Cottage Life

The go-to source for cottagers, the award-winning Cottage Life offers valuable advice as well as profiles, how-to articles, recipes, essays, issues pieces, and lifestyle stories that help readers look after their cottages, entertain guests and, of course, kick back and have fun.

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Cottage Life

Editor’s Note: An otherwordly trip, in a legendary place

Your Letters: Chit-chat paddywhack

Waterfront • Ice cream and monsters and sand, oh my! Yup, summer is here.

Learn to sculpt epic sandcastles from the experts at Race Against the Tide

Buy the Way: How these sleepaway campers became cottagers

The history of the Tom Thomson mystery • OVER THE LAST several decades, interest in the Tom Thomson mystery (see p. 54) has exploded. There are novels, movies, songs, even games and merchandise, based on the life and death of the Canadian artist. Use our handy timeline to decide what to read, watch, listen to, or buy.

Does your lake have a monster? No? Then create one • Does your lake have a monster? No? Then create one. All you need is a blurry photo and a (semi-credible) sighting. Use our handy script as a template for the story you tell your lake neighbours. Report your “encounter” to a few folks…and let gossip do the rest. A legend is born!

Reporter: Caribou call, nest is best & promo problem

Which of these fake-sounding ice cream flavours are actually real? • Do you scream for ice cream? Prove it! Guess which real flavours these fake (but possibly more apt) names reference. Then turn to p. 24 for the legit ice cream flavour names.

A parade you’d only see in cottage country

A B.C. driftwood artist’s fun creations

Workshop • There’s a lot of life left in the old stuff at the cottage. We can help you extend it.

Buy tools for less by going second-hand

How to age new wood

Compound mitre saw tune-up tips

An easy fix for vintage speakers

Need to vent? Install an automatic air vent

Troubleshoot a faulty bilge pump

Stuff We Like: The Sun Pump 2.0

Prevent stubbing your toe on dock cleats • Paint a white border around them. Top with glow-in-the-dark paint for extra visibility.

Cottage Q&A: Busy bee mystery; why you need a lake plan; what’s this bright pink tree growth?; hot composite decks; new succession strategy

You might not consider a biffy stylish, but cottage outhouses have a charm all their own • You might not consider a biffy stylish, but cottage-country outhouses have a charm all their own

What really happened to Tom Thomson? • More than a centurylater, still no one knows for sure. But there’s no shortage of theories, including this one from another legend: writer

The Stuff of Legends: These lake-loving folks have left their marks on cottage country • THESE LAKE-LOVING CHARACTERS HAVE LEFT THEIR MARKS ON COTTAGE COUNTRY

Indigenous stories about the night sky can help us learn lessons, build community, and better understand who we are • Indigenous stories about the night sky reveal more than just its beauty—they can help us learn lessons, build community, and better understand who we are

The aunties are here! This 30-plus person family reunion features an epic Filipino feast • The aunties are here! 80 trips to and from the dock, at least 30 people, 20 coolers, 3 generations, and 1 legendary boodle fight PLUS, A WHOLE ROASTED PIG

The black-billed cuckoo is a caterpillar-scarfing fiend • An expert tree climber, the caterpillar-scarfing black-billed cuckoo roams cottage country looking for summer moth outbreaks

A boat trip meant for a very specific time of day