day 9 - ZERO MILES, stayed put in Denare Beach beside Amisk Lake
june 9

remind me to always begin a trip on the first day of the month - it makes calculating
days fantastically easy.

what bliss to begin a day WITHOUT getting in a car, with no calculations about how many miles (or kilometers) we must make in how many hours and where that might land us when it comes time to sleep. we have been aiming for HERE for eight days. i thought we might be disoriented by the sudden lack of ambition but i was wrong.
i am completely at peace with the cessation of forward motion installed here in our little blue and white cabin beside the big brown house.

i love lakes. lakes and rivers. lakes, rivers and oceans, really, but fresh water is best for me. the smell of lake water reminds me of every childhood summer (for good and for bad) spent in the Berkshires at Elmo Cottage. the freshness, the fishness, the tangle of weed and water by the shore. canoes and rowboats. fir trees, birch trees. it's all here and less - meaning, less developed, less human noise, NO houses on the actual lake shore (because it's public, belongs to Saskatchewan and cannot be owned).
a profound peacefulness prevails.

three dogs cohabitate here with Sarah and Buz - Trog, Chino and Skipper - and they are joyful creatures to be around. they walked us through a boggy spot rife with industry of all things beaver - the chewed stumps, the fallen logs, the gnawed twigs and the extraordinarily beautiful lodges, one after the next.

the lake is full of Grebe and bullfrogs and the night echos with the fantastic eerie wailing of the loons.

speaking of night, a brilliant little sunset happened just after 10 pm and it finally managed to get really dark here at about 11:30.
these very long days are new for my body but seem to agree with me.
i am happy here.