Welcome to Paradise

It is a time of almost record high water levels at the lake. From break up in spring to the end of July we have gone from 150 ft of beach to zero and for sure we’re not finished with it. It is a daily task to pull the boats up further onto shore. We use what we refer to as “beaver logs”, nicely peeled, cut to length, rounded aspen processed by our local beaver colony. A number of these logs placed underneath the boat as we pull it onto shore do the job easily with a minimum of wear and tear.

We get out on the water as much as possible and limit our go-to-town trips to those absolutely necessary. We become very in tune with our surroundings, the sounds, the weather, the animals and all that makes up life in the bush. We forget to turn on the radio and the occasional recorded music is limited to the soft unobtrusive kind befitting the atmosphere and setting. We meet the day early and stay with it until late. There is time to contemplate and reflect on things and time just to dawdle away the moment when it strikes.

An old friend and I were dawdling on the front deck of the house during one of his impromptu visits. These usually entail several cool ones on the poop deck as we refer to it. As the term suggests, the deck is on the watery side of the house and overlooks the expanse of Lake Laberge.

“Any fishing down your way?” I ask.

“Little”, he replies in his soft monotone.

For a time we quietly continue our study of the evening sky. It is unusually calm and the placid expanse of the lake mirrors the mountainous east shore. The view is almost postcard perfect.

“Boy got a pike”, he offers and after a sort pause; “couple days ago.”

The view of the lake changes every so slightly as a breeze ruffles by and wipes out the reflection. One of the dogs quietly pads her way onto the deck, sits down beside him and gently puts her head on his knees, dark eyes scanning his face for approval. A hand quietly comes down to pat her head and fondle here ears.

The water stills and the reflections settle back onto the water. The comfortable silence between us allows us to hear a pair of ravens arguing about something on the beach, the anxious call of a robin that has lost track of its offspring and the far off approach of a boat of some kind.

“Welcome to paradise”, says my friend.

The remark says it all!