A Walk Around the Lake

Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.

~ Wallace Stevens

Step slightly back in time as we take another walk along the shoreline of Peterborough's Little Lake. These pics were actually snapped during the latter part of the summer but I know you folks have never balked at photographic time travel before, so please join me.

When a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom. ~ Arthur Golden

This is called The Launch Pad. Peterborough is full of whimsical, creative artists and these slingshot-styled resting spots are proof of that.

My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim. ~ Paula Poundstone

How handy to live right across the road from the public dock.

It was one of those places where mist lingers well into the day and the dawn chorus starts early. 

~ Fennel Hudson

Water birds of all kinds are not too shy in the presence of people - even those of us who are toting a camera.

Looking out over the lake, I felt enveloped in the most peaceful, loving utopia. ~ Laurie Kahn

This girl sat for quite a while - probably listening to music, texting occasionally - but mostly enjoying her surroundings.

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

And then I happened upon these guys. There are two dogs and they show up on the pier with their people most pleasant evenings, anxious to fetch the tennis balls from the lake.

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. ~ Loren Eiseley

On this day, the daughter had just tossed the ball for her canine friend.

Man is troubled by what might be called the Dog Wish, a strange and involved compulsion to be as happy and carefree as a dog. ~ James Thurber

And nothing could hold this baby back.

Water is sufficient...the spirit moves over water. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Dad was gearing up to throw this one out for the other pooch. Gotta love the look of anticipation.

He had as much fun in the water as any person I have known. You didn't have to throw a stick in the water to get him to go in. Of course, he would bring back a stick to you if you did throw one in. He would even have brought back a piano if you had thrown one in. ~ James Thurber

You'd think he'd have been launched from one of those slingshots.

Moody and withdrawn, the lake unites a haunting loveliness to a raw desolateness. ~ Dale Morgan

While waiting for the pooches to return, I noticed some charcoal art on the cement.

Take the broken pieces of your life, bake a master cake out of it. Don't stand still like a lake; keep flowing like a stream! ~ Israelmore Ayivor

Each of them after their own tennis ball, though sometimes the stronger swimmer would steal his buddy's ball and make him swim back without it.

The water doesn't know how old you are. ~ Dara Torres

At a different dock, kids were having fun jumping off into the water.

A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable. ~ William Wordsworth

And speaking of lakes, this photo was taken a couple of days before moving from my previous dwelling - the final sunrise that I witnessed while living there.


I have many more photos from that time. I continued to snap some even though I stopped blogging in March for a few months. Eventually I'll sprinkle them in among my future posts.

Well here's one more..



Today's blog post was brought to you by the letter R.

Honor the river, stream, lake, or well that makes possible your life, your town, or your city.

~ Gail Thomas

* - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - *

Happy Thanksgiving to my co-Canucks!

The Livin' is Easy

I have a few more cottage photos to share with you. Grab a fly swatter and some bug spray and come join me for a wander by the lake.



The day we arrived, it was raining hard. It had been dry, hot and humid, and we needed this downpour to rejuvenate plant life, animal life and ourselves.




With the weather change, came strong winds and cooler air. It was quite refreshing to venture outside after the raindrops stopped falling. Frank stood at the edge of the dock to assess the fishing conditions, and little Bayley scampered up behind him to help.




Benny and the kits played around together for a while. Benny generally initiated the chasing as JRTs are wont to do but every now and then one of the kits would pursue him and he'd show his displeasure about being the hunted.

Mostly, Benny liked to run circles around them and nip them gently while they tried not to keep their backs to him. Here's how they typically interacted.




After playtime, Bubbles and Bayley were ready for their bottles, and both drank with gusto for a long while. They became even more cuddly afterward, and Bayley nestled into my arms for a snuggle. Theresa warned me that being such a young one, he was prone to pooping when content with a full tummy and a warm nuzzle but I decided to take my chances...




Suddenly, it was laundry day! Bayley had indeed proven his contentment.




The last light of day provided a good peek at the sun, and the promise for a lovely day ahead.




On one of the last mornings spent at the cottage, I woke up with the awareness of a pink glow outside the cottage. It was just after five, and that could only mean that a glorious sunrise was about to occur. I stumbled out of bed and brought my camera to the living room window to capture the first, colourful light of day. That strange glow to the left is the reflection of the bedroom lamp.




While standing there, hummingbirds were already busily starting their own day. I snapped the above two photos for my pal Cricket who has eloquently rhapsodized the wonders of the early hours of morning.




Later, it was time to check out the fishing. Frank needed to start up the bilge pump to empty water from the boat. This of course fascinated Benny.




He suddenly decided that he must have every last drop of it. He peed a lot that day.




The fishing wasn't wonderful but photo opportunities were fine. A much needed fly swatter (mosquitos and horse flies were bad) rests on the cooler, creating an interesting shadow on its lid, and on a colourful lure.




Frank had some fishing success later on in the week, and Mother Nature continued to provide us with lovely sunsets and copper clouds. It was a fine time all around.

I might be disappearing again for a few days. I will definitely have a Posts of the Week up for you folks on Wednesday, and hopefully an additional post set up for Thursday but no promises there. If you don't hear from me after Wednesday, you'll know that more cottage time fell into place for us. I'll try to get back to visiting your blogs and responding to comments as soon as I can. Right now, it's summertime and the living is easy. I sure hope yours is likewise.

A Happy and Safe 4th of July to all of my Amurikan friends south of the border!