Long time between posts, I know. Hopefully, the jam-packed menu of Haliburton Highlands good times coming up in the next couple of weeks will make up for it.
I’m going to highlight a few favourites, then follow with all the information you need on the rest of the activities (and there are many!!)
Minden Hills Bluegrass Festival
Want to hear some of the finest bluegrass music anywhere? This may sound a bit naive but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Canadian Bluegrass music–so if it were possible for me to warp speed myself out of the American Midwest to Minden Hills, Ontario I’d see you there. This event, which takes place over two days, July 16-17 is a must see.
Living History Days - Day with a Black Smith
Living History Days! Again, this sounds fascinating because I’ve not ever encountered a ‘black smith’ shop. And costumed characters seal the deal for me!
9th Annual Stanhope Heritage Day
In it’s 9th year, Stanhope Heritage Day is teeming with some of my favourite activities like a BBQ lunch and the Stanhope Museum‘s famous ‘Citron Marmalade.’ But there’s much more than food being offered. there is music all day and uniquely skilled local residents demonstrating and in some cases inviting you to try rush weaving, tatting, carving, bookbinding, tinsmithing and much more!
Where Are the Whip-poor-Wills?
On a more informative and serious note is this informative presentation about the decline of the Whip-poor-will population by a staggering 50% in the last several decades. When an iconic species such as this is disappearing at this rate it is time to get informed and hopefully, join together to discuss possible solutions.
Highlands Summer Festival Presents - 'Looking'
I’m just realizing that there are over 20 separate events, some taking place over days or months to browse through. I’m ‘thumbnailing’ them all here–just click to enlarge them and read all about them. I’m ever-impressed by the creativity, strong love and commitment to community and commitment to the arts, be they culinary, artsy-crafty, or fine arts like the play ‘Looking,’ by Norm Foster (see above).
I strongly encourage you to indulge yourself. There is so much to relish in the Haliburton Highlands!
After the jump: The entire list! What’s Happening This Week! July 13 – 20, 2011–AND BEYOND
Free Guided Tours through the Amazing Haliburton Sculpture Forest:
My family trekked through the Haliburton Sculpture Forest and it truly was the most beautiful setting for public art that I’ve ever seen. Surrounded by the gorgeousness of the Haliburton Highlands, strolling through you soak in the unique beauty of the outdoor collection of sculptures by Canadian and international artists. Because all the sculpture is situated outdoors just off the trails in the Sculpture Forest, you experience changing perspectives of the forest and the sculptures in each of the seasons. Visit often and enjoy a unique experience each time.
Also, depending on your preference, you can walking and bike ride in the spring, summer and fall and ski during the winter!
Get more info about the delightful permanent public art installation in the Haliburton Sculpture Forest (CLICK!).
Haliburton Highlands This July and August the Haliburton Sculpture Forest will be offering free guided tours! The tours will take place every Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. Meet at the trail kiosk in the Fleming College parking lot.
Welcome to the second weekend of June, 2011. It is amazing how quickly time is passing by as we move into the summer months. The very active weather has been a distinct reminder that we are not quite into summertime yet, rather as we transition we are getting, as Ontario knows only too well, some very strong reminders of when warm fronts meet cold.
So what kind of weather is in store for this week? In a word I’d say ‘calm.’ Though not exactly beach weather, for most of the week temperatures should be about 20-21°C with almost no precipitation at all. A bit of a break to give everything (and one) time to dry out.
Haliburton Highlands Weekend Weather June 10 - 11
If you happen to look up into the sky right now you’ll notice variable clouds. The temperature is chilly at 52°F. The 24-hour precipitation outlook is for 0.8 inches from Friday overnight through Saturday overnight.
Saturday morning should be mainly cloudy with temperatures rising to 55°F, though by Saturday afternoon rain moves in with a high of 61°F. Saturday evening you should expect scattered showers and a high of 57°F. Overnight on Saturday look for cloudiness with clear breaks and a temperature of 50°F.
Haliburton Highlands Long-Term Forecast
Sunday’s forecast calls for variable cloudiness with a high temperature of 61°F, and a low of 50°F overnight. There is no rain in the forecast.
Monday will be sunny with a high of 64°F and an overnight low of 48°F. There is again, no rain in the forecast.
Tuesday will be sunny with a very pleasant high of 72°F. Nighttime temperatures fall to 50°F and there is no rain in the forecast.
Wednesday, expect cloudy periods, a high temperature of 73°F and a low overnight of 54°F. You should not expect rain.
The forecast for Thursday is for sunny skies, a high temperature of 66°F and a warm-ish temperature overnight of 59°F.
The week closes out on Friday with isolated showers, a high of 68°F and a low overnight of 57°F. There may be up to 0.1 inches of precipitation accumulation on Friday.
So, What About the Bugs?:
Haliburton Highlands Bug Report through June 15
The bugs in cottage country right now are as we say, ‘thick.” What that means specifically is that the Black Flies will eat you up and the the Deer Flies will finish what’s left–UNLESS you wear long sleeved shirts, full-length pants and douse yourself in DEET. To state the obvious, the heavy rains have not helped the bug situation.
So all-in-all a good week for hiking, camping, biking, boating–whatever your pleasure. Just dress accordingly and you’ll have a grand time.
Kawagama Lake, Dorset
Kawagama Lake, Dorset
Niagara Falls, Ontario – June 10, 2011
Niagara Falls, Ontario – June 10, 2011
Pentangore Channel to Lake Huron, Ontario – June 10, 2011
kincardine Harbour, Ontario – June 10, 2011
Chapleau River, Ontario – June 10, 2011
Lagoon City, Ontario – June 10, 2011
Limerick Lake, Gilmour, Ontario – June 10, 2011
Montreal River Harbour, Ontario – June 10, 2011
Prince Arthur’s Landing, Thunder Bay, Ontario – June 10, 2011
NOW is the time to give to The Fresh Air Fund—in any way you can:
Summer '94
Literally, all my life I’ve had a beautiful summer place to go.
Thanks to my grandparents, I grew up sometimes spending months on a crystal-clear lake in the breathtakingly beautiful Haliburton Highlands in Ontario, Canada. At the time however, my nuclear family had emigrated to Connecticut–just a stone’s throw from the great state of New York and where I spent the rest of my year. My dad kept the radio on especially in the morning and I’d hear PSA’s for The Fresh Air Fund. It was hard as a child to imagine what it would be like stuck in the suburbs all summer long–never mind the inner city! Later, TV adverts made an even more indelible impression on me that I was exceptionally fortunate as there were many kids who were not.
After over 130 years of giving inner-city children the joy of a summer vacation with volunteer host families and at Fund camps, ‘creating unforgettable memories and fresh possibilities,’ no one needs to remind the not-for-profit The Fresh Air Fund of what a fantastic difference spending some of the summer away from the city can make for children.
Read an excerpt from a recent news story on how summer resources for city youth are going to be even more scarce in summer 2011:
NEW YORK — A rising number of children can look forward to excruciatingly boring school breaks this year as budget crises in places such as New York, Washington, D.C., Houston and Detroit rob them of the activities and programs that have long defined summer in the city for urban youngsters.
Swimming pools are being closed. Recreation centers are locking their doors. Library summer reading programs are suffering. Openings for short-term jobs have evaporated.
Yet, with a shift in perspective, do the kids have to be on the losing end?
‘We can’t afford to have children who don’t have positive places to be during the summer’
In New Orleans, Mayor Mitchell Landrieu this year fulfilled a campaign promise to boost city funding for children’s recreation facilities and summer programs, despite the city’s economic difficulties. While last summer, about 700 children participated in sports and literacy activities through the city’s summer camps for children ages 5 to 18, this year the city is expecting to serve 5,000 campers with the help of local organizations, private partnerships and doubled city funds, said Gina Warner, the executive director of the city’s Partnership for Youth Development.
The city – where nine out of 10 recreation sites were damaged by Hurricane Katrina – will be opening 12 pools this year, up from seven the year before and three the year before that. And libraries will be coordinating with the city summer camps to keep children reading, Warner said.
Warner said that while her city faces the same economic struggles as its counterparts around the country, elected officials see the New Orleans summer programs as not only an investment in children, but also a crime-prevention tool.
“We’re a very tourism-dependent city, and so we can’t afford to have children who don’t have positive places to be during the summer,” she said.
Found photo: Summer 1985 - "jimmy & his mom' Going through recently the thousands of photographs that my mom had amassed, I came across this one, taken by my mom.
Hm, I thought, I’d not ever laid eyes on it or any of it’s companions. Of course Mom took it back in the days of film development vs. downloading and she often wouldn’t get a full 36 photos taken and developed until (as in this case) after vacation, maybe months later.
I remember this day, though. After dinner, with the sun about to begin disappearing, it was time for the little guy to get cleaned up for bedtime. Back then we had no proper shower or tub, so one would take a bar of Ivory soap and scrub up in the Lake. (Now of course, that is an explicit no-no. Not a problem as we’ve long had a shower and pretty cushy sink and vanity, thanks to my Mom and Dad).
Anyway, in this situation, it was not warm out so I got the little guy cleaned up as quickly as I could. He was extremely good–never kicked up a fuss and as you can see, was glad when it was over. This little guy, who ultimately grew up with no Dad, was the perfect kid. Bar none. Ask anyone who knew him then. A perfect child because, I think, he felt he needed to be.
…at least until his step-dad and then, little brother came along..
Maple Lake -Summer '94(?) - Jim (11) and Chris (2) w/ Roger in distant background -'Brothers.' I don't think we ever thought of these guys as 'half' anything. Just brothers. 'This was about as good as it got. And this was pretty darn good. One more 'found shot'. I have a bunch from this set as I took them but they have not yet been scanned 'cept for this one..
One more Maple Lake photo from ’85:
A chillier point in being 2 y.o., getting washed up on a not-warm evening on Maple Lake, Ontario in 1985. ( I am so glad I did not yet have big hair!)
I was a 25 y.o divorced mom. ‘Jimmy’ was born in 1983 when I was 23. I think I was a pretty good mom (grown-up Jim has said so–without prodding or bribing!)–certainly right in there, sometimes overprotective, but that’s pretty typical with one’s 1st child, never mind one with a dad 100% out of the picture. Plus, I’m ‘ya know, fierce as a mom (and if need be, rarely, other times).
