June 17: I suspect that many people would say that “being close to nature” is one of the key reasons to own a cottage. One imagines swimming in the lake, sitting on the beach watching the sunset, listening to the call of the loons across the lake. But there is another side to “nature” that may not be quite so nice: black flies in swarms thick enough to drive deer out of the woods, mice infesting the cottage linen supply, bears and racoons rummaging through the garbage. You can never be totally sure which side you might get. As a cottager, you may need a degree of acceptance as you approach your life at the lake.
Across from Regatta Island is a large cottage which was constructed sometime in the last 10 years. It’s got all the bells and whistles that people seem to feel they need at a cottage these days including a large boathouse and a beach house which may also house a sauna. There’s a 10 foot Tiki sculpture in front of the cottage – for reasons I can’t imagine – and pathways for the golf cart necessary to get from the cottage to the beach. Last week, I listened for an entire day as a team of workers used leaf blowers to “clean up” the property from end to end. I suppose that your woods should always be tidy…
The following morning, I was relieved to hear that silence had returned. But then I realized that it was entirely too silent. The property opposite had been home to a “murder” of crows for at least the last 5 years. Every Spring, I would hear the raucous calls of the newly hatched young as they begged for food. The adults would fly across the lake and return later with some morsel for the family. There would be an enormous screeching and calling as the young realized that dinner had arrived. In time, the young would gain their wings and venture from the nest. Regatta Island was often the first “foreign land” they would investigate before moving on to further shores and they would spend a day or two screeching and calling in my trees. That morning I realized that there was no calling from across the bay. Nothing. It was totally silent.
Clearly the owners’ view of “nature” didn’t extend to large noisy birds which might occasionally interfere with a quiet afternoon at the cottage. So they were disposed of, by what means I don’t know. I found this very troubling.
Most cottagers like me wish to employ a degree of “control” at their property. We cut trees, move rocks and some misguided souls even plant lawns. But there is something exceedingly arrogant and unthinking about eliminating an entire family of harmless if noisy crows in the midst of breeding season. Crows are very intelligent birds. They have highly evolved survival strategies and would find a new home if their nest was simply removed at the end of the season. Browning Island, where the property is located, is more than 800 acres in size, so there’s plenty of room.
But no. Apparently the owner wants a nice, neat, quiet environment where he can enjoy his time at the lake. And he wants it now. So they are gone, never to return. And I think we are all a little worse off because of that.