Well, we had wine at the barbecue in our office backyard today, thanks to no strike at the LCBO (were any of you in the lineups?), but the downpour started as soon as we put the chicken on the barbecue. Editors Blair Eveleigh and Martin Zibauer gamely dashed in and out between lightning strikes to mind the grill. Martin had prepared two marinades from the “Grill Guide to Great Chicken” in the June ’08 issue of Cottage Life—some for the chicken and some for the tofu he grilled. (There was a comical moment when some staffers mistook the tofu for editor Jackie Davis’s awesome desserts.)

In an effort to reduce garbage (our office is in Toronto, as you may know, scene of garbage mayhem these days), we eschewed paper plates for plastic washable ones and used clean rags left over from the photography for this year’s grill guide (“Summer’s Best BBQ Ribs,” in the June issue). This was a bright idea from Martin: Buy a pack of shop (or painter’s) rags from the paint section of your hardware store. The fabric is new, the rags are cheap and absorbent, and when you’re done they can be washed and reused, or turned into…uh…rags!

Photo by Gary Davidson

[updated with video] Following my post about the closing of the Ontario SPCA’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, Kathryn Spraggett, Special Projects Manager for the Cottage Life Shows, reminded me of her visit this spring to release three otters. I’ll let her tell the story, complete with photos and a video of the vocal trio:

“I was looking forward to a typical May 2-4 weekend with the usual cottage opening-weekend schedule. I am very fortunate, because I get to spend my summer weekends at my mother-in-law’s well maintained and beautiful cottage. I mention well maintained because the only “work” I might have to do on this weekend is help clip in the window screens and the only “wildlife” to deal with would be our two newly adopted adult cats, who may or may not be cottagers. Then I got a call from Liz Springall at the Ontario SCPA Rehabilitation Wildlife Centre inviting me to participate in the release of three river otters into the wild. Of course I have no idea what this means, but it sounds cool, so I agree to join her.

So there I am with my sis-in-law, Linda Armstrong (former host of Cottage Life Television), waiting at the designated meeting spot behind a Harvey’s somewhere in cottage country and wondering where the river is. Turns out this is just the beginning of our journey. After the crew from the centre and the otters arrive, we pile into a couple of vehicles suitable for bumpy roads and drive another 45 minutes to the next leg of the trip. Along the drive we learn more about the otters. These three were rescued back in the fall, two from a swimming pool and one from a cranberry marsh. The law requires that once rehabilitated animals demonstrate skills necessary for survival in the wild, they must be returned to the place they were found. These little guys weren’t going back to the swimming pool, so the centre obtained special permission from the Ministry of Natural Resources to release them in an appropriate habitat.

My first awareness of the otters is some serious screeching coming out of the plywood nesting box that has been their home for winter. They are being transferred from the back of the car to a trailer that will take them a little closer to home. We are joined by the owner of the property who has spent the last three weeks clearing a rough trail through his woods. The crew—there are eight of us by now—slowly bump through the woods for a half hour and reach the top of a slope; the trail has ended and we can see the water below. From there it’s all muscle power as the more fit among us (not me, I’m filming and trying to stay upright) take turns carrying the awkward load down the slope through the woods.

With the plywood box nestled between two trees, it’s time for the otters to explore the world. The door is opened and we wait. We wait some more. A head pops out screeching, then another head, then they pop back in. A head pops out again, then another, then three heads screeching and squirming. It’s a scary three-headed monster now. They are stuck in the opening. Hmm. They go back into the box. They try again. They are the Three Stooges. This goes on for a while until they figure out that the three of them can’t fit through the opening at once. At last, they all make it out onto the ground and run around over each other, under each other, around in circles. They find the water. They are home. We all watch them for a while as they explore their new habitat. They don’t stay close for long but none of us wants to leave right away. We keep watching and listening. Maybe they’ll come back and say “thanks.”

Walking back through the woods I notice Liz’s smile, she doesn’t need to be thanked. The otters have moved on as though they never left their wild habitat, and that’s what it’s all about!”

—Kathryn Spraggett (photos by Linda Armstrong)

Watch a video of the otters being released

Have you had a close encounter with wildlife? Tell us about it in the comments below.

It won’t be just area cottagers who are sorry to see the closure of the Ontario SPCA’s Wildlife Centre in Midland at the end of August. Every year, 1,500 sick and injured animals from across Ontario are treated annually at the centre, which opened its doors in 1992, including more than 100 species of mammals, birds and reptiles. When possible, the animals are  rehabilitated for release back into their wild habitat. Cottagers can still call the centre’s hotline (705-534-3751, or toll-free at 1-888-668-7722, ext. 386) for advice on how to treat sick animals or for an alternative treatment location.

The plan is to reopen permanently next May, but the centre, which receives little government funding, will need financial support from the community.

If you can help, send donations to:

Ontario SPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
15979 Highway 12 East, RR 1
Port McNicoll, ON L0K 1R0

The Ontario SPCA Act mandates the Society to enforce animal cruelty laws and provides Society investigators with police powers to do so—making the Ontario SPCA unique among animal welfare organizations in the province. The Ontario SPCA is a member of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and is affiliated with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

There are sacrifices an editor must make in the name of research. For example, this morning I arrived at the office to find two packages of decadent cookies on my desk, courtesy of Ace Bakery. The list of ingredients: dark chocolate, butter, crunchy nuts, honey, whole egg, no preservatives. Twist my arm.

Let’s see: in this box, Oatmeal, Walnut and Chocolate. In the other, Chocolate Pecan. Better try both—can’t let the readers down…

…mmmm, they’re pretty good. In fact they’re yummy. (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.)

Photo by Douglas Bradshaw

About Ace Bakery:
•the company opened in Canada 1993 as an artisan bakery making hand-made, European-style rustic breads
•its breads are available across Canada, in the mid-west and on the east coast of the U.S., and in the Bahamas
•they donate a percentage of pre-tax profits to charitable organizations, principally food and nutrition programs that assist low-income members of the community, financing culinary scholarships, and supporting organic farming initiatives
•Ace is recognized as one of the 26 top Canadian brands of all time in Ikonica: A Field Guide to Canada’s Brandscape (2008)

A male friend of mine once told me the best part of dinner parties is doing the dishes with friends afterward. Well, maybe he didn’t say it was the best part, but he did say how much he enjoyed the socializing that goes on in the kitchen while the dishes are being washed.

He’s got a point. There’s no dishwasher at The Farm, and we have solved the problems of the world over hot sudsy water and dish towels during marathon Thanksgiving weekend washing sessions. (We hand wash dishes at the cottage, too, but usually the morning after the big dinners.)

I was reminded this week of the pleasures of dishwashing when I read the results of a Moen survey that asked Canadians to name their biggest pet peeve in the kitchen. The number one complaint? Dirty dishes in the sink.

Maybe we should just plan kitchen dishwashing parties, preceded by dinner.

Our two magazines, explore and Cottage Life, won a total of five gold, three silver, and 19 honourable mentions at the National Magazine Awards presentation on Friday night. In fact, explore, Canada’s outdoor adventure magazine, ranked third among all Canadian magazines for most awards won. Meanwhile, Cottage Life’s dynamic barbecue duo, Jane Rodmell and David Zimmer, won a gold award in the How-to category for our Grill Guide to Great Chicken in the June ’08 issue, and our talented art director, Kim Zagar, won the silver in the coveted category Art Direction for a Single Issue, for the October ’08 issue. Congratulations to the illustrators, writers, and photographers of both magazines and to the great staff who pull it all together. And, of course, to you, the readers who inspire us.

From Martin Zibauer, Deputy Editor, Cottage Life

Thanks, everyone, for the great barbecue tips and stories.

I laughed at Sean Pynaert’s tale of dumping briquettes in his van (because I’ve done similar things so often) and loved Teresa’s succinct, irrefutable advice: “Cook one side well. Then, cook the other side.” And I have to feel sorry for Kellie, who had a pair of chickens roasting on the grill while her guests were hearing the unappetizing story of two ducks’ demise.

The first winner, though, is Melanie S., who lives on Vancouver Island. I’m really intrigued by her suggestion of seasoning potato wedges with nutritional yeast flakes , so I bought some over the weekend at Bulk Barn. The flavour reminds me of a seasoning powder made by Knorr called Aromat (look for it in the spice section of specialty delicatessens), which some grillers swear by. Aromat has yeast extract in it (as well as MSG and salt). When I’ve tried it on chicken, it doesn’t exactly change the flavour, it just makes it taste more intensely chickeny. Next time I barbecue chicken or potatoes, I’m going to try yeast flakes—they just might become my new secret ingredient.

The other set of spice rubs goes to Rita J, from almost the other end of the country, PEI. Rita didn’t tie up her rotisserie chicken wings securely and found out the hard way what can happen. It’s another mistake I can imagine myself making, but what makes this anecdote a winner is her deadpan warning, “A chicken on fire will have flames over four feet high.”

Good to know. Congratulations.

My husband, my daughters, and many of our most loyal readers—you all wondered the same thing: Which editor was asleep at the switch when we published the story in Cottage Life’s June issue about how to bury a dead body? Well, that would be me. When we wrote the story, we didn’t know that a community would be mourning the loss of a beautiful little girl, or that police would be scouring southwestern Ontario for her body. The piece was meant to be an over-the-top bit of dark humour that nobody would take seriously, along the lines of the advice about what to do if you’re abducted by aliens, which appeared in the same issue. In hindsight, however, I realize it was a mistake for us to publish the story, and I apologize to readers who were offended to find it in their favourite magazine. If you have a comment, you can post it below.

The 30-day comment period for the Small Vessel Regulations ended on May 25th. Canada’s arm of the National Marine Manufacturers Association says that the government has done a good job of consulting with the industry on the regulations and that they are much improved. Following an analysis of the comments received, Transport Canada will make the necessary changes and proceed to Canada Gazette Part 2. The regulations will likely be implemented in the fall and be ready for the 2010 boating season.

NMMA Canada is also working through the draft regulations for construction standards (TP1332). The new TP1332 eliminates a number of steps boat builders would be required to take in the approval process. To read NMMA’s comments to Transport Canada on the regulations,  click here.

In its spring budget, the Ontario government announced that beginning July 2010, it will harmonize the provincial sales tax with the GST. While harmonization is intended to simplify bookkeeping for businesses in Ontario and provide a savings, there is concern among the boating community that it will mean a significant negative impact on recreational boating as many of the services offered today are not currently subject to one or both of the taxes. The Ontario Marine Operators Association (OMOA) estimates that it could mean somewhere around $30 million in additional sales taxes to boating consumers. NMMA Canada will work with the OMOA in the coming months by approaching the provincial government to discuss the impact—both positive and negative—to marine businesses and consumers.

Congratulations to Greg Hoflinger, winner of the second of five monthly Cottage Life Photo Contest early bird draws. Congrats both for winning the random draw (and a $100 gift certificate to the Cottage Life Store) and for taking such a beautiful shot at the cottage on Brackenrig Bay.

The next draw takes place June 30. All early bird winners remain eligible for the Cottage Life Photo Contest. The final deadline is September 9.

Photo: Greg Hoflinger, Brackenrig Bay.