Ranting about Cottaging (in the Canadian wilderness)

Definition of Cottaging: A seasonal activity involving a prolonged stay at one or more cottages; similar to visiting, but typically for a longer duration and at a seasonal home that one owns or rents. (source: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cottaging )

Just like canoeing and portaging, there is something very Canadian when we add 'ing' to 'cottage' and make it into a verb (if you think this article is abt sex, you might as well stop right here!!). The word conjures up the images of being in a state of total relaxation away from the buzzing city, trolling for trout in a mirror-calm lake, listening to loons calling each other across the shimmering water under the setting sun, sitting next to a roaring fire BBQ-ing and chatting away, and skinny-dipping in the middle of a starry night.

Some city slicks might point out the unpleasant aspect of living in harmony with nature, such as poison ivy, deer flies and mosquitoes. But as one savvy fisherman pointed out, God creates all these 'barriers' to protect the fish and wildlife so human won't march en mass into the wilderness and fish/hunt them to extinction.

Unfortunately, there are decision-makers in this country and around the world who would rather build concrete jungles than conserve swamp lands. They often equate economic success with sky-high office towers, mega shopping centres, multi-lane highways and other aspects of modern living and consumerism. "We are now number two in global oil-consumption!" boasted one reporter from a country that is striving for world-wide economic supremacy. I shudder at the thought, not because I am against development per se. What worries me is the apparent lack of concern for sustainability. After all, fossil-fuel is a non-renewable resource that has led to numerous military and geo-political conflicts. So is it really good news for a country to become addicted to oil?

Now before someone makes the snarky remark: "You can bring the man out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the man!", I would like to fully disclose that I did work for the Canadian forest industry one summer and for a Forest Sector Advisory Cmttee Secretariat at one point during my career. I enjoy city living and all the amenities it offers, but at the same time, I see the importance of embracing a harmonious relationship with and a healthy respect for Mother Nature.

Which brings me back to cottaging. Canadians are not boring hillbillies who like poison ivy, horse flies and mosquitoes. We just want to remind ourselves from time to time, of our pioneer root as hewers-of-wood and drawers-of-water; and of our traditional affinity to rock, log and cod.

Here have another Molson before we hit the traffic jam back to the city. But that means no drinking and driving for you, eh?!!

Photo Credit:
I took this photo at a friend's cottage on July 9, 2011

Reference: Joe Canadian Rant by Molson

Joe Canadian Rant

Hey, I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader.... I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled.... and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really really nice. I have a Prime Minister, not a president. I speak English and French, not American. And I pronounce it 'about', not 'a boot'. I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peace keeping, not policing, diversity, not assimilation, and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal. A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it is pronounced 'zed' not 'zee', 'zed' !!!! Canada is the second largest landmass! The first nation of hockey! and the best part of North America My name is Joe!! And I am Canadian!!!