End of Season Blues

October is heaving her last sigh and it signals the end of our busiest seasons. In the heady days of summer and the colourful days of autumn foliage, a steady stream of visitors come to Muskoka, Algonquin Park, the Almaguin Highlands, and right here to Fern Glen Inn. And though you might think the pace wears us down or uses us up, quite the opposite is true.


While our guests are recharging their own batteries and filling up their own buckets of adventure, we somehow thrive on their energy, buoyed by their excitement. The pace is slowing now, as it inevitably does for the month of November, and I know I'll get a bit of the end of season blues. What can I say, I miss our guests already!


It's not like we don't have things to do. At this time of year, Jim and I fill our days with all sorts of things that need doing. Bringing in firewood to see us (and our many winter guests) through the snowy season is nearly a full-time job in itself. Many local residents start the process in September and are well finished the task by now. There are also maintenance jobs to take care of, repairs to make, equipment and outdoor furniture to put away until spring. Jim has his design clients to take care of and I teach a course in self employment for one of the local service agencies. 


So our pace isn't much slower, but it is different. And it doesn't generally include the whirlwind of people from around the province and around the world passing through our doors. This year we had people from England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Zimbabwe, China, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico, the United States, and of course Canada. I know I'm missing some countries but I think I've covered the continents!


We've welcomed newlyweds, and "oldlyweds", all sorts of couples, some family groups, solo travelers, life-long friends, and happy pooches. Everyone is different, yet we're all the same. Everyone has a story -- an interesting one! -- whether they realize it or not. And it's so amazing for us to enter into it and take up a small role in their history.


So we'll try to make use of the empty hours while we have them. And we'll happily welcome the guests who do come to share in the quiet season (it really does have its own charms). Then before we know it, it'll be mid-December; the snow will come and bring with it all sorts of people who will come to play in it. I can't hardly wait!