otters and sunrises

I woke at about 5:30 a.m. because of something moving in the forest. Something big. The wisest thing to do would have been to go back to sleep, but we're going home today, and I knew it was probably my last chance to see a cottage sunrise for a while.

Before checking out the sunrise, I wanted to investigate the forest noise. There was definitely still something back there, moving around, snapping big branches underfoot. I was tempted to wander into the forest a bit to check it out, but decided not to. Chances were good that it was a moose, but there was also a small but nonzero chance it could be a bear, in which case it was probably not a good idea for me to try sneaking up on it, especially since everyone was still sleeping and wouldn't know where I was going.

The sky near the horizon was just turning a pale rose when I got to the boathouse, so I knew I still had a few minutes. I made myself a bacon (Canadian back bacon, eh?) and tomato sandwich and ate my breakfast out on the dock while the sun rose.

It's been a good visit, and I actually feel like I've had a vacation at the same time as being happy with the amount of writing I've done on my novel.

My favourite moment during the visit was yesterday morning around 6 a.m. I was first up (as usual) and was on my way across the deck to the boathouse to do some writing when my still-sleep-fuddled brain noticed how utterly beautiful the lake was. The sun was just peeking up over Lewis's Island, and the sky was a brilliant blue. Mist was dancing across the entire surface of the lake; vague wispy tendrils floating like white fire, drifting.

A lone canoeist was paddling his way along the distant shore; I could only see his silhouette. The light was amazing, golden and warm. I snapped a few photos but gave up after a few minutes; I realized that there was no way my camera could accurately capture the breathtaking beauty of the scene, the birdsong in the forest, the trilling of a loon pair far out on the lake. I sat on the dock for an hour, watching the morning sun slowly burn the mist off the water.





Lots of wildlife around. An extremely cute chipmunk has been busying about, ecstatic over my gifts of peanuts. Four ducklings paddled by the boathouse as I was writing yesterday. The mother was nowhere to be seen, and JBR says there used to be five ducklings. :-( Two of the ducklings clambered awkwardly up on the shore to peck at the grass, then slipped back into the water, peeping until the other two peeped back, obviously letting them know where they were. I hope the remaining four make it through the summer okay.

Less than an hour later, an otter splashed around in the lake just off our dock. He frolicked around a bit, staring at us from time to time, then swam off. We see a family of otters playing in the water around here occasionally, always fun to watch.