Monday 24 September 2007

delicate steps

The blue heron continues to prowl the shore. I walked onto the deck this morning. She was down at the lakeshore. I went back in, not quietly enough, to get the camera. By the time I had gotten myself organized enough to take photos she was gone.

She walks across our frontage seeking breakfast, which is getting slim. The minnows are larger and seek deeper water more quickly than before. She is hard-pressed to get some breakfast. I have noticed her footprints on the beach. She seems so small from far away.


Every day Brian walks the cat. They saunter along the shore, stopping by the cottage steps, going around the first garden, eventually heading out to the dock. She now anticipates the trek and hurries ahead of him out onto the previously frightening long planks towards the water. Maybe she knows the tourists have gone home and there won't be any wild waves. If he tries to vary his course she nags him to follow their normal visitation points. She is such a creature of habit!

Upside-down girl



My son, Jesse Martyn, was one of the actors in this movie. It won many awards from many places, but it was featured on Air Canada flights after winning the EnRoute Student Film Festival award.

You can view the trailer, photos, read the synopsis, check out cast & crew.
Read an interview with writer/director James Vandewater here.

Monday 17 September 2007

What a beautiful night. The moon shimmers in the blackest blue sky. The reflection on the breeze-brushed water shimmers in response to her visage. The stars twinkle overhead. The daytime temperature has fallen from nearly 20C to 12 degrees. There is, still, slight warmth in the night breeze. The chimes gong in their fashion, the wind coming in over the water sings a tune of joy and hope and things that are meant to be.

Our cat, cooped up whilst we were out in the day doing our numerous errands, has decided that the nightlife is just for her. The mice call her name is glee. The moles are busy building underground caverns. She sits and contemplates their open door policies, Buddha-like in her patience and persistence, politician-like they know they can promise her the moon. My husband has been out 3 or 4 times over the course of the football game, in breaks and intermissions, trying to coax her in. But we know that you do not own a cat. Cats own you. She is trying to dispel the angst of her big day. She can never tell when those humans will stay away for a day or two. A cat has to get her center of focus back. Her daily yoga poses and stretches do not seem to be enough to maintain her well-being.

My husband spots her on the railing, a bit funny, as she tends to prefer to sit under the bench, safely hidden from anyone who might want to pick her up. Perhaps she feels more bold in the dark of the night. “Come on in!” he scolds her. There’s a football game to watch. This is her usual position. She tends to nap during the games, as they are far too exciting for a cat. Oops. Lo and behold, it isn’t the cat on the railing, but the fat raccoon sitting on the rail bold as brass. It likes to clean up around the bird feeder for us. Even a ‘coon has to have a purpose in life. It looks as if it was thinking about the offer to come in – making a move towards the door. It is warm inside, there is lots of food, and a ball game to watch. But no, not this time. Its favourite team, San Fran, isn't playing tonight. Perhaps another time!

Sunday 9 September 2007

tourists are back!

IMG_3194.JPGAnother beautiful day in the neighbourhood. The sun shines, the wind blows, the loons call - mourning summer methinks.
Our anticipated guests have come and gone. It is quite quiet, other than the crickets. Then the weekend arrives with more boaters. Monday will be bliss. IMG_3200.JPG

Friday 7 September 2007

Ahhhhh....September: back to school


The shoulder season in Muskoka is my favourite. Here we sit by the lake. No boaters. No screaming kids on tubes. Lazy cat languishes by the shore. The ducks happily patrol the waters seeking food for travel. They pause on our rock, rest, stretch, preen and go back to work munching on greens. Bobbing quietly, and with more of a sense of security than when they were tiny, since the fishers seem to have lost interest. One remains on guard as the others reach for the bottom of the lake and the succulent weeds. These large ducks, formerly the downy ducklings we photographed eagerly, are much wiser and can escape the quick death that took their long lost siblings.

There is a peace and beauty in the song of our wind chimes. The wind makes the leaves dance in a chorus celebrating the new season. Many leaves have changed colour and have fallen in the dry spell that was August. Water washes up on the shoreline, adding a layer of rhythm to the dance. the lake has receeded so much that the beach is greater than ever. The changing seasons bring us a sense of security in knowing that the planet continues to move through its orbit. The light levels have changed. I look out and see that my garden no longer gets the high noon sun as it did. I hope my vegetable ripen in time. The spaghetti squash is doing its best to complete the time old process.

I look forward to the changing of the leaves and the new beginning. Life unfolds as it should. This is the first year in 25 that I do not have to prepare for the school year and begin to build a classroom community. It is bittersweet. There is an excitement to the first days of school. All on their best behaviour until the honeymoon is over. New challenges help us to grow. I look forward to what the new season may bring.l