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Book Reviews for a Summer of Dockside Reading

A New Form of Wellness: Art Bathing

For me, summer in Muskoka isn’t complete without a visit to the Muskoka Arts & Crafts (MAC) Summer Show—on July 15-17, 2022 at Bracebrdige’s Annie Williams Park. I’ve missed the opportunity over the last two years as the show was cancelled due to… well, I’d rather not talk about the pandemic. But I know what will happen when I pass through the Show’s entry gate this week: a form of wellness will wash over me, as it does during a swim, in a yoga class, at a spa visit, or while participating in a wilderness retreat. I call it the art of bathing. Or, Art Bathing. Art Bathing?

Snap Chat: The Story Behind these Astounding Wildlife Photos

Catching Muskoka wildlife on camera is a tricky thing. You need patience and calm, an enviable camera, clothes that don’t swish. Photo duo Heather Truscott and Cheryl Nicholson of Heartstone Photography are learning by doing. Friends since childhood, the pair spend their Muskoka weekends walking the woods, paddling the lakes, hiking the trails. Algonquin. Arrowhead. Muskoka Lakes. They stop, wait, listen. When they spot a deer or a special bird, a groundhog, a chipmunk, they raise their Nikons and shoot… in a kindly way. The result are these arresting wildlife photos published regularly here in MuskokaStyle. Oh, and Heather and Cheryl tell stories too—the stories behind the images: what it took, and more importantly, what it meant to capture these beautiful, natural, fleeting moments on film. Stop by often, this page is updated regularly with new pix. Now, get to it. Read and Look:

What Sparks An Artist’s Ideas?

Have you ever wondered what sparks an artist’s work? How they’re motivated or inspired? Where ideas come from? There are as many answers to those questions as there are artists. Wendie Donabie reflects on where ideas come from and how to capture inspiration when it hits.

Why this Small Town is Filled with Writers

MuskokaStyle writer and book reviewer Kaitlyn Sutey asks herself an age-old question: How can a writer fall in love with a hometown so deeply that they spend years building a whole fictional world around it?

TikTok’s Coastal Grandmother Meets Muskoka’s Cottage Grandma

You’ve met her a million times. On Netflix. At Cineplex. In a booth at the Rosseau Farmer’s Market. She wears a brimmed hat and a white linen shirt. She bakes banana bread, grows peonies, and plucks Pino Grigio from a silver wine chiller. She’s a Coastal Grandmother. A what now?…

Cheers to Beer: Craft Brew Reviews

Welcome back Bo! MuskokaStyle’s own beer aficionado loves beer so much he’s “sacrificing” his svelte body again in Summer ’22 for our benefit, tasting craft beer and offering his thoughts, impressions, and ratings. Bo’s tasting notes appear often in MuskokaStyle.