August 5th tour of Cougar Annie’s Garden and Peter’s cedar treasures

August 5^th tour of Cougar Annie’s Garden and Peter’s cedar treasures

Friends Tom and Vicki have told us about the very interesting man Peter, who purchased the property from Annie over thirty years ago.  We take the dinghy ashore at his beach and find him completely occupied with harvesting a 30’ cedar slab that someone has dropped by for him.  With numerous landslides last year the lakes and shores are covered with such items.  We are happy to assist in what little way we can but he has the process down to a science.  Using a shake splitter that he created he makes easy work of turning out 1 inch by 8 inch by roughly 16 feet pieces of cedar that he will use as the siding and perhaps roofing of his new wood shed.

We are joined by six lads who are ending a 5 night hike around Hesquiat Peninsula.  They too lend a hand and then we all head to the house to do the paperwork for the tour.

While the books all talk about the legacy of Cougar Annie, her family and her garden there is another legacy being created that we just became a tiny slice of.  Peter and his mastery of all things wood has created truly unique structures all over the property, each stunning in their simplicity yet beauty.  The use of dead and down cedar, Pacific Yew and standing dead “grey ghosts” has resulted in cabins, meeting rooms overlooking the lake, dining hall and quaint out buildings throughout the property. 

The additional boardwalk alone is amazing as it winds its way up to the ridge and down over to Rae Lake.  The Japanese garden door that opens to the sushi ‘bar’ made out of a clear slab of Yellow Cedar nearly 4 inches thick and about 30 feet long; the Pacific Yew flooring slabs inlaid in concrete, never to crack as they dry vertically the same rate that they dry horizontally; small, cozy cabins taking advantage of the natural rock for foundation and following the contours of the rock to define the multi-level sleeping areas; the use of hand split cedar siding and roofing, and the list goes on.  All of this primarily completed by Peter with some help along the way, and definitely inspired and designed by him.

As we talk the boardwalk he explains the small hydro and water system that he installed, the areas he has had to blast and the characters who have helped him along the way.  He talks of youngsters who sit overlooking the lake and listen to him talk about steps they may take in their lives that will truly shape them.  What better place for young minds to contemplate such thoughts than sitting in a building constructed by the man in front of them from left overs and salvaged wood while overlooking a beautiful lake.

In his efforts to restore the garden he has painstakingly researched indigenous versus all the other plants that he finds and he marvels at how many species Annie actually introduced into the garden area.  He fully explains the concept of how the bog sustained the garden to this day, providing nutrients and moisture that would not occur in other natural soil settings.  All in all, a most excellent side trip for us.  Perhaps next time we come we can take the Walk of the Giants and let Peter entertain and educate us as to the ancient trees and indigenous people who have used them.

We return to the boat with full respect for this unassuming man and the unique habitat that he has sustained and enhanced.