPER STOPPED COVERING BREAKING NEWS. I JUST FOUND SOMEONE MORE FOCUSED AND DISCIPLINED THAN ME. LIKE A GOALIE WHO HAS TO ADMIT HE'S "PUCK SHY", I HAD TO LOOK AT MY OWN INNER CONFLICT, THAT COVERING SCENES WHERE DEATH HAS OCCURRED, WAS NOT IN MY LONG-TERM BEST INTERESTS. I DWELL ON STUFF. AND I WAS ALSO A FORMER GOALIE, WHO HAD NO PROBLEM, AFTER GETTING A SLAPSHOT IN THE THROAT, OF SAYING….WHEN I COULD FINALLY SPEAK, "YES, COACH, I AM PUCK SHY."

I WAS AT AN ACCIDENT SCENE, ONE SUMMER DAY, NEAR PORT CARLING. IT HAD BEEN A SINGLE CAR ROLL-OVER, WITH TWO FATALITIES. A CHILD, STRAPPED INTO A CAR SEAT SURVIVED. THERE WERE THREE LOCAL NEWS PHOTOGRAPHERS AT THE SCENE, TO DOCUMENT THIS TRAGIC ACCIDENT. A NEW REPORTER WAS IN THE THREESOME, AND SHE ARRIVED A SHORT TIME AFTER I DID. YOU COULD TELL SHE WAS EXCITED ABOUT WHAT AMOUNTED TO HER FIRST ON-SITE COVERAGE, OF A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT. SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS UNDER THE TARP IN FRONT OF US. UNTIL THE WIND BLEW A CORNER OFF THE BODIES BENEATH. I TRIED TO WARN HER ABOUT GETTING TOO CLOSE. WELL, AS WE HAVE ALL HAD OUR MOMENTS RUNNING INTO THE BUSH, SHE HAD HERS. I'D ALWAYS GET WOBBLY KNEES AND FEEL FAINT, AND I WAS TYPICALLY A GOOD DISTANCE AWAY FROM THESE TERRIBLE SCENES. I DID GET USED TO THE EVENTS AFTER A FEW YEARS ON THE JOB. I JUST WASN'T THE FIRST TO VOLUNTEER TO COVER THE ACCIDENTS, WHEN WE HEARD ABOUT THEM ON THE POLICE SCANNER WE KEPT IN OUR OFFICE.

EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, I WILL THINK I SHOULD MAKE A NEWSPAPER COME-BACK. SEEK OUT AN EDITOR'S ROLE SOMEWHERE OR OTHER. I'M JUST NOT SURE WHETHER OR NOT, I COULD SLIDE BACK INTO THAT ROLE AGAIN….ESPECIALLY SINCE I'VE SPENT SO MANY YEARS NOW, WRITING FEATURE MATERIAL AND BIOGRAPHIES, AND FELT VERY LITTLE REASON TO RETREAT DOWN TO A LOCAL WATERING HOLE TO ADJUST TO THAT DAY'S NEW REALITY. I HAVE ALREADY BEEN OVER IN "THE BOG" THIS MORNING, CHECKING OUT THE DEER TRACKS THROUGHOUT THE WOODS, WHERE THE WINDING PATH CUTS IN AND OUT OF THE MORNING BRIGHTNESS…..THAT PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW ARTIST'S LOVE TO INTERPRET IN SUCH WINTER SCENES AS THIS.

I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED IF I MIGHT HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, IN THOSE YEARS COVERING MISERY AND VIOLENCE, ON THE BREAKING NEWS AND CRIME BEAT. I'D MUCH SOONER HAVE BEEN VISITING SIGNIFICANT FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY, WORKING ON INTERESTING BIOGRAPHIES. I FOUND IT HARD TO WRITE THE HEAVY, HEART-BREAKING NEWS STORIES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CAME TO THE FACE TO FACE CONTACT WITH FAMILY THAT USUALLY CAME IN THE WEEKS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE NEWS COVERAGE. SOME WANTED TO PUNCH ME OUT. OTHERS WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE SCENE WAS LIKE, AND IF THEIR FRIENDS OR KIN HAD SUFFERED. I ACTUALLY PREFERRED THE THREATS OF BODILY HARM, BECAUSE IT WAS SO UNBELIEVABLY DIFFICULT TO REPLAY WITH SENSITIVITY TO DETAIL, THE CARNAGE I'D STOOD OVER. THERE WAS NO WAY OF MAKING THAT PICTURE ANY LESS GROTESQUE THAN IT APPEARED IN MY CAMERA LENS. SOME FOLKS MAY HAVE MISTAKENLY THOUGHT REPORTERS GOT A RUSH OUT OF BEING WAVED THROUGH POLICE BARRICADES TO DO THEIR JOB. I NEVER ONCE FELT PRIVILEGED TO DO SO….BUT ALWAYS FELT THE SAME SENSE OF MISERY AND HELPLESSNESS AS ALL THE FIRST RESPONDERS.

EVERY NOW AND AGAIN SUZANNE WILL PONDER ABOUT MY MINDLESS DRIFT, WHILE ON A WALK THROUGH THIS LOVELY SOLITUDE OF THE BOG. SHE'LL OCCASIONALLY CHECK ON ME, WHEN I'M WORKING IN MY OFFICE, IF I'M OKAY, AS IF SHE KNOWS I HAVE MY OWN TROUBLESOME FLASHBACKS. TRUTH IS, I'VE RECONCILED MYSELF ABOUT THOSE DAYS, DOING WHAT REPORTERS DO FOR A PAY CHEQUE. I NEVER ONCE WENT TO AN ACCIDENT SCENE OUT OF A SENSE OF ADVENTURE, OR FOR AN ON-THE-JOB THRILL. I NEEDED THE MONEY. I COULDN'T SAY I WOULDN'T GO. I COULDN'T ARRIVE BACK IN THE NEWSROOM, ESPECIALLY ON OCCASIONS WHEN THE PAPER HAD BEEN HELD BACK FROM PRINTING, FOR THAT NEWS PHOTOGRAPH, OR I WOULD HAVE BEEN UNEMPLOYED IN MY FIRST YEAR AS A CUB REPORTER. FUNNY WHAT BEING BROKE CAN INSPIRE. I WROTE BECAUSE I'M A WRITER. I WAS A PHOTOGRAPHER BECAUSE ALL REPORTERS HAD TO HAVE A CAMERA AROUND THEIR NECKS. WE WERE A SMALL, WEEKLY PAPER. EVERYONE'S JOB HAD MORE THAN ONE DISCIPLINE. REPORTERS OFTEN WERE FORCED TO COLLECT OVERDUE ACCOUNTS AND EVEN DELIVER THE NEWSPAPERS TO LOCAL OUTLETS.

I'VE BEEN OUT OF DAY TO DAY NEWS GATHERING FOR THE LOCAL PRESS, SINCE THE SUMMER OF 1990. WHILE I HAVE WRITTEN ACTIVELY FOR THE PRESS EVER SINCE, I HAVE NEVER RETURNED, OR SHOWN ANY DESIRE TO RE-ESTABLISH MYSELF AS A FRONT-LINE NEWS GATHERER. I WILL NEVER FORGET THOSE YEARS, AND THE TRULY TERRIBLE EVENTS I HAD TO COVER, BUT I THINK NOW, THAT IT WAS AN IMPORTANT IMMERSION IN THE REALITIES, I MIGHT HAVE, AS A CONVENIENT TRUTH, INSULATED MYSELF FROM……AS JUST A WRITER IN THIS RESIDENCE…..NEXT TO THIS HEALING PLACE, WHERE I BASK IN ITS GENTLE SOLITUDE, AS I HAVE ALREADY SOUGHT OUT, AND ENJOYED THIS MORNING.

Spring in Muskoka, Too Early

THE SPRING BEFORE ITS DAY -

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

I FEEL GUILTY ACTUALLY. BEING IMMERSED IN A NON-WINTER IS KIND OF STRANGELY WONDERFUL, BUT THEN I'M TALKING MORE ABOUT ECONOMICS AND INHERENT HARDSHIPS WE'VE BEEN, AT LEAST PARTIALLY, SPARED IN THE WINTER SEASON OF 2011-2012. WHETHER IT IS GLOBAL WARMING OR NOT, IT IS A REALITY THAT SHOULD MAKE US A LITTLE NERVOUS, IN BETWEEN BOUTS OF EUPHORIA AT NOT HAVING TO SHOVEL FOR AN HOUR, JUST TO GET THE CAR OUT. OR HAVING TO WORRY THAT THE SEVERE COLD WILL FREEZE-UP THE PLUMBING. I'VE HAD THAT HAPPEN, AND IT TAKES YEARS OFF ONE'S LIFE. THANK GOODNESS IT HASN'T HAPPENED FREQUENTLY.

AS A WRITER, I THRIVE ON THIS VIEW FROM HERE. I WRITE DAILY, SO THIS PORTAL ONTO THE HINTERLAND, INFLUENCES JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IN MY DAY. IF IT IS SOMBRE AND RAINY, I CAN WELL EXPECT THE OUTCOME AT THE KEYBOARD, WILL SIDE ON THE MELANCHOLY MORE SO THAN THE HILARIOUS. I LOVE TO SIT DOWN HERE AND WRITE DURING A WINTER STORM, OR TO WATCH A LIGHT SNOWFALL, MAKING BIRCH HOLLOW A SUBTLY ENCHANTING LITTLE PLACE AMIDST THE SNOW-ADORNED FOREST. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I SUPPOSE ONE MUST EMBRACE THE IDEA THAT THE WINTERS ARE LESS SEVERE, OVER THE LONG HAUL OF MONTHS, DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH THIS ISSUE OF GLOBAL CONTAMINATION, AND SUBSEQUENT WARMING. IT IS NICE WHEN WE CAN PUT IT OUT OF MIND, SUCH AS WHEN YOU CAN ENJOY THE PRIVILEGE OF GOING OUTSIDE, WEARING ONLY A SWEATER, INSTEAD OF HEAVY COATS AND MITTS, JUST TO STAVE OFF BEING FROZEN TO DEATH ON YOUR OWN LANE.

NATURE IS SUFFERING, I'M SURE OF THAT. WHAT WE ENJOY NOW, OF A MILDER WINTER, ISN'T JUST THE RESULT OF OCEAN CURRENTS. THE HUGE FLUCTUATIONS AND WIDE ARRAY OF SUDDEN AND SEVERE WEATHER, IS OF CONSIDERABLE SIGNIFICANCE. AS A YOUNGSTER, WHILE I ALWAYS ENJOYED THE ANNUAL WINTER THAW, IT DIDN'T HANG ON FOR A MONTH. WE HAD COLD WEATHER FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS WITHOUT RESPITE. NOW IT'S THE SWINGS OF WEATHER, ALL OVER THE GLOBE, THAT SHOULD MAKE US ALL VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE. SNOW IN ATHENS. DEATHLY COLD IN EUROPE. FOUR BLIZZARDS IN LESS THAN A WEEK ON THE EAST COAST.

I WILL ENJOY THIS TODAY, BUT I WILL FEAR FOR TOMORROW. AND THAT'S NOT VERY HELPFUL TO THE CESSATION OF GLOBAL WARMING, BUT ALAS I'M A MORTAL….WHO RECYCLES AND COMPOSTS, AND WOULD NEVER THINK OF CUTTING DOWN A TREE OR SHRUB THAT WASN'T FAILING ANYWAY. THIS REQUIRES A LOT OF BACK-TRACKING TO SOLVE, IF IT CAN BE SOLVED AT ALL.

Biography of Richard Karon

A DULL MORNING FOR ME - THE ARTIST WILL SEE IT DIFFERENTLY

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

IT IS GREY AND ON THE VERGE OF EITHER SNOW OR RAIN. I'M NOT SURE AN ARTIST COULD FIND MUCH TO PAINT ON THIS SOMBRE, HEAVILY OVERCAST MORNING. I'M MORE CERTAIN THE POET / PHILOSOPHER, WOULD RELISH SUCH PREVAILING MELANCHOLY AS THIS SCENE. YET WANDERING THROUGH THE WOODS, EARLIER THIS MORNING, WAS REMARKABLE JUST THE SAME. JUST AS CHEERFULLY APPOINTED AS IF THE SUN HAD BEEN BEATING DOWN THROUGH THE LEAFLESS BOUGHS OF VENERABLE HARDWOODS, SITUATED ABOVE THE BOG. THERE'S JUST A NICE, SOOTHING CALM OUT HERE; A SOLITUDE AWAY FROM THE CLUTTER OF THE WORK DAY, AND THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A SOCIETY GONE MAD WITH TIME MANAGEMENT. IT IS SO NICE TO SEPARATE FROM EXPECTATION AND SCHEDULE, IF ONLY FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME….A WEE RESPITE THAT WILL FUEL THE COMING SEVERAL HOURS OF MAD COMPOSITION AT MY KEYBOARD…..WHICH SOME DAYS IS EQUALLY MY ANCHOR. MY BURDEN. BUT WHEN I COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS, MY EDITOR, MY WIFE, WILL REMIND ME HOW THIS PRE-OCCUPATION, OVER SO MANY DECADES, HAS ALSO BEEN MY SALVATION IN MANY REGARDS. I STOPPED DRINKING LIKE A MADMAN, BECAUSE OF MY WRITING PROJECTS. I COULDN'T IMBIBE AND THEN WRITE. THAT'S NEVER WORKED. SHE WOULD ALSO REMIND ME, THAT DURING MY PERIODS OF ANXIETY AND FRUSTRATION, THIS SAME KEYBOARD HAS PREVAILED UPON ME TO BEAT-IT WITHOUT MERCY……AND I HAVE COMPLIED. THESE WOODS HAVE SEEN ALL MY MOODS, AND MAKE NO JUDGEMENT. THEY JUST SET MY MIND AT EASE, MY SPIRIT FREE, AND CUT THE ANCHOR LOOSE……FOR THIS FREE TIME OF PASSIVE PONDERING, AND AIMLESS WANDERING.

BACK IN THE LATE 1990'S, I BEGAN RESEARCH ON THE TOM THOMSON MYSTERY. I'VE WRITTEN ABOUT THIS A LOT IN MY COLLECTION OF BLOGS, OVER THE PAST YEAR, AND I DON'T WANT TO RE-WRITE WHAT I'M HAPPY WITH, PUBLISHED ON OTHER SITES, INCLUDING MY MUSKOKA AND ALGONQUIN GHOSTS' BLOG. WHAT THE PERIOD DID FOR ME, AND THROUGH THE HUGE WHACK OF THE TOM THOMSON FEATURES, I'VE RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN SINCE, WAS TO MAKE ME FAR MORE SENSITIVE TO ARTISTS, WHAT MOTIVATES THEMS, AND THEIR FIELD WORK. I WAS SO ENTRENCHED IN THE THOMSON STORY, THAT OUR WHOLE FAMILY GOT INVOLVED IN THE BUILD-UP TO THE STORY, IN A WIDE VARIETY OF WAYS, I COULDN'T HAVE PREDICTED. WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN ALGONQUIN PARK, WHERE THE ARTIST PAINTED UP TO THAT FATEFUL DAY IN JULY 1917, WHEN THE PAINTER IS ALLEGED TO HAVE PERISHED ACCIDENTALLY, WHILE TRAVERSING CANOE LAKE. IT WAS WHAT DREW ME TO THE SHORE OF CANOE LAKE, IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT HAS COMPELLED ME, OVER AND OVER, TO VISIT THE TEA LAKE DAM, TEA LAKE AND SMOKE LAKE. WHILE THEY WERE FAMILY CAMPING TRIPS, THEY WERE WITHOUT DOUBT, INSPIRED BY THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ONE OF CANADA'S BEST KNOWN LANDSCAPE ARTISTS.

I CAN REMEMBER, ON A STILL BUT CHILLY AUTUMN NIGHT, JUST BEFORE THANKSGIVING, SITTING OUT ON THE SHORE OF TEA LAKE, AND ALL OF US BEING ABSOLUTELY MESMERIZED BY THE WAVERING NORTHERN LIGHTS, ONE OF THOMSON'S OWN FASCINATIONS WITH ALGONQUIN. HOW THESE LIGHTS APPEARED ABOVE THE HILLS OF HARDWOOD FORESTS, THE MILES OF LAKELAND AND BOG, INSPIRED MANY STUDIES OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, AND HIS DEPICTIONS ARE AS HAUNTING AS THE STORY OF HIS LIFE AND ART. IT WAS THE LONG-TIME STUDY OF TOM THOMSON THAT MADE ME MORE INTERESTED IN ART AND ARTISTS GENERALLY, ESPECIALLY CANADIAN PAINTINGS.

IN FACT, I USED TO HIT EVERY THRIFT AND SECOND HAND SHOP ON THE MOTOR-TRIPS UP TO ALGONQUIN, LOOKING FOR INTERESTING CANADIAN LANDSCAPE ART. I'D ALWAYS FIND AT LEAST ONE GOOD PANEL, IF NOT MORE, AND OTHER PARK CAMPERS THOUGHT IT QUITE STRANGE, THAT OUR FAMILY WOULD HANG PAINTINGS IN TREES AROUND THE TENTS. I DIDN'T DO THIS TO ENHANCE ALGONQUIN, BUT RATHER, TO STUDY THE WORK OF THE SUBJECT ARTIST, WHOEVER THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. I'D WATCH HOW THE LIGHT OF THE DAY MADE THEM LOOK, AND AS MOST OF THEM WERE OF SCENES, SIMILAR TO WHERE WE WERE CAMPING, AT THE TIME, IT WAS A KIND OF NATURALLY INSPIRED INSIGHT, TO THE ARTIST'S OWN MISSION OF DISCOVERY……AND WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO THE PAINTER ABOUT A PARTICULAR SCENE, AND HOW IT WOULD BE REPRESENTED ON CANVAS. SOME ART WORK BECAME MORE ALLURING AT FIRST LIGHT. OTHERS SEEMED MUCH MORE VIBRANT IN THE SOFT LIGHT OF AN EARLY SUMMER EVENING. THERE WERE PAINTINGS THAT SEEMED TO SPRING TO LIFE. IN THE HALF-LIGHT OF DUSK AND THE FLICKERING ILLUMINATION OF OIL LAMP AND CAMPFIRE. I OFTEN WONDERED WHAT THE ARTISTS MAY HAVE THOUGHT OF MY IMMERSING THEIR PAINTINGS IN THIS AMAZING SETTING…..THIS NATURAL GALLERY WHERE THEY HAD BEEN INITIALLY INSPIRED.

IF I WAS GOING TO WRITE ABOUT ARTISTS, I NEEDED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM. IN THE CASE OF LANDSCAPE ART, WHAT DID THEY SEE OF THE COUNTRYSIDE, THE FORESTS AND HILLSIDES, PASTURES AND LOWLANDS, THAT INSPIRED THEM TO FRAME THOSE SCENES? WHAT WERE THEY HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THEIR ART PANELS? WAS IT FOR MONEY ALONE? WAS IT BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO SHARE THE INSPIRATION THEY FOUND, WITH THEIR ART PATRONS? WAS IT OUT OF RESPECT AND ADMIRATION FOR NATURE? A WISH FOR OTHERS TO SEE WHAT BEAUTY AND PASSION GENERATES WITHIN THESE NATURAL PLACES, FOR THOSE WHO EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO ITS ACTUALITY? OR, AS IS TRADITION, TO ALL ARTISTS WHO WISH TO EAT, WAS IT JUST FOR THE MONEY? PRETTY PICTURES TO HANG OVER A MANTLE, IN A RECREATION ROOM, A COTTAGE OR OFFICE. WAS THERE MORE TO IT? I HOPE YOU WILL READ MY NEWEST ART BIOGRAPHY, TO FIND OUT ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS.

I HAVE READ AS MANY ART BIOGRAPHIES, MOSTLY REGARDING THE WORK OF CANADIAN PAINTERS BUT ADMITTEDLY, IT WAS A.Y. JACKSON'S RECOLLECTIONS OF PAINTING EXCURSIONS THAT INFLUENCED ME THE MOST. I HAVE READ EVERY BOOK THAT HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER, ABOUT JACKSON'S FIELD, AND STUDIO WORK. I'VE READ ABOUT HIS MANY CANADIAN TRAVELS, TO REMOTE PLACES, AND THE GREAT ADVENTURES IN HIS LIFE, THAT LED TO SUCH REMARKABLE ART PANELS, REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR COUNTRY'S NATURAL ATTRIBUTES……AND NATIONALISM WE FEEL IN OUR HEARTS.

AS I'VE MENTIONED IN RECENT BLOGS, I AM PRESENTLY WORKING ON PRELIMINARY RESEARCH, IN ORDER TO WRITE THE FIRST BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF FORMER MUSKOKA LANDSCAPE ARTIST, RICHARD KARON, A PAINTER I HAD HUGE REGARD AND RESPECT FOR, IN THE LOCAL ARTISTIC COMMUNITY. WORKING WITH HIS SON, RICHARD, I HAVE BEEN DELVING BACK INTO HIS AMAZING LIFE STORY, AND IT APPEARS FROM CURSORY STUDY, TRULY REMARKABLE THAT HE SURVIVED SO MUCH ADVERSITY, TO EVEN HAVE A PAINTING CAREER. TO GET STARTED ON THE RESEARCH, I'VE IMMERSED MYSELF BACK INTO THOSE SCRIBBLED NOTES I MADE ON TOM THOMSON, AND MY OWN ALGONQUIN ADVENTURES, WHERE I HAD A GREAT BUDGET OF TIME TO IMMERSE IN THE STUDY OF ART AND PAINTER, IN ONE OF HIS FAVORITE LOCATIONS TO PAINT. RICHARD KARON, ON THE OTHER HAND, SPENT MUCH OF HIS ART CAREER, STUDYING THE LAKELAND OF MUSKOKA, AND HAD A PICTURESQUE LOCATION FOR HIS STUDIO, IN THE TOWNSHIP OF LAKE OF BAYS, NEAR THE VILLAGE OF BAYSVILLE.

I'M REPEATING MUCH OF WHAT I DID FOR THOMSON, NOW WITH THE ART OF RICHARD KARON. WHILE THERE ARE FEW OTHER PARALLELS, IN ART STYLES OR LIVES SPENT, APPRECIATING THE TRAVELS OF A PAINTER GENERALLY, TO A LOCATION THAT OFFERS AN UNSPECIFIED FASCINATION, IS A CRITICAL CONSIDERATION. WHAT DID RICHARD KARON WANT TO ESTABLISH IN REPUTATION, PAINTING HIS CHOICE OF LANDSCAPE….WHICH AS I'VE NOTED PREVIOUSLY, WERE VERY OFTEN OTHERWISE UNREMARKABLE LOCATIONS, THAT HE PRESENTED AS IF THEY WERE MUCH MORE DESERVING OF OUR ATTENTION. INSTEAD OF PAINTING TYPICAL PANORAMAS OF THE MAJOR MUSKOKA LAKES, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN EAGERLY SOUGHT AFTER BY THE COTTAGE COMMUNITY, RESIDING ON THOSE SAME LAKES, KARON PREFERRED TO CHALLENGE HIS PATRONS, BY OFFERING HIS FIRST-TIME VIEWS OF HIDDEN PLACES, HE FOUND ON HIS CANOE TRAVERSES, AND ON HIKES THROUGH BOGS AND OVER HIGHLANDS…..THROUGH DENSE WOODS, AND ACROSS LONG SWEEPING MEADOWS, LOOKING FOR SOMETHING DESERVING OF THE ARTIST'S ATTENTION. THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND. KARON MAKES A GOOD STUDY, IN THIS CASE, AND I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO THE COMING ADVENTURE.

THE BIOGRAPHY WILL BE OFFERED TO VISITORS OF MY GRAVENHURST BLOG SITE, POSSIBLY BY MID MARCH, OF THIS YEAR. NO CHARGE. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY IT, AS MUCH AS I'M ENTHRALLED BY THE PREAMBLE WORK, WITH RICHARD KARON, THE ARTIST'S SON. I WILL GIVE LOTS OF WARNING WHEN THE SERIES IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE.

THANKS FOR VISITING THIS BLOG SITE.

I PUT MY RATHER HUGE CAT, SMOKEY (NAMED AFTER OUR FONDNESS FOR ALGONQUIN'S SMOKE LAKE) OUT ON THE BACK DECK YESTERDAY MORNING, AS I DO EVERY GROUND HOG DAY. SMOKEY DIDN'T SEE HIS SHADOW, BUT DID FIND TRACE OF A NEIGHBOR'S CAT, AND TOOK OFF FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR ON THE HUNT. HE WAS JUST PROTECTING BIRCH HOLLOW. BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN EARLY SPRING.