5 posts tagged “maple lake ontario '08”

Getting ready to leave and I don't want to go. Even though everyone says this was the worst summer ever I've been happier than ever here in this little cottage. Life is very simple. Our water is unfiltered and comes from the lake about 100 feet from where I sit now. One cannot drink it, rather one must fill up big container of spring water which can be obtained for free near the tiny airport about 2 miles from here.The airport and a now-shuttered resort are what brought people from Toronto to this lake in the first place in the first half of the 20th Century.

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We do a lot of our grocery shopping at a little market with one butcher and one bakery lady. All the dairy and meat products are fresh, obtained locally as is much of the produce.

For the first time ever there is a local radio station, "The Moose"--they play a lot of Rush-- and they'll show up to almost any little event. Today spouse went to buy grass seed and they were there broadcasting at the Not Home Depot, raising money for some lifts for the two hospitals in this massive county. They thanked my spouse as "Roger from Chicago" on the air which tickled him.

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The counter lady at the brand new Rexall drugs recommended a local photographer for my son and I to get our Canadian passport photos taken. She'd had no trouble she said, last winter when she and her children had theirs done and sure enough, it went off without a hitch for us, too. Afterward, we got milkshakes, possibly the best anywhere, at a local ice cream stand that's been there at least 30 years, maybe more.

On that trip into town I ordered the rustic wooden sign I've wanted made--don't know where I'll put it but it'll be hand-carved and ready to pick up when I come back to close the cottage in September. It's says "Alice's Place" and will have two little hearts as embellishments, in remembrance of the woman to whom I can thank for the privilege of being here--my grandmother. My grandfather outlived her by 35 years and after he died at age 101 the county put a road sign at the end of our dirt and gravel road--"Frank's Lane" --which is nice but I want to make sure that we are reminded of her, too. I think of her often but many folks though they know of my grandfather don't have any reference to my grandmother.
There is a teevee but it only gets one channel so we never use it and don't miss it. We play Uno at night or watch movies. In the evening too one hears the nearby haunting call of the loons, which scares our little dog.

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Spouse spent much of his time building a groin to better build the beach and when he finished that he secured the bank down to the lake with the many stones that had been buried in the sand--some almost the size of boulders. My grandfather had them hauled in many, many years ago. Spouse also fixed both sets of stone steps which take you down the 15 feet or so to the beach and the lake. It's peaceful through the week and because of the wet and cool weather even weekends have been  more quiet than normal.

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We are in the woods on a lake. I've had this privilege all my life and I realize how very precious it is. After dinner tonight spouse and I took the canoe out further than he'd ever been and so got a view of the lake which was completely new for him. We saw the ever-present common loons and a beautiful blue heron that swooped by us.

I have to leave this life, go back to suburbia as school is starting and my son is turning 16--both on August 20-- and I owe that to my son but I do not want to go--at all.The one concession to modern life has been what facilitated me being able to stay here for a month--the satellite internet. I've gotten a lot of work done--but on my own schedule. I did a conference call today which involved pulling up visuals on the Internet and it was totally awesome to do so in my swimsuit and shorts. Heaven if there is one, could not be any better than right here.

We bought a canoe at the end of last season with the plan being to use it this season. As luck would have it, the weather has not cooperated, with lots of choppy not-canoe friendly waves on the Lake on most days.
Yesterday, however looked pretty calm so whilst spouse went to town I put the waterproof housing on the camera and headed out.

I did pretty well until I rounded a small point and paddled into a bigger cove and the lake current spun the canoe 90 degrees and then quickly another ninety degrees. At first, I corrected this situation but quickly found myself being spun about repeatedly. I didn't panic as I had all the gear I was supposed to--but this was perhaps the fourth time I've ever been in a canoe in my life. I just had no idea how strong the currents on the seemingly calm lake could be.

I should have realized though with the crazy weather--the 70-year record rainfall--that the lake which is quite deep this year, could behave unpredictably. Anyway it was a learning experience. Our canoe is a light one. Two people would have given it a bit more stability. Also, fighting it is dumb. As soon as I reverted to a more Zen approach which was, "OK it seems the current is taking me this way--I'll go with it until it doesn't and try another way when it stops being so strong," things got a lot better. I ended up coming in from being stuck in the middle of the lake on a diagonal then in more shallow water regaining control of exactly where I needed to go. Still, it took at least a half-dozen attempts to make it in to our beach. 

I noticed a number of beach-goers seemingly watching and I fervently hoped they would not ask me if I needed help. At one point when the current calmed but was still too rough in the direction I wished to go I just pulled out the camera and acted nonchalant even though I was really taking pictures. At worst I thought I'll just get in the water and swim, towing the canoe behind me. But it did not come to that and I got off a couple of good snaps with the best being after I landed back on our beach.

Today I drove top down through the countryside in the sweltering sauna that was this part of the world purely for vanity --to get my roots touched up before taking off to go up north. I only see the folks  that I do once a year--so yeah, don't want them counting back and remembering how old I am even though they know exactly how old I am. Vanity...a very stubborn trait for me. I don't even quit with the eyebrow plucking up there. Really silly standing around tweezing when the outdoors is calling but must keep the unibrow at bay!