Wow! School’s back in
action. Summer went by already. Did you catch at least one of those hot days in
the middle of August?
Before the warmer time
packs it up for another year and school chases thoughts of it to behind the
blackboard- oops, I mean computer screen or whiteboard - I’ll give you ten
things I liked about this summer. Not in order of preference necessarily, but
just some great things.
1. One is the long,
lingering twilight. One calm evening, we canoed back to the beach after visiting
some friends at their cabin. Along the way we watched the sun, a red ball,
sinking into the lake. And near the end of August we sat by the campfire,
watching that same red ball making the same dip again into a glass calm lake. That
was the same day the highway was closed due to two separate accidents. With no
traffic or lake sounds, a complete silence had enveloped all of us. No one
wanted to speak, wanting to preserve the smooth quiet of the unique moment.
2. Watching dragonflies
dance through the skies on a lazy morning. Their shimmering wings caught the
growing light as they caught the flies.
3. Listening to the young
ravens chatter. In the early spring their persistent calls to their parents for
food is more of a racket. But by summer they have adopted a kind of chortle
that comes out as verse. A young raven sometimes wakes me up in the morning
with its talk. I think it could almost be tame, well, almost.
4. No matter what the
weather, being with kids while they play is the real sunshine. They chat about
all their summer fun. They run barefoot over the sand and rocks, find bugs we
would never see and laugh at the silliest things.
5. Of course I have to
mention the fresh food from the gardens. The sweet crunch of sugar snap peas
straight off the stalk, or an onion pulled out of the ground then tossed into
scrambled eggs has no resemblance to mid-January, California greens. And this
summer I learned that roasting beets is much easier than boiling them. Along
with the bounty comes sharing and long easy meals taken outside. Put a cloth on
the picnic table; grab a plate and try all the different offerings. We are so lucky.
6. My, oh my, I can’t
forget picking blueberries at the burn in Wawa. That’s a visit to another
realm. The fields of blue amongst the sweeping vistas of smaller trees are a
timeless existence. All that matters is shifting your position so your back
doesn’t get too sore as you bend over to pick. Whenever I see the roadside Wawa blueberries (at
some stops they now are $30 for a 3 litre basket) I understand and go right to
memories of our berry picking day.
7. A trip to Bathtub
Island in Lake Superior Park is an annual pilgrimage. But this year one had to
be a live hard fan to make it out there. Even though it’s a short distance to
the wee island, you had to be very brave to make the freezing cold walk.
Tummies sucked in and whoops when the water reached certain body parts were
unavoidable. However, the beauty of Bathtub made it all worthwhile.
8. Exchanging stories around the dining table is
always fun. Summer is travelling season and friends bring interesting
perspectives. One was about an arduous July kayak trip from Hattie Cove to
Michipicoten Harbour. Fog, wind and rain turned the trip into a challenge with
hypothermia as well as hypertension! But
fond memories of Lake Superior often can be that way.
9. Enjoying the rain.
When it torrents down, the sound of it on a summer roof is a soothing prelude
to a nap. And there is no worry about it freezing. Yet.
10. That big moon in
August looked like it was wearing a Hallowe’en costume. When the moon becomes a
huge orange ball each summer, it reminds us that there indeed is a pattern to
the universe. And also there is that tilt.
The earth’s 23 ½ degree
axial tilt is what controls our seasons. On CBC radio’s Quirks and Quarks I heard scientists from the University of Toronto
discussing the consequences of no tilt to the earth. If the axis was straight, the
world would be a much different place. The tropics would be smaller. The ice at
the poles would be much larger. There would be much less habitat variety which
means much less life and diversity. And much less change.
Change does seem to be
a constant these days. But one thing that won’t change is the love for learning
about the lake and the land. And for that, school is always in.