Easing Into Summer Mode

Soon.

The goal is Wednesday morning.  

It has always been the intention, the dream, in this little-house-not-yet-retired-but-getting-there era of our lives, that we would experiment with living and working in two seasonal locales.  We've finished our very first winter/early spring in the new house.  And now we get to head back to our other home on the Freddy Channel in Georgian Bay.

Because last year was the big move year, and then we had to wait for construction deadlines and all that, we stayed a gloriously long time up at the cottage well into October.  What a beauty!  But it was because we had to.  Now that we are free to come and go as we please, this really feels like the launching of that grand both-places experiment, for reals.

Good news is that, as much as I can't wait to be there, out in the kayak, reveling in the sunsets, I'm also not desperate to get out of here.  Our small home isn't too small at all, and back here in the far corner of the yard, away from the street, it's actually mostly quiet.  Even those hot days we had in May (we did have some if you can recall with how chilly it's been more recently), we felt the benefits of top-of-the-line insulation and well-placed ceiling fans.  Everything here is quite comfortable.

Still, there's a very different pace of life on the island.  It's part of being more isolated, with few if any  social engagements, and the absence of human-noise, particularly first thing in the morning.

There's times around the island to count, and blueberries to gather, and chipmunks to befriend.  Can I convince the jays to take from my hand this year?  And I'll write.  So much to inspire my heart when I'm closer to the Creator's creation, and it heals me to write.  It does.

And there's the bunkie ceiling to finish off, and the old kitchen next door to restore into usability, and always wood to chop and stack.  Stuff to do, for sure.

In all of it, thanks to the wonders of technology, we can stay connected, send and receive emails and texts, even join in on Zoom meetings.  We do not abandon the good work entrusted to us.  But we can do it from home; working from home, but just in a different place. 

I do not take any of this for granted.  Especially right now as I continue to listen to my body in its healing phase.  I am also grateful that, while there's plenty of good work to do, right now it's much more behind the scenes and advance planning, nothing urgent necessarily, so I can pace myself and dig down deep into the work free of any pressing deadlines.  That's a sweet spot I intend to thoroughly enjoy.  My doctor completely approves.

And, hey, an added bonus.  Now when we leave the house for a while, it's not really left alone, as it were.  Mail can be brought in easily, the landscaping can still happen when we're away, all under the convenient watch of our son, who's back door is literally 3 meters from our front porch.

So the next few days will be packing.  But even in that, it shouldn't be too difficult since the opening crew hauled up a lot of supplies last weekend.  It could be chilly I'm thinking.  But that's what the wood is for, and we figured out how to stay warm last fall anyways.  And it's June now.  Summer is most certainly on the way.

What a full spring it's been.

Summer fills in different ways.

We sang this yesterday at Highview's Anniversary Service.  There's a lot of cottage in this verse.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness,

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

And to all my Cognashene friends....Looking forward to reconnecting really soon.