Little Adventures

All my life I have loved walking in the woods and fields. Often I felt like I could never get enough- I always needed to see what was beyond the next curve or over the next hill. 

I am thrilled to see this adventuring spirit alive and thriving in my son Henry. During our hike last Sunday morning, he continuously pushed us onward, wanting to see what came next, and to find something new and exciting. I love this. 

The woods and fields surrounding our house are a playground and classroom when we walk, and I’m so happy to be able to watch my kids blossom out in nature. 

I hope Henry never loses his sense of adventure and curiousity and that we can continue to learn important lessons in the best classroom - outdoors. 

Happy Anniversary

We moved to Maple Lake on Easter weekend in 2011. Seven years. So much has changed since then. Henry is, well...7! And Clare has completed our family.  I no longer stand in the driveway and cry (yes, I did that a lot) wondering if I should just pack it all up again and go back. While I will always have a strong connection to what I left behind, here is my home now. 

I’m not sure exactly when it became that, but over the years I’ve gradually let go. I have always known suburban life wasn’t for me, but it’s hard to leave behind the familiar. 

If nothing else, my children have grounded me here. I want this life for them. For them to know the seasons intimately. To experience nature. To never have “nothing to do”.  

And of course I still never tire of my morning view. 

It's Coming

Spring, that is. 

It seems we are being blessed with an early Spring and I couldn't be happier. The last two winter previous to this one have been so long and so brutal, that I wasn't ready to face it again. 

This morning I ran up to Swords, and paused by the marsh. Even though it's still locked in ice, it is alive with sounds. Red winged blackbirds,  geese,  and the sound of the ice breaking and cracking filled the air. 

Soon, with a rise in temperature, that same air will be filled with the sound of spring peepers. 

I love early spring. Hope, anticipation and so many beautiful things to come.

 

The Cashew

So, you think you're doing pretty good. You think, wow. So lucky am I to have perfectly average kids with no issues. 

And then your world gets turned on its head. 

Both of my kids have had peanuts and almonds and granola bars and Thai food and mixed nuts.

But. 

I suppose Henry had never actually consumed a cashew. 

Both kids had a small bowl of trail mix (raisins, cranberries, peanuts and cashews) after dinner on Tuesday.  I was watching Clare eat. She held up a cashew and said, "wat dat?"  

At that moment, I thought, wait. She's never had a cashew ...is this okay?

Simultaneously, in the kitchen, Henry had also ingested a cashew. Told Rick something was wrong and immediately started to throw up everything he has ever eaten.   His face started swelling. Red cheeks. Blisters on his lips. 

Into the car for the fastest drive to town I've ever piloted.  

When we arrived at emergency we were ushered in immediately. Two shots of epinephrine, IV of two antihistamines and an oral steroid finally got Henry back to being Henry. 

I never thought I'd be a parent of a child with anaphylaxis, but here we are. The ER nurses kept commenting on how calm I was. 

There are two reasons for that. 

One: it is what it is. I knew what it was as soon as he started throwing up. It's manageable. I've worked with many kids with it. It's fine. 

Two: as I was driving in, I felt frantic. I asked my mom to be with me. I said, "mom, I need you here now". As a nurse, she was the ultimate calm in medical emergencies. She was with me. 

So. Henry is anaphylactic to some nuts. We go on. 

Making Ice

As I mentioned in a previous post, this time last year the ice was in and here to stay.  The season has been so mild that we are still pretty far away from "ice in".  The lake is cold, though, and ready.  All it takes is a few hours of below zero temperatures for the ice to start forming.  Below is a picture of a calmer area near the shore where you can see thin patches of ice forming on top of the water.  This thin ice moves with the water, wind and currents and if the lake gets too rough, it will dissipate once again.  

Smaller ponds and marshes were frozen this morning.  The photo below is of the marsh below Swords.  Winter is trying to take hold, and may this weekend with snow and colder temperatures in the forecast.  Come Monday, it will all go away again, there are more mild, rainy days on the way.

Just a Little Bit Easier

A few weeks ago we had some lovely snow and I thought it was the beginning of a white Christmas season.  It has however, been raining ever since.  I love snow for Christmas, but I just can't complain about this.  The last two winters were so brutal, so cold and snowy, that I really feel like I can't handle another winter just yet.

It has been raining most days, with temperatures ranging from just above zero to ten degrees Celsius.  One again, I'm not complaining.  I am enjoying this extended fall weather.  It is easier to do things outside, go places and to keep the house warm.

This time last year we had a frozen lake and two feet of snow,  We did experience a thaw right around Christmas, but winter came back with a vengeance in January.

While I have grown to love snow since moving here, and will miss a sparking white Christmas morning, the mystery and loveliness snow adds to Christmas Eve, and all the winter activities that we enjoy so much, if the trade off is an easier winter season...well, I'll take it, but just for this year.

Nothing to See Here

You know, there really isn't much to see on a frozen lake when it's covered in many feet of snow.  The shoreline holds some interest, but it's mostly just a vast, blank whiteness.  It was hard going today, too, even in snowshoes.  The snow is that deep.

 

 

Afire

“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames”. ― Rumi

I came across this quote a few weeks back, and it has stuck with me.  I find myself thinking about what it means to me.  I'm not sure if I'm living this way, but I do know one thing - living here helps.

 

It helps because I can wake up, throw back the curtains and witness this:

This picture doesn't do the morning justice.  The clouds loomed over me and they filled every corner of my vision.  I stepped outside and felt enveloped. It was truly overpowering. 

 

Being surrounded by such awe inspiring beauty inspires me to do more and be more.

Winter Morning Skies

Every sunrise is different and every one is revered; be it a fiery show, or a subtle shift in tones, I love them all.

 

 

Ice In

Yesterday morning we woke to a thin skim of ice covering the lake.  Throughout the day, it shifted and melted, and all but a crust remained around our shore by day's end.

 

This morning, we woke to a similar scene, except today's ice didn't melt.  I imagine this ice is here to stay.  The start of this winter's ice.

 

It's truly amazing to watch as a constantly moving thing - like a lake's surface, become still.  I know that ice really isn't perfectly still - it shifts and cracks and booms, but it's continual motion is gone, quieted by the coming winter.

 

Our ice is in.

 

If You Live on a Lake

If you live on a lake, you see sunrises and sunsets that make you stop and stare in wonderment that such beauty can be real.

 

If you live on a lake, you know the dazzle of a million sparkling waves in the sun.

 

If you live on a lake, you see the lights blink on across the water, and you wonder about the lives that are lived over there.  You wonder if they think of you, too. 

 

If you live on a lake, you see vast darkness in the middle of the night, and you feel wonderfully alone.

 

If you live on a lake, you know the turn of seasons intimately, and know all the delicate intricacies that the changing light can bring to the lake's surface- be it water or ice.

 

If you live on a lake, you are lucky.

Three

We are commencing our third year on Maple Lake and it still seems to me as if we've just arrived.

 

It never fails to surprise me how much faster time moves as I get older.

 

There is still much to be done around the house and property.  There is still so much to be explored, as well.

 

My exploring days are on hold for the next little while, but I think I can get by with the view from my deck.

 

 

 

From the Weather Book

April 24
- snow all day
- part of the dock got away - Rick rescued it in a canoe and snow
- tree out floating back and forth on the lake on an ice floe

April 25
- woke up to snow 
- sunny in the morning and rain in the afternoon
- ICE OUT

May 1
- warm and sunny
- daffodils blooming
- 21 C

May 2
- warm and sunny
- 22 C

In the Trees

The past few days have been blustery ones.  I've cursed the wind and stinging snow, and in particular, the horrific driving conditions.  But, in the night as I lay in bed falling asleep, the sounds high in trees remind me that this place isn't so bad after all.

 

I love the wildness of it.  I like living somewhere where the unpredictability of the natural world is right there - a glance outside my window and footsteps outside my door.  I love being able to hike half an hour into the bush and be somewhere where no one may have ever laid eyes- or haven't for many years.  We are slowly changing that, of course, with all the exploring that we do.

 

The noises in the trees reminds me why I wanted to live here in the first place.  When I was younger I always had a vision of myself living in a forest. We don't exactly reside right in a forest, but we are obviously surrounded by them, and by trees large enough to make that whoosh when the wind whistles through their highest boughs.

 

I'm lucky to live in such a place. 

Angels

There are a few people in my life that need some extra care right now. 

You know who you are. 

From my heart (and the heart of Maple Lake), this angel is for you.

Ice

The ice is finally here to stay. 

Last night it was loud.  Booming and cracking and buckling in the dark. 

This morning we headed out into the sparking bright day and checked it, and did some playing.

A buckle in the ice.

 

Home

 

 

The longer I live here, the more impatient I become with the normal happenings in larger cities and towns.  We went "south" this past weekend, and traffic and lines and bustling people just served to make me a little more unhinged.

Here I have my wide open space, my quiet, little to no traffic, and shorter lines.  I feel that down there I am driven to go, go, go, and here I don't have to do anything if I don't want to.

I come home every time grateful for what I have and in wonderment at the frustrations that used to be part of my regular life.  I merely accepted the stresses - I didn't like them, but they were just there.

I realize this is more a commentary on my personality flaws than the people who choose to live in larger, busier places.  I'm not always the most patient of people.

Maple Lake is good for my soul.

A Few Mornings

These days have been busy days for me, but not so busy that I haven't been taking my morning photos.  It's no secret that morning is my favourite time of day.  Here are some shots from the last few mornings.

We have had a stretch of warmer weather lately, but soon the days and nights will cool, bringing ice and snow once again to Maple Lake.

I am looking forward to the changes the new season will bring.

Pink

When the light is just right, the whole of the sky and water surface is infused with colour. 

Today was pink.

Changes

The sunrise is once again perfectly positioned to give us glorious shows every morning.  The sunrises over Maple Lake are at their best in the late fall and winter months.

Throughout the Spring and Summer, the sun tracks south along the eastern shore of the lake.  When the seasons start to turn again, the sun tracks north once again. 

It's now positioned in the northeast corner, which provides and optimal vantage point for us in terms of the amount of sky the bright morning illuminates.  The best sunrises are in the winter.