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.

S’more Stuff • How you can read, watch, stream, share, and visit—Cottage Life is everywhere!

Contributors

Cottage Life

A newbie nemesis

Your Letters

Waterfront • Y’all ready for this? We mean the year’s first trip back to the cottage, of course.

Get ready for the 2022 cottage season with this checklist • WITH A COPY of this issue firmly in hand, you’ll be all set for cottage season 2022. Bring. It.

Cultural appropriation or appreciation of clothing

Beer and chip pairing flowchart • YOU LOVE CHIPS. You love beer. But how to pair them for the most delicious dockside experience? There are three rules of thumb when pairing beer with any food, says Anna Chlebowska with The Beer Store.

Bird feeder food for Blue Jays

Easy peasy meals for hosting at the cottage • Laziest-ever meal ideas for guests, ranked in order of laziness level*

Canada's largest solar farm, Lake of the Woods boaters rejoice, Geico angers FLAP

Life Below Zero premiere

History project seeks old sailing dinghies

Wind farms a death sentence for bats

T-Rex on Eagle Lake welcomes two babies

Why buy a yurt

Workshop • Helping you find safe, mole-free drinking water at the lake since 1988.

Protect your windows from mould and mildew with these tune-ups

Replacing a spark plug

Sharpen your garden tools with this file

How to keep your file pristine

How to tie a timber hitch

The 3-4-5 rule for squaring up decks

Help! How do I decontaminate my well?

Screwdriver hack

How to shine my pontoons, where did the ants go, meal planning for guests

Rethink feeding the birds, Ontario real estate forecast

Why you should think twice about volunteering for your lake association • Volunteering for your lake association is good. Heck, it’s admirable. But make sure that you know what you’re signing up for

Lockdowns, remote work, and internet access have created the perfect storm in cottage country • Lockdowns, work-from-home arrangements, and better internet have driven more people into cottage country—now, inventory is low and prices are soaring

A cottage fit for a multi-generational household • A new cottage with plenty of communal space helps this multi-generational household continue their cottaging traditions

Meet the royal cottage family of YouTube • Videos of the Macklin family building their off-grid cottage full of DIY projects have captivated more than 12,000 loyal viewers

Understanding your outboard motor's bad habits and basic needs • Whether your engine won’t start, conks out, runs rough, or runs hot, let our experts help you understand your (not always) trusty steed’s bad habits and basic needs

Bothersome wildlife and how to deal with them • Got problem bats, bugs, or bears? If you better understand wild critters, you’ll better understand how to deal with them

Spring soup and easy cheesy biscuit recipes • A batch of homemade biscuits, a bowl of pure spring. Serve up this divine pairing in 20 minutes or less

Meet the wood duck • Move over, mallard. You’ve got nothing on the bright-eyed and beautiful wood duck, decked out in his stunning spring plumage

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