Turtle raft in Sand Point marks start of the warm weather west of Ottawa
Residents of Sand Point in McNab/Braeside, about 50 minutes west of Ottawa, know the warm weather has arrived when the turtles emerge from hibernation.
Living along the banks of the Ottawa River, Cathy and John Brady play host to dozens of turtles looking to bathe in the sun.
For the last 10 years, the Brady's have been anchoring a small platform off their shoreline, allowing a spot for local turtles to soak up some rays.
"We look out in the water and the little turtles are sitting there with their heads looking at the house," says John Brady. "And honest to God that's how we know it's time to get the raft in."
The roughly 2' by 4' floating piece of AstroTurf can hold roughly three dozen turtles.
"I'd say it started when we had our boat lift and we'd go for a boat ride," John explains, "and we'd come back and the little turtles would be sitting on the ramps."
"So I made them their own raft. And then it wasn't big enough so I had to make a bigger one."
The Brady's do not feed or interfere with the turtles' natural order of things. They just enjoy spending time in the sun together.
"Along with our beavers and our otter," Cathy Brady tells CTV News, "it's become a bit of a destination."
"We believe they're mostly painted turtles but someone said they also might be map turtles."
Cathy says she loves when her shelled friends come out for the season, although they need time to warm up to her, scattering if she comes too close. The toughest part for her, watching the turtles with their tiny arms fail trying to hoist themselves up onto the raft.
"It makes me sad when they're having a hard time getting up," she says, "but they always get up and they're fine."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.