ALONE IN THE WOODS BY THE LAKE

Many of the cottagers have packed up, shut down their cottages for the winter, and left for their non-summer lives.  Those living within a few hours of this lake will return for weekend or day visits when the sun shines and the leaves begin to change their colour.  Some trees have begun to change already, the air is crisper and clear and a bit of a breeze ruffles the tree tops.  A gorgeous day!

September at Bass Lake 2011

Yesterday I went to lunch with Cheryl, again to the Ivy Club on the edge of the St. Lawrence River.  We had a good time together and said our goodbyes till next summer.  A bit of reading was followed by bailing the water out of  Dorey and taking her out on the lake.  We headed toward the far end of the bay and as we passed Bail's cottage, saw red flashing lights in their backyard.  I saw what appeared to be a fireman/inspector checking out the house.  Perhaps there had been a malfunction in their security system. Dorey and I continued our ride further down the bay to the construction site for the new cottage which is replacing the old one that had burned to the ground last winter/spring.  We rowed back to our little bay, through the first narrows and into Todd and Christy's bay before returning to our dock. Larry was there to help me disembark.  We went into Athens to have 'Luna-take-and-bake-pizza' with Suze, Rodger and Dayton.  Afterwards, we walked with the dogs to Main St and past Suze's old place on Wiltse Street, disappointingly not looking as nice as it had when she lived there.

Today: 

There is a blue jay in a tree nearby.  It is different than the ones we see in SW Ontario.  At my feet lay Storm, protecting me as he would protect his Suzanne.  Walker is napping on the couch.  Both dogs are awaiting Suze's return. 

  

l-r: My Mom, Mabel, dtr Mabel, Dorothy on Eliza's steps

The old family photos that Bev brought to Suze's on Sunday have been somewhat identified, sorted, and re-photographed digitally but the originals lay on the table hopefully to draw out their stories a bit further.  A photo of my mother and two of her sisters, Mabel and Dorothy, intrigues me.  It offers lots of information and yet produces many questions.  Since my mother is dressed for playing tennis, I have spent some time on the internet looking at women's sport fashions, particularly from 1929-1932.

Suze came back to the cottage around 12:30 and we went down to the dock to sit in the sun and chat, read, etc.  She dove in the water a few times and I retreated to the shade.  We heard a splash near the shore and decided to investigate.  A large frog was sitting on a rock half in' the water and half outside.  Then a skinny grass snake crawled over the rocks on the shore, passing a second one going the opposite way.  Walker the dog decided to investigate and went to the stairs nearby, frightening one snake into the taller grass at the edge of the horseshoe patch.  As it made its way through the grass, smaller frogs hopped out of it and into the water.  A happy moment for the frogs I'm sure.

Suze and I took the canoe out for a ride along the shore - one woman was out on her deck enjoying this beautiful day, more construction being completed at the new cottage, and another machine whirring away at one of the cottages on the high level at the end of the lake.  Small waves rippled the glass like surface of the lake that we had begun our canoe ride on, so we headed back to the dock.

Later Suze, Rodger and Gage came and prepared fahitas and quecideias for our dinner.  We ended the evening with a game of Screw, Rodger being the winner this evening.