May 18: Okay. I’m cheating here, because it’s not actually May 18, but almost a month later. But for the sake of appearances and continuity, let’s just pretend it is.
The environment – the weather more specifically – is a determining factor when cottaging. A city home receives constant attention and care. Small issues can be spotted and dealt with before they become major problems. But as I wrote in the last post, a cottage is essentially alone and left to fend for herself for 6 of the most punishing months of the year. Almost anything can happen during our time away.
So it was with some trepidation that worker mate Roy and I arrived to survey the scene. There was some additional tension this year because the “Spring Freshet” (the runoff most of us would call a flood) was far higher than usual. The marina docks were under a foot of water, which meant that the guys could simply pull the supporting timbers out from under the hulls of the boats in storage and they were already floating and ready for the season. Almost 90 boats were “launched” this way.
Since the marina docks were still submerged, we waited more than a week for the water to subside enough to access the boat and reach the island. Many cottage docks were still under water, and several in the bay around the island were heavily damaged. My dock is significantly higher than any other dock (barring the government docks built for barges) and so it was well above the lake level. Ironically, we might have been at the cottage weeks earlier, except that the marina was under water.
The high water had covered a small portion of the island to the front of the cottage. There had then been some significant on-shore wind that had driven the water across the island and swept all of the leaves, twigs and other detritus that would normally be under the trees and bushes out into the lake. Also gone was a large pile of bark chips that I had hoped to use, and a 25 foot long log that the OPP had deposited on the island 3 years ago. It was completely waterlogged and useless. I had often wondered what I could do to get rid of it. Problem solved.
Now assured that the Winter damage was minimal, Roy and I set about the routines of opening the cottage and getting the various systems operating. The new water intake system is a special treat because it simply requires installing some filters (a bit of a hassle) and then flipping a switch. We were blessed with a few days of warmer than usual weather as we wrapped things up.
I’ve now spent more time at the cottage than at home and have mostly adjusted to “cottage life”. Without the constant pressure of the seasonal work programs of the last few years, there is time to relax a bit and enjoy the calm and quiet. This can be problematic for me, because I still see all of the smaller projects that should be done, but I am reluctant to start anything significant because the cottage is listed for sale, and prospective buyers might arrive with little advance warning.
And so I begin another season on Regatta Island. I truly, irrationally love this place and feel completely at peace when I’m with her. But, with the island now for sale again, there’s a bittersweet moment that creeps in from time to time when I realize that she may be sold, and relinquished to someone new. I can only hope that they will see everything I see in her, and treat her with the respect and affection that I do.