Why Brian Tor? Well my very sweet and significant other's name is Brian, and mine is Torry. Many generations ago, back in the dim recesses of time, the family name of the Viking who fancied a young Celtic lass was "Tor". Both names refer to strength but a Tor is also a rocky crag. Our cottage is near the peak of a Pre-Cambrian Ridge in Eastern Ontario, overlooking the Black River Valley, so the name translates to "Strong Rocky Crag". No water frontage, but we don't care... we love the vistas, the 9.31 acres of hardwood for our wood stove, and the remote location. Our nearest neighbour is 100 feet down and about 500 feet across the road; we see them only occasionally.
We plan to retire to this cottage... Brian in a year and a half; myself in 2 1/2 years. We've put in a well and are working on some kind of septic system this summer.
Both sets of kids being grown and flown, all our children now have paws. Molson, at 12, has this to say about himself:
I consider myself quite spry for a 12-year-old, though rainy weather gets to my hips something fierce! I'm quite proud I can still jump into the crew cab of Mommy's truck, though sometimes she has to give my butt a boost.
It's my mission in life to rid the world of squirrels and chipmunks, and there are quite a few both at the cottage and at home, so I'm kept quite busy. Never caught one yet, but I'm persistent.
After chasing squirrels and chipmunks, my favourite activities are eating and rolling in... well, just about anything, but fresh mown grass, leaves and snow are good places when there is no goose doodoo around.
Don't ask me to play fetch... I really don't see the point... if you want the ball that badly, go get it yourself! When you're done playing, you'll find me napping on my bed in front of the fire.
Our other cottage "baby" is Rosie, a cat with "attitude" who loves cuddling and vigorous tummy rubs:
I love to sleep on Mommy's and Daddy's laps. I'm the cottage cat, so while Daddy is there nearly every day I do get to look after the cottage when he is away... it's my job to make sure mice and moles and voles do not take over in their absence, and I keep myself fit for my job by playing with my toys and chasing empty cardboard boxes, rubber bands or hazelnuts (in the shell) around the cottage.
I love also to sleep on the stool in front of the wood stove, or on my cat tree near the window in the morning sunshine. Molson (the dog) and I both love to chase squirrels and chipmunks so sometimes those little critters really don't know whether they're coming or going when we tag-team them. I love to climb trees and have gotten really really good at climbing down all by myself. I don't like snow much, but that's not going to keep me from a good critter-chase!
Brian, Molson, Rosie and I get into all kinds of mischief... Brian loves playing with his toys, laying by wood for the winter to keep us toasty warm, building "stuff" and just "puttering". He's a living example of the old adage, "You can tell how much fun a man is having by the amount of mess he makes and the volume of noise while he's making it." From the sound and looks of it, he has a LOT of fun!
Brian also loves mealtime, so while I'm sitting in front of the wood stove I like to explore recipes on the Internet... then at cooking time create meals for us. I also crochet and occasionally knit, or head outside with my camera to take endless pictures of the flora and fauna around the cottage. I hope to include elements of all our activities in my blog and see where it leads me.
Happy blogging, everyone!
