About Lake Francis Cottages, Ontario

Ray and Annette Maurice and family are people people! They will welcome you and make you feel at home any time night or day.  Albeit, they lost their family home to fire this past spring, they carried on and maintained their cottage rentals all in stride.You must meet these folk they are the definition of Good Folk from the Bruce!!This posting is taken from their Web Page!

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The Best Bruce Peninsula & Sauble Beach area Cottage Rentals! I want to share with you what experiencing this fabulous area of Georgian Bay cottages, Lake Huron cottages and Sauble Beach cottages for the first time was like for me.  If you need to contact us before reading this story, you can reach us directly at: (519) 371-6580 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (519) 371-6580      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. We are a family of five, originally from Windsor, Ontario, and we came upon this hidden jewel in July of 1998.  As an at-home mom with 3 young children, and having always worked outside the home, it was quite an adjustment for me.  When winter started to set in, with me not really knowing anyone and Ray at work, I was very lonely.  I wondered if we had made the right decision to move here as the seclusion, at that time, seemed overwhelming.  Come the first snowfall around Georgian Bay, however, I felt as though I was really waking up for the first time as I watched huge, fluffy flakes gently blanket the trees around me.  The whole scene looked like something from a post card as birds dotted the snow-covered branches with red and blue – it was breathtaking!  I picked up the phone and called Ray in excitement; not knowing if he could see what I could, I just said, “WOW! Oh my God, it is SO beautiful – I love it!”  That Christmas, I wrote in my cards, expressing to all my friends and family that feeling I now had.  I think everyone thought the birds were my friends and when I look back now, they were. When spring rolled around, I put out a mixture of different bird feeders as I had heard they would attract a larger variety of birds.  I even had my juice feeders out by April, as I didn’t want the Humming Birds and Orioles to go anywhere else; my neighbours got a good laugh when the feeders ended up frozen and covered in snow!  By May, though here in Georgian Bay the birds had arrived; Humming Birds, Baltimore Orioles, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, and so many more!  One morning, we awoke by the call of the Loons – truly a hauntingly beautiful sound.  It reminded me of the movie, “On Golden Pond”.  A pair of the Loons stayed with us on the lake right through late September.  Even they love the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay Cottages area! By the summer of ’99, we spent a lot of time down at the lake.  Friends and family were coming to visit and we were able to share our new life with them.  Lake Francis is a private lake and is shallow along the shore, so it was comfortable to let the kids swim while the adults reminisced. Other residents using Seadoos or water skis have always been good about not riding in early morning or at dusk to allow for fishing.  An abundance of Large and Small-Mouth Bass, Grass Pike, and Sun Fish make it difficult to keep bait on the kids’ fishing lines!  It’s great seeing their faces light up with every catch. Canoeing is another awesome way to enjoy the water’s edge, and we would often see turtles, birds’ nesting grounds, beaver dams, and fish. My kids also enjoy riding their bikes and the private entry lane was perfect as it is safe, quiet, and right along the lake. On occasion, we would take all our friends and family to Sauble Beach, which is only 20 minutes from Lake Francis.  Sauble has 11 kilometres of sandy beach and lots of shops and restaurants, so it’s a great place for a day trip.  It’s also a place to people watch.  Visitors from around the globe come pushing buggies, toting coolers, carrying chairs, boogie boards, umbrellas, sand pails, towels, blankets and sun-screen.  It’s a wonderful way to spend a day but we were always ready to come home, away from the crowd, to the serenity and privacy of the lake. Fall arrived and the colours were straight from a painter’s canvas.  The lake mirrored a gorgeous display of golden yellows, vibrant oranges, and fiery reds.  At Thanksgiving, a group of us went out on horseback into the woods to get a closer look; I had never realized how dramatically nature changes with every season.  When we returned, we had a wonderful turkey dinner by the lake.  Later that evening, we could hear the coyotes howling from across the lake.  It’s an amazing and unforgettable sound.  Even though they are always miles away, you can hear them here some nights when the moon is bright and the sky is clear.  What a special day we had. Soon the winter wind began to sound and we were excited to see, once again, the first snowfall of the year.  To fully appreciate the season, we would dress warmly and play outdoors, making snow forts and a snowman, like Jack Frost.  Ontario Snowmobiling became a fun means of traveling as the trails are clearly marked and accessible right from our door step.  We would take our kids in a carry-all and go explore the woods.  Of course, the highlight was always building a campfire in the snow and roasting hot dogs!  Cross country skiing was another great way to get out in the woods and to see wildlife, like jack rabbits, deer, wild turkeys, and other birds.  There are many cross country trails only 10-15 minutes away but, believe me, we had no idea what we were doing on skis!  My kids and I have older ski equipment which didn’t perform very well, but we weren’t very good at staying upright anyways, so it didn’t really matter – it was always a laugh! On Christmas Eve, we filled a horse-drawn sleigh with friends and family and went for a ride at Glen Dale Farms, through a 100-acre bush to a cabin, where we had apple cider and hot chocolate.  Along the way, we sang Christmas carols and took in the most amazing sky.  The night was crisp and lots of dancing snowflakes, in every shape and size.  Before long, spring arrived, and the cycle of life began once again! Ray and I realize how blessed we are to live in a piece of God’s Paradise.  In 2001, we decided that we loved it so much, we wanted to share the lake and this beautiful area with others.  Thus began Lake Francis Cottages.  We are open year-round so that you, our many friends (those we have met and those we will soon) can come and join us in experiencing all the beauty and joy that surrounds us here at Lake Francis Cottages.  We’ll see you soon! Love and God Bless, THE MAURICE FAMILY Come on up to the Bruce, you will be glad you did!! Bruce

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