While in Prince Edward County we had the chance to visit Waupoos Island and “help out” on a sheep farm for a couple days during lambing season. “Helping” consisted mostly of pointing and squealing “Ohhh! Sooooo cuuuuuute!!!”. The whole experience was like seeing all the realities of life contained on one island, within a herd of sheep. There was birth, there was death, there were irresponsible teen sheep moms, orphan lambs, adoptions, and lots of happy families too.

Our day consisted of riding around on ATVs and a 4×4 looking out for sheep who needed help birthing, lambs who had lost their moms, or ones whose moms had rejected them, or the saddest of all, lambs who didn’t make it. Really it was only about half a day of this, but I was exhausted for the rest of the week! I can’t imagine doing that every day for an entire season. I wonder if the cuteness of lambs ever wears off . . .

Spent last week in Prince Edward County out in the perfect weather. On the way up we stopped to check out an Airstream trailer our friends decided to buy. We laid around for a day on Sandbanks beach, watched a few sunsets, took hammock naps, and ate and ate.

Another one of our drives in the Kawarthas led us to the amazing Highlands Cinemas where we saw Moonrise Kingdom, which I thought was very fitting. It’s a curious little theatre tucked away in a forest in the tiny town of Kinmount (population 300). In addition to being a theatre it also serves as a museum. The maze-like building is full of huge old projectors, antique film equipment, and movie memorabilia. And that’s not all! Attached to the building is a room with windows and tunnels leading to an enclosed outdoor area where numerous cats roam, called Keith’s Cat House.

I recently read that Highlands Cinemas was under threat of being closed this fall after 33 years.  The theatre has been screening movies using projectors from the 1950’s, but this year had to decide whether or not to invest in an expensive conversion to digital in order to keep operating in 2013.  The survival of the cinema will very much depend on moviegoers, so everyone with a cottage in the Kawarthas, invite all your friends to your cottages and go watch some movies! Highlands Cinemas is open from May to Thanksgiving every year. Too bad they’re not open for Halloween because it would be the perfect place to watch a scary movie and then wander out into the dark forest parking lot to find your car.

Last month during our stay at the cottage in Fenelon Falls we took little trips to check out the surrounding towns. The friends we were with are in the midst of renovating their farmhouse in Prince Edward County so we drove around looking for antiques and anything that might be useful. I love that you never know what you’re going to find when you see a sign that says “Antiques” with an arrow pointing you down a long country road. One of those signs led us to a couple of dark, cavernous barns filled with what I suppose one could call antiques. Or maybe one could also call them graveyards for neglected, damaged furniture and home to Chucky’s playmates. A little disappointing in our quest for antiques, but a part of me loves that places like this exist.

Spent last week with some friends riding out the last of the warm weather in Fenelon Falls at the most amazing cottage. It was the perfect place to be for the transition from summer to fall. The cottage itself was so beautifully moody and dark, like being on the set of a movie, especially with the fire going every night. Maybe if someone was to make a Canadian cottage version of In the Mood for Love (one of my all time favourite movies) set in the country, it could be filmed there.

What topped the list of things I liked most about this place was probably all the incredible rugs in every room and hallway. The best ones were the red, white, and black ones that ran down a long dark hallway, which I need to find a decent photo of.  I’ll have to post those in a later entry, along with all the strange and surreal things we did on this little trip to the country.

People often say they’re inspired by nature and I thought I got it, but maybe I didn’t really get it. Sure, forests are nice, but nothing really that mind blowing. Then on a recent hike through Lion’s Head Provincial Park I think I started to see it –  amazing colours, patterns, textures, and odd little things growing everywhere. Is this what people are talking about?