Over the summer, Watersheds Canada held a contest for the Natural Edge program. Contest participants had to send in photos of their shoreline and a story of why their shoreline is so important to them. Through the fall, Natural Edge staff read through every single entry, some more than once, and narrowed the entries down to 3. And after much deliberation, a winner was chosen!
It is my great pleasure to announce that Rick and Debbie Zabloski of Graham Lake are the winners of the 20” x 17.5” handmade stained glass piece by Perth artists Peter and Kelly Moore of Our Cottage Glass.
Congratulations Rick & Debbie!
Your shoreline story won the hearts of the office!
Life is good on Graham Lake. Herons scout our waterfront for fish, frogs and chipmunks. The otter can be seen running across our shoreline and a fat muskrat enjoys munching on some of our perennials and cuttings placed by the fire pit. Blue gills create their nests in the sand every spring and guard their eggs until hatched. Visitors often have their toes nibbled by these little fish. It is encouraging in the spring seeing the bumble bees buzzing around the shoreline enjoying the natural edge. The chickadees, finches, nuthatches and cardinals enjoy the feeder down by the water’s edge. They have more shelter there than closer to the house. Of course they do have to put up with the blue jays who insist on sharing the wild bird seed. The mourning doves can be heard cooing especially in the early morning. We often sit on out shoreline deck (called the poka-dock deck as it is big enough to poka on) enjoying the sight and sound of the loons, watching the occasional osprey and eagle soar. The geese families have taken advantage of the naturalized waterfront which provides them with a more friendly environment for their growing goslings. Typically we let them stay for a short time before suggesting gently that they find yet another feeding place. We worry about out waterfront as there is much erosion and the yard by the lake is so wet especially in the spring and even into the summer months. The Natural Edge program certainly has provided one solution to the problem and I think the benefits will increase as the plantings continue to grow. This year we have noticed blooms on the swamp roses and berries on the mountain ash. Most of the plants have grown considerably and it will be interesting in the following years to see their development. The dogwood, sweet gale, elderberry, and red maple will all provide shelter and nourishment for the soil and even for the wildlife in the future. We were pleased to be a part of the Natural Edge Shoreline Naturalization Program. Out involvement was initiated by an evaluation done by (Watersheds Canada). We enjoyed working with (Watersheds Canada) staff. We are maintaining our naturalization and look forward to reaping the benefits down the road.” Rick & Debbie Zabloski, Graham Lake
