Joanna Loney - Life at the Lake

The breeze in the forest is starting to cool at night, and this week a bright yellow school bus reminded me of the time of year.
I used to work as a school teacher, and I’m still programmed with that feeling that arrives at the end of summer.
September is when you rev up, but at the same time feel oddly settled about having a regular routine.

Here’s a riddle: What breastfeeds and hangs from my neighbour’s cabin window?
It’s not difficult to guess if you also imagine something furry with ears and teeth.
Yes, you know the answer. There are several bats that hang out next door, making a lakeside cabin window a summer home.

I don’t have children but I’ve spent all kinds of time with parents, so I think of myself as a guru in the specialized field of child-rearing and parent psychosis.
I even have a great lab to study my discipline: the cabin. It’s where parents are tested on their ability to handle fear, and over the years I’ve learned a lot.

Anyone who spends time on the lake has an occasional brawl with a malfunctioning boat.
But not too many people sleep peacefully in bed as their vessel glugs, spits, and gurgles its way down under.
Yes, it happened to us.
It was a bit of a shocker. Just as I started to breathe in some fresh morning air, it caught my attention that an empty spot occupied where there’s usually a skiff.

There are many sappy clichés about reaching for the sky, but I doubt any originated in Northwestern Ontario at this time of year.
We’re too busy swatting.
It’s normal behaviour–the waving and slapping. Right now, we’re especially dealing with deer flies and horse flies (locally known as bull dogs).

As people with cabins know, this coming weekend is busy in lake country. School is out. Families head to the lake for extended periods of time. Plus, there are lots of overnight guests.

Do you think wild felines ever pass by you sight unseen?
Maybe cats are in the shadows more often than most people tend to realize.
There even is talk of the odd cougar sighting in Northwestern Ontario. I’ve heard two first-hand accounts of people who state they’ve witnessed a puma as large as a man–each sighting from the safety of a car.

I’m proud of our cabin front yard. It tells me that benign neglect can create something beautiful.
In particular, I love our shoreline. It’s the most attractive part, and where no work is done at all.
It’s tangled with sweet gale, cedar, marsh marigolds, irises, ferns, mosses, and a variety of small flowers—all perfect as if placed by a loving hand.

The last of the bright sunshine is dancing on the woodland floor this week as the tops of hardwoods fill with green.
Now is the best time to discover all kinds of tiny blooms around your feet—and to fill up the salad bowl.
There are many fresh edibles at this time of year, and plant foraging is as much an excuse to explore the outdoors as grabbing a fishing pole.

The favourite lake season is finally here! The loons have landed, and the rippling of ice-free lakes garners a cheer.
The forest, too, is alive with the sounds of music and the smells of freshly-thawed earth.
May is a tonic— and a great time to get outside and explore.