The Hintze Team Blog

Once you become a cottage or cabin owner, you naturally become dedicated to preserving nature. Enjoyment of nature’s beauty is what a cottage is all about, and most cottagers and cottage associations want to make sure that the beauty they are enjoying remains untouched. Here are a few ways to make your experience a little greener.

1. Make septic care a priority
If your septic system is mismanaged, you may be leaching raw sewage directly into the groundwater and, depending on the location of your septic, directly into your lake. In fact, septics and farms are two of the largest contributors to eutrophication, or the process through which a body of water starts growing more weeds due to excessive phosphorus. So how can you help your lake? Have a septic contractor come in to have a look at your septic to see if it is large enough for your needs, see if it needs any remedial work, and set up a regular pumping and maintenance schedule. It may be costly at first, but think of preserving the clarity of your lake water.
Once you have it done, spread the word among your neighbours either through your cottage association or informal get-togethers. Septic care should be a priority for everyone who wants to preserve precious lake water.

2. Save water and conserve energy
Shower heads and hot water tanks tend to be a bit outdated in a cottage. For a quick water-saving measure, install a low-flow shower head. This will save valuable dollars and it makes sense. If you want to go a little farther, and have enough solar exposure to do it, consider installing a solar hot water heater. This is a good move if you plan on staying at your cottage throughout retirement, as you will cut down on your ongoing monthly bills.

3. Preserve your septic by not killing it with chemicals
Many people think that if their septic is large enough, they can use whatever they like in it. This is not the case. A healthy septic system thrives on anaerobic bacteria, which will not thrive if you use chemicals or antibacterials in your laundry or dishwasher. Healthy cleaning products will also help your septic, as well as your own health. Bleach, CLR, Ajax, and other harsh chemical cleaners should be used sparingly and avoided if possible. Less chemicals in your septic mean fewer problems, which can ultimately affect your pocketbook.
Ask your guests to bring natural, biodegradable shampoos and personal care products and be ready to provide them if your city guests forget.

4. Go local with your food
Many cottage areas boast local farms, meat producers, and dairies. Take advantage of this by doing a scouting mission for these farms in your area. There are many handy tools online to do this with, and you can also contact your nearest chamber of commerce. If they can’t help you, they’ll be happy to direct you to an organization that can.

5. Quarantine your plants
There are many potential pests that can infiltrate a forest. From Japanese Maple disease to Asian Longhorned beetles, there are many potential issues you can bring with you if you truck in plants from the city. Avoid bringing plants or firewood to the cottage, and shop local for your plants and gardening supplies where you can. Where it isn’t possible to shop locally, buy your plants at the store on the way to the cottage, rather than purchasing them and storing them at your home for any length of time. This will cut down on potential risk factors.
SOURCE: http://www.myessentia.com

People may talk about the big and scary grizzly bears in British Columbia or polar bears in the Arctic, but the scariest creature in all of Canada is the black fly of Northern Ontario.
Nowhere else on the planet are the black flies as big as in Northern Ontario. They will take the screen right off your tent if they can smell you inside! So you don’t feel like going outdoors. But I was up surveying land so I had to go .. out to work.
Well all day long you’re swatting and squashing, squashing and swatting those black flies, trying to clear the air. You’re itchy and scratching, scratching millions of itchy bites right from your head to your little toes. And all you want to do is get your surveying work done!
One day I said to my friend, “Oh dear the black flies are bad this year!” “Well they were WORSE last year!” she said.
“They must have been scary if they were worse last year.” I replied. “Were there more?” “More!” my friend roared, “ the clouds of black flies were so thick you couldn’t breathe! You were scratching your itchy black fly bites morning, noon and night. I’m sure I lost 20 kilos from all the blood the black flies took out of me! And one day I see this loud black cloud coming towards me. I don’t know what to do. Luckily I find a rain barrel. I get inside the rain barrel, hoping to hide from the black flies.
Just when I think I’m safe, I hear a sound like bullets hitting the rain barrel. In the dark in my rain barrel I can just about see – the black flies’ little jaws coming right through the rain barrel! I find a rock and I hammer down those little jaws like nails. I work fast!
Then I feel this strange sensation. And whoosh! I am flying up, up, up into the bright Northern Ontario sky. The black flies are carrying the rain barrel - with me inside!
SOURCE: www.radio-canada.ca