It’s that time of year again when most are far away from the place they most want to be. With that in mind, I hope this and the coming wallpaper images will help with your winter withdrawal.
Sister Island lighthouse is one of the five remaining historical lights in the 1000 Islands. Originally, it was erected on a tiny island to warn ships away from three shoals, together identified on early maps as the Three Sisters.
Several years ago, I was fortunate to purchase a beautiful pencil sketch drawn in 1870, the year the lighthouse was built. It shows the sisters were first connected by two wooden bridges. Later, a presumably very bored light keeper used river stones to replace the bridges with causeways, thus creating a single Sister Island.
The first light keeper, Capt. William Dodge trained his Newfoundland dog to swim the quarter mile to bring messages to and from his friend Billy Buell on Grenadier Island. I’m certain there are many more stories about Sister Island and this part of the River and I’m hopeful you’ll take a moment to share them in the comments so we can all gain a greater understanding and appreciation of our River. With that in mind, let this serve as advance notice that TI Life's 7th annual photo contest is fast approaching. Please forward your 3 favorite images to Susie Smith, TIL's editor.
Sister Island is featured in every one of my six books in print. I know that most of you have at least one and a few perhaps all six volumes in your library. I should mention that except for a diminishing number of copies of Volume II (Water, Wind and Sky) the all the books have now sold out in most shops and I don't plan any more. I've been surprised to learn that copies of Volume I have sold for as much as $400 on eBay to buyers wishing to complete their collections. With Christmas coming soon, I should mention I’ve hoarded a couple of cases of each to service the web site. Should you wish copies for yourself or as gifts, you’ll find them here.
As so many of you treasure your time at the River, you may have friends or family who would also enjoy coming here. With that in mind, I’ll take the liberty of mentioning that we have a shore property with cottage and dock available for summer vacation rentals. It’s on the Canadian side, a little downstream from Singer Castle on one of two approximately 1 acre lots, both enjoying a beautiful view. Our plan had been to build a winter home on the vacant lot, but those plans have recently changed so we are considering selling one lot or the other, or possibly both if we can retain access to our island. You can get a look at the property here and the area surrounding it here.
We also have a truly delightful little home in Provence available (very affordably) for summer rentals for a couple looking to escape into a beautiful and romantic part of France. Everyone who has stayed has been just as infatuated as us. You’ll find plenty of images of our home and the surrounding area here should you be interested or simply to enjoy a vicarious tour of a very different wonderland. Don’t forget to keep clicking on the “See More” button of the “What’s Nearby” page to see all the pictures. I never thought I would find another area as compelling as the River, but this truly is.
Enjoy!
Ian Coristine
