FALL FOR ALL!
(clockwise from top)
PURE JOY
“Fall doesn’t last long here in Saskatchewan,” writes Brittney Srigley of Melfort, Sask. “But it is definitely the most beautiful season. I absolutely love this photo of my daughters, Mila (centre) and Harlow with their friend Kingston (left) playing in the leaves in the gorgeous sunlight.”
FAMILY FUN
“I love this pic because it shows that my grandkids (from left) Reagan, Michael and Everleigh have learned to stop and smell the roses,” shares Janice Van of Calgary. “Their mom Julia snapped this photo of the happy trio enjoying the great outdoors.”
SEASONAL BLISS
“Being surrounded by nature brings me so much relaxation and peace of mind,” says Allie Smorodin of Calgary. “My sister, Erin, snapped this pic of me near Athabasca Falls on a visit to Jasper National Park. Canada is filled with so many great outdoor experiences for those who are willing to go outside and enjoy it. Having travelled across the country, exploring the parks and camping in the great outdoors always leaves me with the same feeling of clarity, whether it be on the East Coast, the West Coast or the Prairies.”
CANOE COVERUP
Since my retirement, I’ve found a great way to spend my time; also, it keeps me out of the kitchen and my wife likes that. What I do is build, restore and repair old wooden canoes. Nowadays people are always asking me how I first became interested in working on busted-up canoes.
The answer to that question takes me back to the winter of 1951, when I was about 12 years old. I was living in a little village called Bewdley, Ont., on the western end of Rice Lake. There were no buses in those days, and, well, you already know the story of how us kids got to school back then. Walking back and forth actually wasn’t so bad, and we could cut through the woods coming home in wintertime. You wouldn’t even try that in early summer because the marsh would be too wet and mucky. In February though, the muck stiffened up, allowing you to walk through it.
On this particular day, I was heading back from school, alone, when I spotted this old trapper’s canoe. It was in pretty rough shape, but to a young lad, it was a treasure—so, I dragged it home!
A long time afterwards, I found out that trappers don’t necessarily need a good canoe on the trapline and they often leave their battered old canoes in the marsh year-round, so it’s handy next time they make the rounds.
How was I to know that as a kid? I kinda thought someone had lost the one I dragged home. By the time I learned about that old trappers’ habit described above, I figured it was too late to return the canoe to where I had found it. Also, by this time, I had come across some new canvas to re-cover my treasure.
Later still, I found out that an old trapper by the name of Pete Weatherup was on my trail, but by then I had repainted and re-covered the old canoe with the aforementioned canvas. If Trapper Pete had managed to track me down and see his old canoe, he probably wouldn’t have even recognized it. As things turned out, I never heard from him.
As for the stash of canvas I had found? Well, Dad had bought the family a brand new tent for camping and of course tents were made of canvas back then… but that’s another story.
Next time you’re in Bobcaygeon, drop by and say hi to Doug at Douglas Canoes, or pay him a visit at www.douglascanoes.ca for details.