http://www.kewatch.blogspot.com/ Autumn 2013
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” ― Lauren DeStefano
Community Events
Neighbours are encouraged to share local events. These are a few that are coming up this autumn. If you have an event you would like to share with neighbours, send a note to KEWatch@gmail.com
Harvest Moon Gathering
People will be gathering at the mid-point of Kukagami Lake (near the Big Island, see map below) on the evening of Friday, September 20th, if the sky is clear. Everyone is welcome!
Be there at 7:15 to watch the sun set in the west just as the full moon rises in the east. Boats will raft up as they arrive, and will drift along in the early autumn breeze. If you don’t see anyone when you get there, look downwind!
Taoist Tai Chi classes began a new session on September 10th. The beginner’s class meets from 10 to 12 on Tuesdays at the Lodge. New students are welcome to join at any time. Taoist tai chi focuses on restoring and strengthening health. Check out this link: http://www.taoist.org/transform-body-and-mind/.
Mushroom Walk September 22, 2 pm.
The fourth annual mushroom walk will be this coming Sunday, rain or shine. This is an hour long walk through the forest. You will learn what to look for and what to avoid. You must pre-register for this event. Send a note with your phone number or email address to kewatch@gmail.com to get the information regarding meeting time and place.
Due to the cold spell we had in August, the honey mushrooms were out a month earlier than they should have been. This is our best local edible, and they will not appear again until next year. This year’s walk will focus on the beauty and ecology of our local fungi.
Road Clean-up October 5 to 20
Thanks to the many neighbours who take the time to pick up litter from our roadsides every spring and fall. For most people this is not just a twice a year event. The busy parts of the road are tended to frequently.
There’s always room for more volunteers! Contact KEW if you would like to have a section of road to call your own.
Logging Update
Red pine thinning continues near the start of the road.
Goulard lumber is currently working South of the rail-bed east of Kukagami Road. About 2 kms east from where they were working in Summer 2012. They will likely be working there until approximately November.
The area East of McLaren Creek is scheduled to be harvested later this Fall and early Winter.
Slash Pile Burning
Two years ago, much of the western side of McLaren creek was logged. The slash from the McLaren cut has been piled, and it will likely be burned late this fall. The logging company is hoping to see a lot of natural regeneration in the area over the next few years. If all goes well, they will only need to do a little ‘fill-in’ planting after that.
Brown Birch Leaves?
You have likely noticed that many of the birch leaves have gone straight from green to brown this year. Normally, birches turn bright yellow in September. This year they went brown in August. What caused this to happen?
Chris Blomme explained the problem in a letter to Northern Life earlier this month. You can read the full story here.
The Birch Borer is a tiny moth that lays its eggs on birch leaves. The miniscule caterpillars feed on the leaves. If you park your car under a birch tree, you will have noticed an icky, sticky residue. Fortunately, it washes off easily.
Also known as the birch skeletonizer, we saw a little of its work last summer. Hopefully, it has peaked this year so by next fall we will be able to enjoy the brilliant autumn yellow of the birches.
Where on the Lake is that?
KEW is in the process of developing a map of our area with local name places. Do you have place names that you would like to share with Kukagami neighbours? Send the information to kewatch@gmail.com, and send along a story if there is one.
The Joys of Autumn by V. Thurlow
I have a definite love/hate relationship with fall. On the one hand it is my second favorite time of year (Xmas tops my list) but is also, in some regards, the one time of year I dread the most.
Last September my younger sister, Susie, flew in from Calgary for her first fall visit in over 20 years. She commented on how much she missed the gorgeous show put on by the oaks, birch, aspen but most of all the stately maples. Our beloved Aunt Mimi, 82 years old, gamely followed us around snapping pictures as we drove up Matagamasi Road, Bushey Bay Road and all around the Kukagami area. We gamboled over rocks and fallen trees like a couple of giddy, chubby, graceful gazelles. Well maybe we were more gambling than gamboling, chubby & giddy for sure but graceful gazelles might be a stretch........a very big stretch........of anyone's imagination! We shrieked with laughter, shuffling through mounds of crisp leaves covering the forest floor. (Kind of reminded me of the bedroom floor back in the days when I had a very messy roommate in teachers college.......you could never quite see the actual floor for all the discarded clothes.)
I love the show fall puts on and truly enjoy walks in the cool, crisp fall air.
Unfortunately, this peaceful idyll does not last long. Two things mar the tranquility and I can't control either. One is the annual fall hunting season. The guns go off regularly with no warning and I cringe as I imagine some poor dumb partridge falling over in a bloody mess of squawking feathers; a cute, silent bunny twitching on the side of the road; or a majestic moose or deer felled by a triumphant, grinning hunter.
The second disturbance is even worse! As soon as the leaves start to fall, my husband is on a mission to blow every single leaf he can eyeball into a pile to be gathered & later dumped into a large clearing at the end of the drive-way.
The method used is a gas powered leaf blower and it has become the most hated piece of "man toy" that I have seen...or heard...to date. Hubby straps this contraption on early in the morning and, after gassing up, is set to go until nightfall.
He puts the Eveready Bunny to shame! Across the front and side lawns, down to the lakeside deck, all the way up the steps and across the front and side decks, over to the rock wall, flower beds and the patch of grass over the field bed before heading up to the driveway and down to the main road. Of course the boathouse roof and all eave troughs must be done as well. Put a white hazard suit on hubby and he can start his own chapter of Ghostbusters when he has that @#(*^& contraption strapped on his back! I will scream with delight if he ever runs out of gas to power my nemesis! It will be a much more elated scream than the ones you will likely hear, probably by the end of the week, when I predict the dreaded leaf blower will make its debut for this season!
Hey, give me a break; I'm hurrying along as fast as I can! Let me catch my breath.
Just a few moments ago the lake was shimmering in the bright sunlight with occasional puffs of wind ruffling the surface. What a glorious fall day! My friends & I were so happy to be wearing our new fall colors, hot reds, bright oranges, sunny yellows.
Soon I grew tired then felt my stomach do a somersault as I turned head over heels & floated & swirled my way to the cold, unrelentingly hard ground. That sure knocked the wind out of my sails!
As I lay there trying to catch my breath, I saw the family dog frantically pawing at the patio door in a frenzy of barks. The sky darkened as a cloud covered the sun...no wait; it was a flock of birds in a big flurry of flapping wings heading out of sight.
All of a sudden the peaceful, tranquil calm was shattered by a loud cacophony of ear splitting proportions. Some overzealous, leaf-hating human with an outlandish contraption strapped to his body, was blowing every leaf in sight into little piles. From the midst of my pile I watched as the number of piles continued to grow.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the noise mercifully stopped leaving throbbing echoes in its wake.
Thankfully the piles were gathered together & unceremoniously dumped into a clearing off the driveway. I was happy to snuggle in amongst my friends in peace & quiet as the footsteps faded away.
Rumor has it that the process will repeat itself for many more days until the leaf-hater leaves for the winter. Winter can't come soon enough for me!
Website and Newsletter
The KEW newsletter is published quarterly, and sent by email to any interested person. The Website is updated randomly through the year – so check for new information and photos! Submit photos and news items to our email – listed below.
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