The Lakefront

The Lake

Avon Bay is such a lovely place that we never tire of looking at it.  It has many moods and, depending on my own, I favour one of them above the others.  The most 'cottagy' it gets is on a bright summer day with a little breeze kicking up a light chop and the sun sparkling so brightly as to dazzle the eyes. On these days, we sit at the dock and talk, jumping in the water occasionally to cool off, and then resuming the conversation - usually had around the teak table that is anchored on the broad part between the two docks.

Lakefront Part 2

The dock gets sunshine very early in the summer so we often go and have coffee there before eveyone is up. In the spring, the birds around the bay fill the air with the most wonderful optimism.  There is very little boat traffic early and it is a peaceful and warm place to enjoy the new day.

On really hot and still days, we often find ourselves sitting on life jackets like diapers just off the end of the docks, sipping at something you shouldn't drive after consuming.   The water gets so warm sometimes that you can sit in it for hours without getting cold.  These days are the best for a leisurely swim out to our giant raft where those inclined to sunbathing can lay on the warm boards and bake.  The raft is one of several around and visting is allowed.  The water at the raft is about 7 feet deep so its safe to dive there but nobody should dive at the end of the dock.

As we've advanced in years, we now generally agree that evenings and night time are the most magical time on the dock because of the quiet and the blazing sky that shows off the Milkey Way so much more profoundly than in the city where all of the lights ruin the dark.  Muskoka has several bylaws restricting bright lights so as to protect this very special circumstance.  We often light some candles and sit around the table, or, if the mood take us, we'll just sit in the Muskoka chairs at the end of the dock and listen to the loons - and often fall fast asleep. 

The Lakefront Part 3

There is a ladder at the end of the main dock, although you can jump off anwhere along the sides. The water depth increases so gradually that even little babies have a wonderful time splashing about in the really warm water nearest the shore.  The bottom is good sand that lasts all the way out to just past the end of the dock where it starts to get what some call 'squishy' but really is just the normal feel of clay. There is absolutely nothing in the clay that will bite or otherwise hurt you.

You may notice a lot of golf balls around in the water; The bay is pretty shallow, even a long way out, so lots of cottagers like to drive balls off their docks and various folks go out to dive for them and bring them back. Our estimate is that there are more than 500 balls in the bay at any given time.

Between us and our neighbors, we have set up a volleyball net that has seen some pretty major tournaments over the years when the bay is at its busiest. We are somewhat rare on Avon Bay as many of the cottagers know one another and like to spend time together.

At day's end, as long as there are no fire bans on, we often get a fire going in the fire pit and sit around playing guitar and telling stories.  These are some of the memories that I would say stick deepest in our family.

There are 3 kayaks, a paddle boat, and an amazing little sunfish sailboat that are available to use.  There is also an aluminum boat with a 9.9 hp motor (takes mixed gas) that you can use to go out a little farther and do some fishing. The aluminum boat requires that the driver has a boating license and there are police on the lakes (same goes for a fishing license). 

Lake Joseph is part of a very large system of three lakes that will take several days to explore if you have a big boat and a lot of gas.  Take charts with you (there are some in the cottage) so you don't end up without a propeller.  If you have your own big boat, you can tie up either on the lake side of the big dock or put your boat in the covered slip on the lift.