I really can't wait! So... I decided to write so I can at least think about it! The first weekend trip to the cottage after a cold bleak winter. "WE" as in the family, have to wait for the ice to go out on the lake as the only way to the cottage is by the lake. In fact the first trip is by water taxi from the marina as our boat is on shore at the cottage. The first trip will be to put on the water (shut off for the winter), put in the boats, clean up all the leaves and sticks from the winter and likely cut the grass, dust the cottage and.. What?
Ok, so now you are thinking "What is she raving about?"It sounds like a lot of work. It is... but it is work I actually enjoy. As I listen to loons call for rain, as the sweet smelling wind blows around my head with last years leaves as I rake. The outdoor fire pit has a small fire going to burn the twigs and leaves, the temperature is just right for working outdoors. I don't even mind if it is raining a little.
I will stay outside because it clears my mind. Not just being outside but the whole cottage experience. It makes me feel so relaxed, so at ease, so at home. I sleep like the proverbial log here ( as my kids will tell you by the snoring they swear I do!) Food tastes better, even making meals is more fun.
Our cottage is nothing fancy, we have the basic amenities. The cottage does not have life clutter. By that I mean it is a simpler existence. None of the usual things that clutter the mind at home. We have a phone but only family and the closest of friends have the number. It rarely rings. We have electricity but can live without between the fireplace, the Barbeque and the outside fire pit. To go to the store you have to take a boat and then a car ride so you only go if absolutely necessary, in most cases it is for fun on a Saturday afternoon.
There are bonfires every weekend night, with marshmallows for the grandkids and something a little stronger for the adults. We watch for shooting stars as there are so many stars to see in the night sky up north! I know exactly when you can see the satellites go by and will point them out to anyone still left by the fire. ( they are rather late at night) The doggies like to lay by their owners and get some warmth from the fire too and there is always the hope that an errant spider dog (Split up hot dog) might fall on the ground to be edible to only the dogs now.
My Father, who passed away a few years ago, is in the bank of dirt leading up to the cottage or at least his ashes are. So I never fail to say "Hi Dad" when I first arrive and "Bye Dad "when I leave. Makes me feel close to him still. He loved the cottage. I think he watches over us.
There are actually two cottages at this site but two different parcels of land. My Dad bought the first parcel right after the war and built the original cottage in 1964 for his family of four. A few years later he bought the parcel next door and later built a smaller cottage on this for himself and my Mom. My Mom still comes up to the cottage at 84 yeasrs of age. Since there are two cottages she gets a break from the kids, grandkids and great grandkids.
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