COTTAGE DAZE - The lake is why we are here

View more by Jamie Ross

A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.
It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

— Henry David Thoreau

MUSKOKAN - There is something about the water that brings us to the shore, so that we can sit and look out over it. The lake is our cottage view scape, ever-changing, its sound and texture altering constantly. It is mesmerizing, bewitching and expressive, and one of the constants that makes the cottage experience so special.
Whether it’s a huge lakeside home or a humble cabin, it is the desire to live on the water that draws us. The lake is everything. The lake is why we are here. We rise in the morning and look out over the water. We take our coffee to the dock. Perhaps we sit reading, but we are constantly distracted by the water.
The lake is full of life. Loons and mergansers make it their home. We admire their freedom as they dive and slice through the water. They rise on the lake surface, flex their wings, and then dance across the water, windmill their wings, and shoot up spray like a skier. In the evening, the fish jump and minnows hide in the dock pilings. The kids catch frogs and crayfish, and try to avoid the leeches which skulk in the silty shallows.
They are fascinated by the water spiders which dart about in apparent confusion. In the night we listen to the waves breaking on shore, hear the loon’s shrill call, and the slap of the beaver tail.
Throughout the day the lake is the focal point of our summer fun and recreation. We love to swim and play in the water. There is constant laughter, splashing, diving and jumping. We take the canoe out and explore, paddling along the shore. We ski, sail or wakeboard the lake’s surface. We fish its depths, and snorkel and dive to find its hidden treasures. The lake’s water is beautifully refreshing on a hot summer’s day.
As it gives us much joy, the water also demands our respect. The lake, though so full of life, can also bring death. On more than one occasion, our lake has taken someone, a boating accident, or a disaster on its winter ice. It humbles us. The lake sometimes flexes its muscles and shows its harsh side. Then, it turns around to let us know it can be soft and gentle.
It ravages our docks, and then sings us to sleep. The lake waters can whip themselves into a fury, waves crash onto the rocky shore, shooting plumes of spray skyward in an angry and fearsome display. The lake screams and hollers, and then suddenly it is calm, and the ripples lap the pebble beach, whispering the lake’s secrets so quietly, we have trouble hearing.
My mother loves living on the water. When, as a young family, we lived for a year on the prairies, she hated the open, dry, dusty, grassy expanse of land. The lakes there, she remembers, were no more than reedy ponds. She wanted to return to lake country. When I lived out west as a young man, in the spectacular and rugged Rocky Mountains, she would visit and feel trapped, closed in and claustrophobic. The awe-inspiring peaks were not her favourite vista — she preferred looking out over the water.
I guess cottagers are like that. As island cottagers, our lake surrounds us and contains us. We can never quite escape from its presence. Its calm waters are a mirror to the surroundings, and a window to the soul.
James Ross is the author of Cottage Daze released April 2012 by Dundurn Press. It features the best of his cottage stories and is available in bookstores or online. Visit cottagedaze.com or email cottagedaze@vianet.ca.

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