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Cottage Life

Viral TikTok shares green flags to look for when dating a Canadian

Viktorya Telminova/Shutterstock

What do you look for in a potential new partner? As die-hard cottage fans, we’re betting a love of loons and sunsets tops the list. TikToker @jimmerplslikeme has a few more ideas for us—his popular video features green flags to look for when dating a Canadian, and we have to say, a lot of them resonate with cottagers.

Our favourite items on the list: knowing how to tap a maple tree, how to paddle a canoe, and own a pair of snowshoes.

 

@jimmerplslikeme Green Flags to Look For When Dating A Canadian #fyp #foryou #canada #canadian #dating #shaniatwain #canoe #timbits #hockey #canadiantire #viral #comedy ♬ original sound – Jimmer


If you’re looking for someone with true Canadian spirit, @jimmerplslikeme also says a stash of Canadian Tire money and can rock a Shania Twain song on karaoke night.

We’d add a love of coffee on the dock, knowing how to build an ice rink, and owning a boat to our list.

What are the green flags cottagers should look for when dating each other?

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Elaborate search continues for cow lost on the Trans-Canada last spring

Photo courtesy Jennifer Teresinski

A cow stranded on the Trans-Canada Highway south of Wawa, Ontario, since last spring has become a local phenomenon and the subject of an elaborate rescue plan. The single steer is believed to be the last of a truckload of an estimated 50 cows that were destined to a slaughterhouse when the truck transporting them drove off the road on May 14, 2022. Cattle were spotted alongside the highway near Old Woman Bay for several months, and by August all but five were either rounded up or euthanized.  

Sault Ste. Marie-based rancher Jennifer Teresinski is one of several locals interested in rescuing the steer, which has been observed roaming the highway shoulder just north of Old Woman Bay, in Lake Superior Provincial Park, as recently as Christmas. Terensinski drives the highway weekly, watching for signs of the animal and working with counterparts from Wawa in leaving hay, corn, and oats in hopes of keeping the steer alive while resources are assembled for a rescue.

With baiting stations already in place, Teresinski says a crew is ready to set up a temporary corral to get about “cowboying, ranching, and doctoring” the cow, which she’s already named Tucker. There’s a “stock trailer and team ready,” Teresinski adds. “We have an arborist, snow machines, ranchers, and ropers ready. Tranquilizers are ready if needed, medical care supplies are packed and ready.”

Sneak a peek at wildlife using overpasses

Teresinski has also lined up the services of a local large-animal veterinarian to check over the steer before it’s delivered to its “forever home,” a friend’s hobby farm in the community of Echo Bay, just east of Sault Ste. Marie. “Tucker is in the bush doing his thing,” says Teresinski, the owner of Wild Hearts Ranch. “He’s using his survival instinct and his body is in the dormant stages for winter to hold heat and fat. I think he has a chance to survive out there. It’s humans who are deciding his fate, and that affects his options more than wildlife predators.”  

Teresinski believes the time has long passed for the transport company to meet its obligation under the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to round up the entire load of cattle. “We decided after the Christmas snowstorms to keep searching,” she says. “We are networking and travelling, planning snowshoe trips. There’s no time limit, just a focus to get the cow back to a normal life at a rescue farm.”  

Watch a beaver lead a herd of cattle across a Saskatchewan field

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Q&A: Mouse-proofing a winterized cottage

By Landshark1/Shutterstock

What’s the best way to deal with mice during the long winter in a winterized cottage?—Mike Miles, via email

The best way? The best way is to make sure that they can’t get in ever, by sealing up all possible entryways. (Remember that mice can fit through a hole as small as a pencil. Consequently, this amounts to a lot of entryways.)

You may believe that you’ve done this, but—in a quest to be hyper-vigilant—it’s common to overlook one or two obvious entry points, says Lauralee Proudfoot of Cottage Country Pest Control in Victoria Harbour, Ont. “Under the kitchen sink—or any place where water is coming in—is a good place to check,” she says. The attic is another one. Mice love insulation, “and it’s so easy for them to get into the soffits,” says Proudfoot. “People should really get their attics—and their crawlspaces—checked more often than they do.”

7 ways to keep pests out of your cottage

You say that your cottage is winterized. We assume that means you visit it during the winter. The happy news? You have an advantage over cottagers who leave their places vacant six months of the year. “Places that are lived in year-round, or almost year-round, have food, water, and heat available year-round, but they also have people to notice if and when pests try to sneak in,” says Proudfoot. “So things are less likely to get out of hand. Mice are so quick at breeding. Even if you get one or two a week coming in unchecked, you’ll never get ahead of them,” she says.

6 secrets to successful mouse trapping

If you want to DIY your mouse control, our experts almost always recommend traps over poisoned bait—it can harm non-target animals, for one thing—and they usually recommend regular snap traps over the other options.

“Don’t use glue traps,” says Proudfoot. “They’re just terrible.” (Caveat: unless these glue traps are for cockroaches. “Cockroaches can die on a glue trap.”)

Peanut butter is the go-to trap bait. Cheese dries out (and who wants to eat dry cheese?). Other expert-approved options include bacon, chocolate, and Nutella—but heck, food is expensive! Don’t waste that good stuff on mice.

Don’t put too much bait in the trap, assuming that more food will be more enticing. It usually just allows the mice to eat the food without actually springing the trap. Place traps around the perimeter of rooms—mice like to hug walls—and in concealed areas, for example, behind the fridge. In areas where you’ve seen a lot of mouse traffic, place several traps close together, in a row. Wear gloves when you set the traps. This prevents you from leaving your scent behind for the mouse to detect.

Could mice start a fire by chewing strike-anywhere matches?

Mice, like all mammals, are wary of new things. It could benefit you to, for several days, first put out baited traps that aren’t set. It’ll allow the mice to stop perceiving the traps, and the food, as a threat. This’ll take some patience on your part. But…dealing with wildlife—especially the pesty variety—takes a lot more patience than you’d ever expect. Good luck!

Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.

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How much are closing costs when you buy a cottage?

Photo by fizkes/Shutterstock

If you’re looking to buy or sell a cabin or cottage, you may be wondering what exactly you can expect in terms of closing costs. While the standard closing process is similar to that for other property types, there are also cabin-specific closing costs that both buyers and sellers should be prepared to incur—things such as taxes, insurance, leasing, and licensing, along with anything else that comes out in the due diligence process.

Legal fees

Each party will hire legal representation for the property transfer and will incur fees for their lawyer’s time. The seller will also pay for clearing title, discharging liens, any encumbrances, prepayment of any mortgage penalties, and paying real estate commissions and any tax that might apply to the transaction (which is mainly on real estate fees).

For buyers, lawyers are there to act as their stakeholders and ensure the title is clean, the documents needed are complete, and the land title and mortgage (if financing is required) are registered. If the bank requires an appraisal, survey, title insurance, or other items, these would also be additional costs.

Insurance

The biggest expenses for buyers today are insurance and applicable taxes. “Sometimes, buyers go into these transactions assuming that insurance is a no-brainer,” says Jason Zroback of LandQuest Realty in New Westminster, B.C. But, it should be part of the due diligence process. These days, insurance can be very tough to obtain and quite costly, much more so than in the past and more than people anticipate, says Zroback. This is especially true for secondary residences located in unserviced fire districts, which is the case for many cabins or cottages, especially if your property is remote, water-access, off-grid, and tougher to get to. This can have an enormous impact on your insurance premiums.

Taxes

Property transfer tax

Land transfer taxes vary from province to province. B.C.’s property transfer tax, for example, works on a sliding scale as a percentage of a property’s purchase price. So, if you’re looking at a cabin priced at, say, $200,000 or so, the tax will be nominal, but properties in the millions of dollars are subject to much higher amounts.

Provincial sales tax

It’s important to remember that provincial sales tax can apply to some properties. Unfortunately, many people aren’t aware of this and only find out right before closing or, worse, when the lawyers are doing the property transfer. In extreme cases, accountants need to get involved or tax rulings need to be made. So, do your due diligence and ask about provincial sales tax early on. Like other transaction items, who pays the tax is always negotiable between the buyer and seller.

Scenarios where provincial sales tax may apply include a new build owned by a development company (most realtors know this) or a property owned by a corporation or individual who deferred the tax at purchase (meaning the property is usually registered in a company name). For example, say a new landowner has no intention of developing their property but wants to use it recreationally and may have deferred provincial sales tax when they purchased the property. They would still be liable for the tax when they attempt to sell.

Leases and licenses

Different tenures may be part of your cottage or cabin closing costs. Sometimes, there will be a lease or license for remote, rural recreational properties, which you don’t have for other property types. These can include, for example, a foreshore lease, a water license (i.e. if water for your cabin comes out of a creek), a land lease, or a grazing lease on a farm or ranch. The cost typically includes a lawyer’s time to do the assignment and annual lease dues, both of which should be fairly nominal.

Due diligence

When it comes to who pays for what, some fees are very straightforward. For example, each party will pay for their own lawyer’s time, sellers typically pay for all real estate commissions, and buyers typically pay for appraisals. But, if and when market conditions change and problems arise, the market also dictates how deals are done and fees are charged.

For example, say it’s a seller’s market. Each party gets advice and it may be determined that if the seller wants out of a deal at any point, it’s allowed. In a hot market, the buyer will likely have to concede or back out of the deal themselves, yet be responsible for any difference in property value that the seller lost out on while the property was tied up with the buyer. Similar circumstances can be true in the reverse situation, where a seller must concede to a buyer’s requests in a buyer’s market.

However, anything is negotiable. While both parties can get their backs up, most people are reasonable. If, say, a provincial sales tax liability wasn’t disclosed, typically the party that should have known will take responsibility.

The due diligence process before closing is very important, and there’s one thing you can do to help you navigate the pitfalls of the closing process: having a good realtor you can trust.

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Mercury launches three electric outboards

Mercury Marine has announced—for the first time—a trio of all-new electric outboard motors that the company says will form the foundation for a full line of battery-powered boat engines.

The company officially unveiled its new Avator 7.5e electric outboard motor at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on January 3. Intended to power smaller vessels like cartoppers and inflatables, the Avator 7.5e outboard generates 750 watts of power, allowing performance comparable to that of a 3.5 horsepower gasoline-powered outboard but with the advantages of no noise, no fumes, no emissions, and no need to buy fuel or cart Jerry cans down to the dock.

The Avator is powered by a user-changeable 48-volt, 1 kWh battery that fits inside the top of the motor’s cowling. Replacing the battery is a simple matter of opening a door, lifting out the exhausted cell and sliding in a fresh one. The company says most users will have two batteries so they can allow one to recharge while the other is in use. “We could have just made a bigger battery,” said Mercury Marine president, Chris Drees. “But this motor is meant to be used on smaller boats where that additional size and weight wouldn’t be practical. This is much easier, it allows you to always have a fresh battery at the ready, and it’s super easy to use.”

Drees says that the Avator 7.5e is just the first model in what will become a full line of electric outboards for Mercury. “We also have the larger Avator 20e and 35e models, which will be released later this month. We’re going to have five electric models by end of this year.”

The company says the new motors will begin shipping to dealerships across North America in late winter or early spring, just in time for the coming boating season.

 

6 electric boats and PWCs on the market

Are you dreaming of an electric boat? Here’s where to start

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U.S. Department of Agriculture approves first-ever honeybee vaccine

Photo by Fiona M. Donnelly/Shutterstock

Beekeepers are buzzing with the news that the first honeybee vaccine has been granted conditional approval by the United States Department of Agriculture. The vaccine was created by biotech company Dalan Animal Health, and it protects honeybees against American Foulbrood, a bacterial disease with lethal consequences for bee colonies.

American Fouldbrood affects the larval stage of honeybees and can rapidly spread through a hive. As reported by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs website, the disease is fatal, and causes larvae to decompose into a gooey mess. It’s not a pleasant fate for a hive.

Confirming the presence of American Fouldbrood comes down to a very simple test. “The old methods still hold,” says Collette Mesher, the research lead for the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. Once a beekeeper spots symptoms of the disease, they use what’s called a ropey test, she says. The keeper uses a stick to mush up the larvae, puts the stick in, pulls it out, and if the goop ropes or stretches more than two centimetres, the disease is confirmed.

Under the Bees Act of Ontario, American Fouldbrood must be reported once detected. It is a very virulent disease and can survive for up to 30 years on beekeeping equipment, say Ian Grant, director of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association.

“Once it’s confirmed, the only solution is to quarantine the site and then bottle up the hive and burn everything—the bees and the equipment—and then your location is quarantined for two years,” he says. “If we don’t control it, it could possibly affect all of Ontario.”

Currently beekeepers in Ontario can ward against American Fouldbrood infection through the use of oxytetracycline, a common veterinary antibiotic. The drug is regulated by the World Health Organization and requires a veterinarian prescription. Beekeepers do have the special privilege to use the prescribed antibiotic in the spring and early fall to suppress infection, says Mesher, but this is a preventative measure, not a treatment. She adds that the World Health Organization wants to slow down or stop the preventative use of antibiotics to avoid antibiotic resistance developing.

“New research like this is exciting for us,” says Mesher. It might not replace current procedures, but it could be another tool. The fact that people are out there looking for alternatives is positive, she says.

The vaccine isn’t administered through a needle like your flu shot. Instead, the vaccine is fed to the hive’s queen bee, who will then pass on the immunity to their offspring. While Ontario doesn’t allow the import of honeybee colonies from the United States under the Bees Act, the province does allow the importation of queen bees under very strict conditions. California is a major player in queen bee breeding, so Grant says the vaccine tests in that state will be very interesting to watch.

Questions also remain about how the vaccine would fit into a beekeeper’s operation schedule.  Grant says administering the vaccine requires a beekeeper to isolate their queen bee for eight days from the hive. That’s a significant amount of time where the queen is out of production, he adds.

The vaccine is still under conditional approval and has not been fully tested. For now, Ontario beekeepers are watching and waiting to see the results of the roll out in the United States. “It’s several season away before we would see it here in Canada,” says Mesher.

In the meantime, both Mesher and Grant have suggestions on how to support Ontario’s beekeepers. “We’re a significant part of the agri-food sector, but we’re well hidden,” says Grant. One third of your food supply is pollinated by honeybees, as good a reason as any to want healthy bees.

For folks who want a hands-on experience with honeybees, Ontario has 33 local beekeepers’ associations that welcome newcomers. Property owners can also partner with commercial and hobby beekeepers to host hives on their land, says Mesher.

And the most delicious option to support local honeybees and their keepers? Buy local honey.

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Man charged in Lake Rosseau boat collision that killed a swimmer

Stock image of OPP boat on the water in Thunder Bay, ON. Photo copyright of Michel Curi/CC BY 2.0

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has charged a Huntsville man after striking and killing a swimmer with his boat in Lake Rosseau last July.

Around 7 a.m. on the morning of July 25, the OPP’s Bracebridge detachment, Muskoka EMS, and the Muskoka Lakes Fire Department responded to multiple 911 calls reporting an unresponsive man floating in the water near Shamrock Lodge Road in Port Carling, approximately 20 metres out from a dock.

EMS managed to lift the man onto a floating dock and administered life-saving measures. After no response, he was taken by ambulance to South Muskoka Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The 48-year-old man had been staying at nearby Shamrock Lodge and had headed out for an early morning swim equipped with a visibility marker. Zavier Foyston, who was out driving his boat, collided with the man. Foyston stayed on scene, cooperating with OPP.

After a thorough investigation, the OPP announced on Wednesday that it was charging the 26-year-old Foyston with operating a vessel in a careless manner. Foyston will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on February 7.

OPP Const. Samantha Bigley said she was unaware of any civil action being brought against Foyston by the victim’s family.

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Is each snowflake really unique? The amazing science of snow

Photo by lyubava.21/Shutterstock

In northern communities, seasonal snow plays a central role in day-to-day activities.

For some, it means a day off from school. For others, it’s a signal that skiing season is starting. Or maybe it’s a harbinger of an extra long commute to work. It’s remarkable how many memories and emotions can be evoked by a few billion tiny ice crystals.

We may see snow as a blanket or drifts across the landscape or our driveway. But when was the last time you took a closer look at snow, and I mean a really close look?

Many a writer has mused about snowflakes as a natural work of art. Here’s a scientific look at the amazing nature of snowflakes and snow.

How do snowflakes form?

While different catalogues will say that there are seven types of snowflakes, or eight or 35, we are probably most familiar with the classic six-sided dendrite forms, characterized by elaborate and nearly symmetrical branches. You know, the type that you would cut out of a piece of paper.

The dendrite form is a study in water chemistry. When ice forms at the molecular level, the angle between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms will always be 120 degrees; put three of these together to get a full ring of molecules with a six-sided structure. In fact, every time a water molecule attaches itself to this ring, it will do so at the same angle.

As the snowflake grows, the attachment of water molecules is determined by the temperature and humidity of the air. Since these characteristics don’t change too much at the size of a growing snowflake, those attachments tend to occur evenly across the six points of the hexagonal flake.

Molecule by molecule, the snowflake grows and eventually begins to fall. This takes the snowflake to a new part of the atmosphere, where temperature and humidity are different, resulting in new ice structures forming, but still with the same set of angles.

Video about ice and snow crystal growth with physics professor Ken Libbrecht.

Is each snowflake really unique?

A typical dendrite is made up of about a quintillion (that’s a one with 18 zeroes after it) individual water molecules. Given slight changes in temperature and humidity and the huge number of molecules and bonding opportunities involved, the ice structures created can be incredibly diverse and complicated.

For this reason, it is entirely likely that no two snowflakes form in exactly the same way, and consequently no two snowflakes are alike.

Twin snowflakes have been grown in a lab, where temperature and humidity are closely controlled, but that’s a bit of a cheat.

Cool snowfort ideas you can copy

Why is some snow light and fluffy and some is heavy?

The story of snow crystal growth doesn’t end high above in the clouds. Once the snowflakes reach the ground and accumulate as a blanket of snow, they begin to change.

Freshly fallen snow tends to be light and fluffy because the flakes take up a lot of space and there is a lot of air between and within them. But over time, they break apart, pack tighter together and the density increases.

Find the right snowshoes for you

This process is known as sintering and is useful for building snow shelters like igloos and quinzees. But some of the most remarkable changes happen at the bottom of the snowpack, where warmth from the ground below and cold from the air above interact.

Through a process of sublimation—water molecules change from ice directly to vapour, skipping the liquid phase—and refreezing, cup-shaped crystals a few centimetres across known as depth hoar can form. Though beautiful to look at, depth hoar has a low density and when it forms on a steep slope there is a chance for the snowpack to slide as an avalanche.

So next time you’re out in the snow, even if you’re grumbling about having to shovel the driveway for the umpteenth time this winter, take a moment to catch a snowflake on your mitten and have a look at it. You’re looking at a formation
no one has ever seen before.

Check out physics professor Kenneth Libbrecht’s website for a full description of snowflake forms.The Conversation

Krystopher Chutko, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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This is why the Canada geese will always win

By TheBirdyStore/Shutterstock

It’s difficult to ruffle the feathers of a Canada goose. That’s what researchers from the University of Illinois discovered when they tested the effectiveness of winter harassment techniques to drive Canada geese to leave sites in urban Chicago.

Wildlife harassment is a nonlethal management technique that encourages animals to move on from an area by increasing a location’s sense of risk and danger. It’s used to manage Canada geese in cities where the birds can clash with people for a number of reasons, from fouling green spaces with their droppings to colliding with aircraft.

The study’s researchers harassed Canada geese by approaching the animals on foot and ATVs and then clacking lumber boards together. They expected that the harassment would be more effective at dispersing geese during the challenging winter season. But surprisingly, the researchers found that harassment was ineffective at significantly changing the behaviour of geese and had diminishing returns over time.

10 times geese were the least Canadian animals ever

“Birds never fail to amaze,” says Doug Tozer, the director of waterbirds and wetlands at Birds Canada. Tozer, (who was not involved with the study), adds, “Just when you think you know how they operate, they turn around and do something like this. I find it humbling and fascinating.”

For cottage owners (or home owners) who don’t want to share their space with Canada geese, Tozer suggests making your property unattractive to geese in the first place, regardless of the season.

“Geese pretty much eat only grass, and they prefer large open spaces so they can see predators approaching,” says Tozer. “If you don’t want geese around then get rid of your grass, or, at least reduce the amount of grass you have.”

9 ways to get a beautiful shoreline and a healthy lake

Planting trees and shrubs can also repel geese. This technique is particularly helpful in the summer when geese have a gaggle of young in their care. “Geese with young prefer to be able to run directly from grass to the lake if there’s a threat,” says Tozer. “If you block that path, they won’t come to eat your grass.”

“Birds are really good at what they do,” says Tozer. “They’re smart, they’re adaptive. They often take opportunities when they arise, we therefore shouldn’t get impatient with them when they try their best to survive amongst us.” He adds, “humans are, in theory, smart too. And if true, then we should be able to figure out ways to coexist with birds and other wildlife.”

Don’t do it for the ‘gram: why wildlife photography can be dangerous

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Mortgage stress test remains unchanged (for now) despite high interest rates

Photo by Puttachat Kumkrong/Shutterstock

High interest rates over the last 12 months have reduced purchasing power and made borrowing more expensive for Canadians. But the outlook isn’t all doom and gloom for cottage owners and cottage buyers to-be.

Last year, the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate seven times to 4.25 per cent, its highest level since 2008, in effort to cool consumer spending and lower inflation. Canada’s five major banks moved to increase their prime lending rates 50 basis points, which increases borrowing costs for anyone with a variable rate loan.

In December, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced it would keep the minimum qualifying rate—a mechanism to test whether borrowers will still be able to afford their mortgage if interest rates rise—for uninsured mortgages unchanged at 5.25 per cent.

“In an environment characterized by sustained high inflation, rising mortgage interest rates, and potential risks to borrower income, it is prudent that lenders continue to test borrowers for adverse conditions,” said Tolga Yalkin, the OSFI assistant superintendent for Policy, Innovation, and Stakeholder Affairs, at a media briefing last month.

While the federal banking regulator’s stress test still hovers around 5 per cent, cottage buyers must show they can pay interest payments at 7 per cent—which reduces the size of a mortgage buyers can qualify for, says Ottawa-based mortgage broker Andrew Thake.

Experts say that the high interest rates have worked as intended to slow the demand for big ticket items such as housing and vehicles. Home sales in Canada declined by 3.3 per cent from October to November in 2022, according to CREA.

However, high interest rates have made paying off home and cottage mortgages a strain for those who have them and made it even more difficult for those who want to secure one.

For those looking to buy

Buyers looking for cottages who don’t qualify for a mortgage that is large enough to purchase the type of property they’re interested in may be able to qualify in a year and a half when the stress test rates go down. Those applying for a mortgage today will qualify for less than they would have, had they applied a few years ago.

“You’d either have to put more down, or you just have to settle for a smaller place,” says Thake.

Thake suggested that people looking to buy while interest rates are high could also look at a fixed-rate mortgage for a shorter period of time—think two or three years—and if rates settle down after that, they could look at renewing.

Sometimes, when rates go up, cottage buyers can find savings elsewhere. “Even though interest rates are a bit higher, the price of the cottage is probably substantially lower than what you paid a year or two ago in some markets.”

This month, the OSFI is reviewing Guideline B-20, which includes the minimum qualifying rate (MQR) and other mortgage lending measures. The office launched a public consultation on January 12, which will take place until April 14, 2023.

Among the measures the OSFI is considering are restrictions on how much banks can lend to people whose mortgage exceeds a certain percentage of their gross income. This is something banks already do, but the changes may include tightening up the restrictions, says Thake.

Other changes may also include new debt servicing coverage restrictions, which would limit how much borrowers’ mortgage payments comprise a percentage of their income. Currently, most banks limit a borrowers’ housing obligations to 39 per cent of their gross income, but some major banks push that to 49 per cent.

Additionally, the OSFI is considering implementing a new minimum interest rate that is applied in debt servicing calculations.

“They want to reduce risk in the industry. The OSFI is worried about exposure to heightened risk from a lot of debt, plus a potential recession and high interest rates,” Thake said. “They want to reduce the probability of borrower default.”

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