Writing my way through life, one word at a time.
As much as I love #WordWednesday, I’m up on a mini vacation right now and am too busy staring at clouds, following overgrown paths in the woods, and gazing into campfires to choose a word. I’ll be back next week but in the mean time, take a look at these gorgeous distractions.
So I’m feeling a bit of pressure here. I’m told that the fourth installment of a series should be the best. Many of my geeky friends argue that the fourth Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope, which was actually the first one released… so now I’m not sure if it fits my point) is the best one[Yes, I know, some of you beg to differ]. The fourth Harry Potter book (Goblet of Fire for those keeping track at home) was a change of pace from the first three, marking not only the era of longer books but also a darker tone to the series, and is definitely a favourite of mine. If something is going to continue on, the fourth installment needs to be great. Plus, having missed last week due to some website moving /hosting issues and a few life events, the fourth installment falls on Canada Day. Well let’s hope I hit it out of the ballpark with this week’s word.
This post got eaten. I’m going to blame the beaver at the cottage. Maybe he’s shy and didn’t want the notoriety that being on my blog would bring. I’m not sure why it got deleted but I’m trying to recreate it from memory.
I was at the cottage last weekend for my dad’s birthday weekend. It rained most of the weekend. On Sunday evening, during a break between rain storms I glanced out of a window at the lake and saw what I thought at first was a log floating in the lake. Upon closer inspection, however, the log moved! It was a beaver, swimming about 5′ out from shore! The beaver in question didn’t seem to care that there were people in the cottage, he swam around the bay and returned about 25 minutes later. (this time both Mum and Dad saw it – at first they thought i had just seen a log or something in the water). We tried to take some pictures which really do look like a log in the water due to the fact that beavers swim mostly underwater with just their nose sticking out at the front. It was a cool piece of Canadiana but I put it out of my head as one of those one-off things you see at the cottage.
Monday, Dad left early so he could make it to work relatively on time, leaving Mum and I to stay and clean up the cottage. Tidying the cottage is hot and sweaty work, mum can’t get down to the lake anymore, so she got the shower and I went for a swim. The air was cool and the lake was warmer than the air – which made it a very refreshing swim. I had been swimming for about 10 minutes, had taken a few dives off the raft and was swimming between the raft and the shore when I heard a noise that gave me pause. I looked towards the shore and there was the beaver again. They look a LOT bigger up close and personal! This thing was at least 2 feet long (not including the tail which looked huge!) and about 30 lbs. It raised its head out of the water a bit and wow are the beaver’s teeth prominent. It didn’t seem to care that I was in the water and kept on swimming. I, however, wasn’t taking any chances. I swam over to the dock (the beaver was swimming away from the dock) and got out of the lake as fast as I could. The fact that I got out on the dock demonstrates how nervous I was about the beaver – I never get out there – I use the beach because the dock has dock spiders and I really hate dock spiders! I have since read that beavers don’t attack humans, at least not in the water, but there’s a first time for everything right?
I love heading to the cottage. Not the drive but just the act of actively getting away from it all. It’s not that I don’t love life in Kitchener but I feel more relaxed at the lake. I’m generally doing as many (if not more) things up there than I am in the city but I can drop any of them and go for a swim if i feel like it. Now that’s freedom. I generally get chewed by the mosquitoes (and if I’m really unlucky, the deer flies), but other than that I enjoy hanging out with the local wildlife – the chipmunks, minnows, and even Snappy – the 60+ year old snapping turtle who teaches people not to leave fish on the dock by eating them.
My grandfather built the cottage 50 years ago this year. A lot has happened there. I have spent time almost every year of my life at my beloved cottage. Yet, times change. Mum’s growing mobility issues will soon force us to sell the cottage and find a more level lot. I will be sad to say goodbye to the cottage but also happy to have one that the whole family can enjoy.
