Touring the lake

Our family cottage is on a lake in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, where my mom grew up. When I was young, we had red wooden rowboat that we used to travel around our bay and, if we felt energetic, to my aunt & uncle’s cottage on the next bay. After many years of service, it was relinquished to the woods where it is slowly returning to the earth.

For many years after that, we had no boat. After she retired, my mother spent more time at the cottage and eventually began to yearn for a way to get out on the water. About 10 years ago this fall, we got up at the crack of dawn to go to Mountain Equipment Co-op’s rental sale. We were one of the first people there and managed to buy our first choice — a bright red sit-on kayak.





Mom test driving the new boat in my backyard.

My mom uses the kayak from time to time, but mostly it is me or my friends that go for a paddle. Usually, I take a tour of the bays on either side of the point our cottage sits on. If I’m feeling ambitious, I might head to the other side of the lake but it’s often windy and there are many motor boats, so it is rarely appealing.

Most mornings, my dog is up early and we always head to the lake first on our morning walks. This morning, the lake was like glass — no wind, no boats. I decided it would be a great day to take the kayak out for a spin. I took my usual route around our bay, then decided I would head over to the next bay where my aunt & uncle’s cottage was; it had been a while since I had been over there.

The sun was shining and it was easy to see deep in the water. I silently floated over the remains of an old stone-filled wooden dock and saw hundreds of fish basking in the sunshine. I watched them for a while before I continued around the bay. The far side is shallow and marshy, and I was almost upon a heron before I saw it. It eyed me suspiciously but I managed to maneuver away from before I completely disturbed it.

Everything was so beautiful, I decided to keep going — into unknown territory. I’d never been this far under my own steam. I paddled and floated, enjoying the sun and the scenery. After about 2 hours, I thought it was time to head back. I was a little worried that the wind would pick up and it would be rough going across our large bay. I cut across the bays and made it home in a little more than an hour. Just as I was approaching our dock, I felt a breeze. I had made it home just in time. How perfect! It is incredibly unusual for water to stay calm all morning; I feel like I experienced something magical.

The motto for today: SEIZE THE MOMENT!