We’re deep in production of our next issue and getting ready for the Spring Cottage Life Show, but DH and I had time to make some great ciabatta bread on the weekend (well, mostly DH, who has become an amazing bread machine). The best thing was this bread requires no kneading, so it will be great for the cottage. Stay tuned for more details as soon as things calm down here at the magazine.

Meanwhile, I received a spring treat today from my pal Mary, who regularly e-mails me photos of the view of the Muskoka River out her cottage window.

A beautiful day in cottage country. Photo: Mary Gurr

Rick Mercer always makes me laugh, and it was no different with this clip from the Outdoor Adventure Show. Editor James Little and the rest of the gang were there with our brother,  explore magazine, though they managed to avoid falling under the Mercer microscope.

We’re getting excited about our own Spring Cottage Life Show happening in just two weeks (March 26—28). Save the date!

I invited you to send me your pictures of moose and was delighted to hear from Clint Gilders, who shot (or should I say he photographed) these large creatures in Algonquin Park last year. You can view more of Clint’s photos and his cool Map of Algonquin Wildlife Sightings on Flickr. Thanks for sharing Clint.

I spotted this cow from Arowhon Road at the west end of March Hare Lake.

This little calf was on the side of an Algonquin Park back road with its mom. Both animals were very patient with the group of photographers and other onlookers who happened upon them. We were able to slowly make our way to within 4 to 5 metres of the pair There was a tense moment when I attempted one of my shooting position changes. I slowly stepped behind a tree on my way to a different vantage point. As I stepped out, I snapped a twig. Mom didn't like that. She pinned her gaze on me and gave a snort. I needed nothing more to know I had overstepped and needed to move away.

I think this was my favourite moose to photograph. He was so calm and allowed us to slowly make our way very close to him.

6:19 a.m. on our second spring day in Algonquin Provincial Park. Moments after turning out of the Canisbay Lake Campground and heading east on Hwy 60, we spotted two moose in the ditch on the south side of the road. Both were bulls, one slightly larger than the other. The light was challenging so early in the day, but I did manage to eke out a few photos.

The photos aren’t of moose at the cottage (stay tuned for another moose photo tomorrow), but I wanted to mention the inspiring blog I just came across — Island Girl Talk, with snowy winter photos taken last weekend on a hike out to a closed-up cottage on Georgian Bay.

My favourite line: Once we made it to the island, it was good to see that there weren’t any fallen trees and that the buildings appeared to be in good shape. Isn’t that what we all hope when we trek out to our island cottages for the first time each spring?

My favourite photos: the two shots from the porch window, one in summer, the other in winter. I also like the shot of the artistic outhouse door. And the plastic lawn chairs. And the pot of snow on the stove. Never mind, there are too many cool photos to choose a favourite!

Bruce Mitchell of Six Mile Lake made my Monday morning with his letter and photo of two moose checking out the beach at his cottage. He shared the photo with us, and I’ll share it with you.

Bruce writes:

I have just finished reading your recent April 2010 issue with the Moose picture on your cover. What a fantastic picture!

I have a cottage on Six Mile Lake and we had these unexpected visitors on our beachfront property. I immediately ran for my camera. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the full head shot of the moose on the right of the photo (I believe this to be the mother Moose!) but I was able to capture the full body of the smaller moose on the left of the photo. ( I believe this to be the baby.)

Once I saw the cover of your recent issue it reminded me of this wonderful photo that I have….thought I would share it with you.

Thanks Bruce! If anyone else has photos of moose, send them to me at caldwell@cottagelife.com and I’ll post a few of them in this space this week. (Please make your subject line “moose photo.”)

This morning in the kitchen at our Cottage Life office, a colleague and I got to discussing the wild blueberries I had brought to sprinkle on a late breakfast of oatmeal. She said she hadn’t eaten wild blueberries since leaving Nova Scotia, years ago. She used to pick them out behind her great-grandmother’s place. I confessed the berries were frozen and promised to take her to Georgian Bay this summer to pick the bushes thick with wild blueberries behind our cottage.

My friend admitted she doesn’t enjoy frozen blueberries. And I wondered how many other cottagers are spoiled by the wild berries they can pick themselves on a summer morning and enjoy in pancakes minutes later.

For me, wild blueberries in winter—even the frozen ones—are a sweet taste of summer. What about you?

[Photo courtesy wildblueberries.com]

Yesterday, Debb left a comment about her love affair with hot dogs and the thread she started on our Cottage Life forums. I checked it out and couldn’t resist sharing this pic of forum member Born2Chill’s favourite “wiener dog.”

By the way, do you ever get tired of the same old ketchup, mustard, and relish on your hot dogs? Stay tuned for Cottage Life’s May issue, in which our food editor, Martin Zibauer, teamed up with cottager and Chatelaine food editor at large Monda Rosenberg to create some tasty new toppings for hot dogs and sausages.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

If you’re like me, the Olympics has dominated your news feed for the past two weeks. And if so, you may have overlooked another news story critical to cottagers: the motion to change the shape of the hot dog. We’ve long complained that dogs and buns come packaged in different quantities (why are there 12 wieners and only eight buns?!). Imagine the confusion if they were completely different shapes too! Will hot dogs be the new hamburgers? It wouldn’t be the first time hamburger buns stood in for an empty bag of squishy Wonder™ hot dog rolls on a cottage picnic.

There’s nothing humorous about kids choking (my mother wouldn’t let me or my siblings  eat hot dogs, carrot sticks, or nuts until we were five years old, for that very reason). But there is something funny about the notion of reshaping the ubiquitous hockey-arena staple, especially when National Post cartoonist Gary Clement takes a shot. His editorial in a recent edition shows a mom holding a blender in one hand and a glass in the other. The caption: “Who wants hot dogs?”

Cottage Cook Jane Rodmell at the Chefs for Haiti fundraiser. Photo by Dawn Yager

I was sorry to miss a great evening last week with one of my favourite foodies, Cottage Life’s longtime Cottage Cook, Jane Rodmell, of All the Best Fine Foods in Toronto. She and All the Best’s exec­u­tive chef, Olivia Bolano, donated their time and expertise to Chefs For Haiti, a fundrais­ing cook­ing class orga­nized by Esther Benaim of Great Cooks on Eight.

Fortunately, Martin Zibauer was there. You’ll find a full report—and the recipe for the dish Jane and Olivia prepared—on his blog The Cottage Feast.

“Tannenruh” is a new forum member with an abiding love for the cottage she’s owned for four years. Here’s a some useful advice from one of her recent posts:

Four years and lots of new ideas and guest thoughts and food thoughts later, our traditional “Camp Chaos,” now renamed “Camp Peace and Love/Choas,” is an absolute blast of family fun!!! And yes, it takes energy, but I look forward to the event.

Best rules:

Bring your own linens, set up a drawer for extras and let people know to help themselves

divi up the meals, precook and freeze

on the porch every morning I publish on a white board the day’s meal plan… Most asked question seemed to be “What’s to eat?” “When are we eating?”

don’t let people bring a blow up slip and slide that runs for the kids all week!!!

Most important lesson I had to learn – people really want to help out so ask them!

Husband’s best rule: NO PROJECTS during the week (the first year he spent the week building an outdoor shower and deck during the same week).

No, lovely stepdaughter, you cannot bring your new kittens and think the dogs are not going to try to eat them

Nobody should show up with a trunk full of their dirty clothes that need to get washed…

Amen to that Tannenruh. Sounds like you’ve got this cottage thing worked out!