Blog |

March 12, 2017
by admin
Comments Off on Lost Communities and Secret Places – by Kaila Gallacher

Lost Communities and Secret Places – by Kaila Gallacher

There is something sacred about coming upon a ghost town or seeing the remnants of a long-lost community. It is baring witness to the passage of time and humanity all while seeing the nature of our world. There is no doubt it can be bitter-sweet. I had such an opportunity last fall while out hiking near Warbler’s Roost and stumbling upon one such ghost town near Rye Road.

Someone Lived Here – photograph by Seth Anderson, taken in Machar Township, Sept 1/13

Coming upon abandoned communities brings to mind a certain emptiness, and the fleeting, changing nature of life. Witnessing the presence of a ghost town is a way of witnessing the past, present, and future all at once. For an artist or a writer, boarded-up houses and echoes of the distant past, prove to be teeming with inspiration.

At Warblers Roost, in Lount Township, and in the surrounding area, places like this can be found hidden like precious stones inside the fathomless forest. The veins of trails that run through the area hold many surprises for those who come. Many nearly-forgotten communities and ghost-towns can be found throughout the area. The Old Nipissing Road, known as the Ontario Ghost Trail, is one infamous example. In 1850 the Nipissing Road became a hotspot for pioneers and great lumber companies. Many settlements were created but to this day only four have stood the test of time. The trail is filled with abandoned barns, empty houses, vacant villages, and an expansive ghost town you can discover for yourself.

The Whole Earth Family Truck – photograph by Seth Andersen, taken at Frostpocket Sept/13.

On a smaller scale again just a short ride from Warbler’s Roost, is Frostpocket, a small community set up by Vietnam Draft Dodgers in the 1970s. Notably, it was named Frostpocket due to the heavy frost that spread through the small locale due to its low-lying landscape. Coming upon any ghost town unexpectedly can be eerie. Houses which were well lived in homes, have fallen into silent disrepair. And yet others appear to be in near perfect condition. The abandoned villages, boarded-up houses, shacks, and barns, each in their own state of disrepair, echo of time as you bare witness to the steady re-emergence of nature.

Many lost and abandoned gems can be found in and around Lount and Machar Townships as well as the surrounding area. Sometimes you just never know what you’re going to find while you’re out hiking. Lost communities, abandoned schools, even abandoned cars can be found in the unlikeliest of places. It’s an area full of mystery and inspiration. Lost communities in and around the expansive area hold a unique opportunity for inspiration that any creative-mind would relish.

Phillip Mullins, (1998). Frostpocket. (www.ragnarokr.org). Specific to Frostpocket click here

Ken Turner, (N.D). Ontario Ghost Trail. (www.NipissingRoad.Ca)

Photographs included with permission by the photographer Seth Anderson. To view more of Seth’s photos on flickr click here and for more Frostpocket photos (by Seth Anderson and others) click here.

Kaila Gallacher is a freelance writer and editor living in beautiful Ontario, Canada. She’s been published in several magazines and also runs her own blog (thislifethisloveblog.wordpress.com). She also works and writes for the ILC Charitable Foundation which aims to help children and families who deal with life-altering chronic pain diseases. Kaila is an active member of the Barrie Writers Club. Time not spent writing is spent reading or outside enjoying her natural surroundings.

January 13, 2017
by admin
Comments Off on Winter Activities in the Almaguin Highlands – by Kaila Gallacher

Winter Activities in the Almaguin Highlands – by Kaila Gallacher

Many of the wonderful guests that have stayed at Warbler’s Roost, in the Almaguin Highlands, during the winter months ask what there is to do here. As most of our guests are used to staying inside during winter, especially if they live in a city, they are elated to discover just how much there is to do out here when the snow falls heavy. Below are some favourite winter activities here in the Almaguin Highlands.

Winter Fun – Snowshoeing

Those who wish to get outside and into the snow can give snowshoeing a try. Snow-shoeing gives you a wonderful purely Northern experience where you get to explore the cold majesty of a Northern winter. There’s nothing quite like seeing scores of trees laid out before you, heavily laden with snow, or the smell of pine and cedar in the air, you can marvel at the soft silence of the world that is completely covered in the purest white crystals. Providing you dress for the elements, the experience promises to be beautiful and serene. It will leave you feeling inspired and delightfully exhausted. There are snowshoes available to guests at Warbler’s Roost for use on the property or bring your own and explore the many trails in the area.

Cross-country skiing and ice-skating are also popular sports in the area. Many of the locals ski across Deer Lake in January and February, which are the best months for cross-country skiing across the lake. The same two months are great for ice-skating on Deer Lake, where you can often find small rinks here and there on the lake. There is no better way to get back to nature then to get all bundled up and explore the beautiful snow-covered world.

One of the most popular activities in the Almaguin Highlands, is snowmobiling. Discover the many trails that are maintained by the OFSC. For those who don’t own a snowmobile but would just like to rent one, the Eagle Lake Narrows store offers snowmobile rental packages and guides if you so desire and they are only a short distance from Warbler’s Roost.

And last but not least, a winter sport that has made the Almaguin Highlands a go-to destination is dog-sledding. It is an experience in and of itself. Chocpaw Expeditions in South River and Sugardogs Adventure Company in Sundridge are the two best local places to experience dogsledding. From the time the first snow falls, till March (providing there is still enough snow), visitors to the area can book their own adventures with either company. Sugardogs Adventure Company has offered dogsledding and skijoring tours since 2005. You can check out their website here .

Chocpaw Expeditions is located in South River and has been proudly providing recreational and educational adventures for over forty years. With their unique philosophy that recognizes the great history of this area and our country, they show all guests a great time. To read more about Chocpaw, go to their website here.

Snow laden trees in January 2017

There are many options as to what one can do in the Almaguin Highlands in winter. Most people come up here and have their eyes opened to all the fun they could have in winter – fun that is sometimes forgotten or overlooked in larger cities where snow and winter are seen as an inconvenience. Really though, experiencing some of the winter activities at Warbler’s Roost and the Almaguin Highlands as a whole is guaranteed to change the way you see and experience winter.

—Kaila Gallacher

December 31, 2016
by admin
Comments Off on Warbler’s Roost provides a one-of-a-kind experience — by Kaila Gallacher

Warbler’s Roost provides a one-of-a-kind experience — by Kaila Gallacher

Nestled in the Near North in Ontario, spanning a gorgeous 14-acre property on Eagle Lake Rd, Warbler’s Roost is located on beautiful Deer Lake, 22km west of South River, ON. It is the ultimate escape for writers, artists, and musicians of all kinds.

A view of the forest in the Almaguin Highlands

It is not only located in some of the most gorgeous, breathtaking forest, but it is run by some of the kindest people who, being artists themselves, have a passion for the creative process. Within the expansive cottage at Warbler’s Roost they manage to create the perfect atmosphere for artists of all kinds. It is a place that, once there, you are never going to want to leave.

Anyone who gets the opportunity to stay there is incredibly fortunate, as I was back in the fall of 2016. It is a place where you can write all morning and then spend the afternoon hiking. It is a place where you can focus and get some serious work done. My personal experience at Warbler’s Roost was nothing short of life-affirming—working on my first book, I sped through three chapters in the span of a week. Warbler’s Roost is a place I will continue to go back to throughout the years whenever I need time to get away to focus on my writing. It provides a distraction-free zone with a calm atmosphere and an over-abundance of inspiration.

The people I met there were some of the kindest and most wonderful people I have ever met. And the experience I had there was closer to magic than anything else. After a cup of strong coffee and a delicious buffet-style breakfast (with the best muffins I’ve ever tasted) made by the co-owner Nadene, all the residents would split off and get to work—for most of us that week, we were working on different writing projects. We would write for the entire morning, stopping occasionally to make some tea or slip outside for a breath of fresh air, and then after a quick lunch we would take time off in the afternoon to explore the area. We would go for hikes, trying out the different trails and enjoying the breath-taking beauty of the surrounding area.

Even some of the white pines are one-of-a-kind!

Warbler’s Roost provides a one-of-a-kind experience that transcends the mundane of regular, day-to-day life, and provides an artist with an incredibly stimulating environment full of majesty and beauty. For those who are looking to spend some serious time on their creative ventures or are looking to get away and get in touch with their creative spirit, a week-long Artist Residency at Warbler’s Roost is just what you need.

It allows for a freedom of thought and spirit that you won’t find anywhere else. From the beautiful, open house and quaint rooms that you stay in, there’s nothing about this amazing retreat that doesn’t change you and your creativity for the better.

Visit this link for more information about residencies at Warbler’s Roost.

—Kaila Gallacher

June 25, 2015
by admin
Comments Off on What is a soundscape?

What is a soundscape?

The word soundscape was first coined by Canadian composer and writer R. Murray Schafer, who is known for his work on the World Soundscape Project and his concerns for acoustic ecology. He referred to the soundscape as an acoustic environment consisting of events heard, rather than objects seen. (The Tuning of the World, pg 7)

Schafer describes the soundscape in terms of Hi-Fi:

The Hi-Fi soundscape is one in which discrete sounds can be heard clearly because of the low ambience noise level. The country is generally more hi-fi than the city; night more than day; ancient times more than modern. In the hi-fi soundscape, sounds overlap less frequently; there is perspective—foreground and background. (Tuning of the World, pg 43)

and Lo-Fi:

In a lo-fi soundscape individual acoustic signals are obscured in an overdense population of sounds. The pellucid sound—a footstep in the snow, a chuch bell across the valley or an animal scurrying in the brush—is masked by broad-band noise. Perspective is lost. On a downtown street corner of the modern city there is no distance; there is only presence. (Tuning of the World, pg 43)

If you are interested in reading more on this topic, R. Murray Schafer has written many books about acoustic ecology and the soundscape, all of which are still available through his publisher’s web-site Arcana Editions which can be found here.

It was the increasing sound floor of the city that was the initial impetus for us to move to the country. One of the qualities we like best about the property we moved to – now called Warbler’s Roost – is the soundscape. There is no hum of traffic noise. Bird calls are clear and provide a sense of space.

Ruffed Grouse at Warbler’s Roost

There are seasonal overtures from frogs and crickets and rhythmic drumming from a ruffed grouse. When there is noise from neighbours it is usually at a distance and also helps to open an unseen dimension of local life in the near north.

One of the activities we like to do most at Warbler’s Roost is to go on a SOUNDwalk as often as time will allow.

What is a SOUNDwalk? In a SOUNDwalk, we listen to the environment around us. We (re)focus our ears so that we can listen without relying on visual input. There are some easy listening exercises to prepare your ears for a SOUNDwalk. One such exercise is to simply plug your ears for 15 or more seconds or so by placing your hands over them. Once you remove your hands you will notice the sounds around you.

Deer Lake in September

During a SOUNDwalk, you can focus on many aspects of the acoustic environment around you, such as the sounds of the waterfront. You can listen to it as if it were a musical composition, in which all of the parts are creating a piece for you and to which you are contributing (hopefully) as little as possible by walking/participating as quietly as you can. Or you can listen to it as if it were a society, in which the sounds effect and interact with each other, as in call and response, or talking to each other. You can keep an ear out for resonances spaces where a footstep might echo, or the sound of a clapped hand might bounce off of structures in an interesting way.

Warbler’s Roost now offers week-long and weekend Soundscape Retreats

Darren Copeland, a soundscape composer and sound artist himself, has created a series of workshops as part of week-long and weekend Soundscape Retreats here at Warbler’s Roost. Participants will discover the complexities of the natural soundscape through SOUNDwalking and listening exercises and how to record the sound environment effectively, as well as how to analyze those recordings, edit and use them to create soundscape works and/or sound art. All levels of experience are welcome.

Nature enthusiasts and artists alike will have the chance to explore the local soundscape of Warbler’s Roost, and the unique acoustic environment that the Almaguin Highlands has to offer.

Go to our Soundscape Retreat page for more information and upcoming dates.

References:

Schafer, R. Murray, The Tuning of the World. Toronto, ON: McClelleand and Stewart Ltd, 1977.