Turned Around Tuesday Reflections

 

Now that's better!  Yesterday's intentions, in the face of fatigue and discouragement, along with the gentle cheering of the Spirit (Ruth Anne, I know you can do this!), have helped reorient and stabilize my frame of mind toward a more grateful and reasonable disposition. 

And the husband who shares this cottage with me said, "Amen!" 

Two times around the island, one yesterday and one this morning, contributed enormously.  That's 11 so far this season, so I'm feeling good about that.

Yesterday it was a gaggle of friends on the rocks at a place that was narrow enough I felt my Canadian instincts kicking in.  With a slight cringe of the shoulders and lowering of the head, avoiding any hint of challenging body language whatsoever, I passed respectfully, with no incident.

This morning, I came so quietly out of one narrow space that I startled a beaver who in turn startled me.  No picture for this one, but if I had been ready, it would have been a great close up!  Those guys are huge, by the way; this one, enormous!  His mighty kerthunk of tail on the water almost got me wet.

I was also able to settle down into meaningful work, get some satisfying things checked off the list, and have a validating conversation with a friend.  And an extra bonus is a husband who can listen without trying to fix what I just need to say out loud.  All good things to get a week off to a proper start.  

So today's reflection is more about yellow lilies on the water, and the simple blessings of friends (forest and otherwise), long loves, and meaningful work.  Pretty sweet for a Tuesday, I'd say.

Hope yours provides good things too, whatever that means for you.

Intentionality

 

Does this count as a blue bird of happiness?

If you take the hottest days of the season so far, some with record-breaking highs ("feels like" 46!)....

And you pack in a trip back to the city, which is a thing all by itself considering loading the boat and then the van in the heat (so grateful for AC in the vehicle!)...

Then add groceries, banking, laundry, supplies pick-up in prep for family time next week, and a haircut (which didn't turn out so well)...

Tuck in times to meet one new baby in KW, catch up with our kids, stop in at a friend's (every conversation a joy)...

Then add two nights of hot sleeping (really should have bought that extra fan), and a false alarm with our smoke detectors that happened just after I fell asleep and then had me on high-intensity for a little longer while after that (man, that's loud!)....

Then, next morning, reload the van, including a cooler that's going to have to do the trick for an extended period of time, be extra sure you've left the house in good order, which feels mentally harder to do given the poor sleep and continued heat (where's that list again?)...

Then stop in for two important connections in Toronto, one to meet yet another new baby (what a happy thing to celebrate!), that includes chatting with high school buddies not seen in decades (oh the stories!), and the other to briefly touch base with a family member facing impossible challenges with honesty and courage (so much more to say here, except there are no words)....

Arrive back to the cottage to still hot-enough-to-notice-while-loading-and-unloading-the boat temperatures, put away only what absolutely needs to be put away, collapse into bed where (yay!) blankets are actually needed because the heat wave broke...

Wake up to get ready for and then joyfully participate in leading the first service of Cognashene Community Church, right her on the Freddy Channel (always such a delight to open the season together!)....

Have a long and needed nap in the afternoon (Sunday afternoon naps are sacred) but still feeling very slow and low after...

And wind up the whole string of days with a perfect evening to calm and reorient myself by the water, being unfortunately and sadly overtaken by four-consecutive-hours of excessively loud music coming from neighbours on our little bay who seem to have forgotten the manners and restraint they've exercised fairly well in the last five years since we last had this persistent problem (and oh it's that dreadful here-we-go-again feeling).

By this morning, Monday morning, the morning of the week I usually find so positive and refreshing and shiny and new with so many wonderful possibilities ahead....Here I am trying to have grace with myself. since I'm up way too early, feeling unusually agitated, not quite yet able to settle into an intentional space of gratitude and joy.  

The flow of these past "everything" days has pulled me in and out of really good and really not-good zones.  When I lay it all out like I've just done here, I can see it.  So I'm trying to only pick up the happy stuff, and then sort out what I need to do, if I can do anything, about the other stuff.  

Good news is that residents of Georgian Bay Township do have a clear recourse in reporting noise complaints, the week ahead has us staying quietly put for the most part, the heat wave has broken for now with cooler nights, and hair grows.  

And, of course, the abundance of life that is reflected in our events of the last few days is truly an amazing gift.  I know that, and am grateful, truly.

Perhaps I'll get out for paddle number 10 today.  

God Keep Our Land

 

Georgian Bay Sky

(near to Giant's Tomb Island)

PRAYERS FOR CANADA DAY - JULY 1, 2026

Sovereign Lord we praise You for the blessing it is to live in Canada.  

We do not take this lightly.  

,

Beyond all the astonishing natural beauty and bountiful resources of our great country, which would be enough all by itself, we are inexpressibly grateful for our freedoms and privileges as citizens.  There ae so many places in the world right now where this is not so.   We know this.  Don't let us forget it.

We ask on behalf of all our  leaders in all levels of government and civil life.  They carry heavy weight and face enormous challenges as they seek to serve us.  There are difficult, seemingly impossible global and national realities to navigate right now; decisions to be made with huge and far-reaching implications.  Please grant wisdom and humility and clarity to those who broker our well-being.

We ask that all Christians in places of influence within government, education and medicine, be given an extra measure of your grace and humility.  They are so often faced with ethically impossible decisions.  Help them not only represent the constituents they serve, but You, and Your gospel of peace and redemption.

O Lord, we cry out on behalf of our First Nations brothers and sisters.  Grant healing and resilience and grace.  May we remember that we are all Treaty people.  May we respond with less words, more compassion, more action.

And for Your Church here in Canada, oh that may we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You, according to Micah 6:8!  Please help us get over ourselves.  Call out the better ways of Jesus in us.  Help us to choose to represent You well and honestly with truth and grace in equal measure.  May we love each other deeply as a witness to the world that we are Your disciples, and that You, Jesus, were Who You said You were and are.

Keep our land, oh God.  Hold on to us, and don't let go.

It's Monday, Summer's A-Comin'

 

With this being the view from my workstation, who can complain about a Monday morning?  Actually, Mondays are one of my favourite days in any work-week situation (I'm weird like that, but I'm also a morning person, so there's that).  But this....plus my little friends?  I mean, come on.  Inspiration and quiet productivity are just built into the deal.

I've also been able to capture a picture of the other bird who's built a nest under our eves off to the side a little.

The ap on my phone identifies this as a phoebe, further confirmed by the characteristic 'pumping of the tail.'  Oh so much more cautious!  It's taken me a long time to be able to even get any photo at all, let alone one that could identify her. But I think she's figuring out how to take care of her brood with me here on the deck.  Of interest, I'm noticing that I can tell which bird has recently landed nearby just by the sound of their wings.  It's different for the blue jay, jenny wren, and phoebe.  Of course, should the blue heron drop by there's no doubt who's making that falomp-falomp of an entrance!

Of course I have to mention my chipmunk friends as well.  I've counted as many as five on the deck at the same time.  Make that six.  Another one just showed up.  Word's gotten out.

Okay, enough visiting over breakfast.  Time to get at it.  Working from home was never so good.  I've got a satisfying list before me, all fresh and unchecked and waiting.  Later my accompanist (guitar) for the children's story/song on Sunday is coming by for a mini rehearsal.  Should be fun.

And later, yes, it sounds like summer might show up after all.  We have the fans ready, and lots of ice in the freezer.  Of course, it's always a little cooler here by the water, and the famous Georgian Bay breezes are so welcome on the hot days.

Stay cool and delighted everyone.  Hope you have AC if you need it.  Hope you have sweet friends to keep you company.  Hope the week starts off in a way that's all ready for summer!

The Boat that Came Back

 

This will be a simple story of faith in humankind.

Opening weekend at the cottage - this year for us it was a May 22 to 25 extended weekend - has many tasks.  That's why we conscript the strong backs of family members to come along and help make it happen.  

One of the tasks that got done that weekend was carrying our small runabout boat out from the boathouse and onto the dock.  Next step would be to put on the motor and put it in the water, as seen here in a picture from last year.  But we didn't get to it.  No worries.  It was up safely on the black dock and would be fine until we came back to stay in two weeks.

That's what we thought.

After our return, it took us a few days to even notice it was missing.  We're used to seeing the dock empty as well as with a boat parked on top.  And the flurry of opening can be distracting.  So it's understandable.  But that week, after a heavy rain when Ken felt he should go over to bail it out....it wasn't there.

The boat itself isn't any great thing.  It was purchased by Ken's Grandmother in 1955, he thinks, so it's rocking 70 years old.  It's of standard design, well-made, been painted more times than we can remember, and has had the seats replaced a few times too.  Last year we purchased a new motor for this boat, with the hopes that this year we could begin some decent lessons for the younger ones.  So, no great thing, but pretty special to us.

There's an unspoken Cognashene code up here.  Nobody bothers your property.  Call it a throw back to simpler times when decent honest living and the trust that arises from that was a real thing.  But honestly, any reports of stolen items or break and enters are largely unheard of up here.

I will say that we did have an antique cedar canoe get lifted from the old boathouse that year we couldn't put the door on the large front opening properly, and you could see in.  We figured it was too much of a temptation for some eager collector with an apparently underdeveloped conscience.  But other than that, no problem.

We considered whether or not we should notify the police.  We also considered whether it actually just blew off the dock -- no one could remember tying it down -- and floated along the channel somehow.  We did a quick cruise back and forth but didn't see anything.  Then we had to come back to the city, and decided to pick things up when we got back.  

Except when we got back....

...there she was, in all her glory.  Someone had taken the time and the effort not just to bring our boat back to our dock, but to drag it right up onto the rocks and tie it up properly, which is what we should have done in the first place.

So cedar canoes notwithstanding, perhaps there is no throw back.  Maybe it's all still happening now.  Maybe, obviously, common decency and human goodness is still very much a thing.

Of course it is.

And of course we all have a part in making it so.

So a big, big thank you to the kind person who returned out boat.  I'm hoping to spread the word around here to see if we can discover who it was so as to say a proper thank you.  Might even make a big sign and just attach it to the boat, hoping whoever it was drives by and knows how much we appreciate it.

Here's to kids' boating lessons this summer!

Here's to securing your boat properly!

Here's to the basic decency in human hearts that makes the world so much of a better place!

Rationing the Chia Seeds

 

"Teach us to number our [chia seeds] 

so that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12 

Standard Cottage Translation

Three things to know for what's to follow.

One is that we are on an island and that means groceries and supplies have to be carefully anticipated.  There's no running out to quickly fetch something.

The second is that, with the price of gas so volatile right now, we have promised ourselves to be extra prudent in how many trips back and forth to the marina we're going to make.  So it's that much more important to think carefully through any shopping list.

The third is that due to some recent necessary dietary changes, I have added chia seeds to my regular intake (emphasis on 'regular').

Truth be told, I had no idea you could add chia seeds to so many things, and that they had such a repertoire of results.  I won't go into all their benefits here; you can check it out with a quick Google search if you're interested.  Let's just say that chia seeds are now a regular item on our grocery list.  Not only are they included in my morning protein smoothie, but they add a fun texture to this chia seed chocolate pudding that is super easy to make and loaded with other good things like yogurt, avocado, banana, turmeric and honey (full recipe on request).  It's now my go-to desert.

We had lots up here, I thought.  But when Ken did a quick (necessary) trip back to KW last weekend, I asked him to stop by Bulk Barn (best bang for your buck on chia seeds) and bring back a bag-full to replenish my stock.  Which he did.  And then, as often happens, they got left behind in the van.  He remembers having to re-sort a bag to make something fit better....and that's it.

Our next scheduled trip off the island isn't until July 2nd or 3rd.  Everything else has been stocked up.  So, because of our determination not to make unnecessary trips back and forth, and because I still do have some chia seeds, and because I don't mind a challenge, I am now into day four of seeing if I can make this work.

It's kind of fun.  You look at something quite differently when you believe it to be scarce.  You measure more carefully, plan more specifically, and relish or at least appreciate every portion dolled out.  It's not the first time I've noticed this up here.  Shampoo, milk, toilet paper, peanuts for the chipmunks...whatever it is, if you're running out, you're just that little bit more mindful. 

Of course the best thing is when you apply your years of cottage wisdom and stock up on everything, like, all the time, which is usually what we do, sure.  But every once in a while you don't catch it, forget to put something on the list, or leave a bag in the van.  At least this time it wasn't anything spoilable.

Okay, confession, but you already caught this, so, for what it's worth.  The original Hebrew text for Psalm 90:12 does not contain the words 'chia seeds.'  It's 'days,' as in days of our life.  And now the chia seeds themselves are but an echo of a much greater thing; the gift that is each moment "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

Not for me, but for someone I deeply care about, this is much more real than the threat of running out of a needed grocery item.  Diagnoses with estimated life spans attached to them can really mess with your head, unless you tune your heart.  If you do, if you can, like my friend has been able to, every day becomes a cherished thing, the way it should be for all of us, but just that much more beautifully real for some.  This I have found to be true when facing my own oh-so-much-less-serious-but-with-some-long-painful-nights health issues.  In the middle of the suffering is where cherished things become more astounding.

I am not to the point of counting out my chia seeds one by one, which would be ridiculous.  But I am grateful for these tiny reminders that help me stop and marvel at every good thing that fills --

Wait.  Ken's just come in to tell me something ---

He says he's surprised and somewhat distraught to discover that he has only four days of Coke left!!!  Previously planned departure is eight days out.  He's just announced that, in order to prevent an emergency situation of catastrophic proportions, we're going into town, likely Sunday.

Which means I can fetch my chia seeds.

And thus endeth the lesson.

In the Moments

"If you look at little kids and wild animals,
these are two groups of things that 

whenever I'm with them 

forces me to be in the moment."
Dominic Monaghan

Two slightly unusual and also sweet interactions with critters happened yesterday.  I make no apologies whatsoever for my Disney-princess vibe here, just sayin.'

One was with a chipmunk who literally came and greeted me, seemed excited to see me even, as I finished my paddle around the island and came back to the dock.

Of course I had no peanuts with me, so the encounter ended up being just a friendly hello, and no picture because I really didn't think of it, just being in the moment as I was.  Still, he did stay with me on the dock, up close and personal, and impossibly cheerful, while I tied up and put away my paddle.  Then off he bounded along the rocks on his way to find breakfast on his own.

First time that's ever happened, down on the dock, I mean.

The second interaction was more of a sighting really.

Two brand new jenny wrens left their nest and rested on the deck railing just for a bit before flying off into their grown up lives.

I stopped everything, just to be in this moment with them.  Leaving the nest day?!!!   I believe this deserves a teeny bit of pomp and circumstance!

I had the presence of mind for pictures this time, since every graduation needs some.  These were taken through the window from a respectful distance.  I didn't dare step out onto the deck proper and risk frighting them off to the rocks below before they were actually ready to take flight.

This is unusually unusual in that we have jenny wrens every single year in one or both of the birdhouses that are fixed onto the front and side of the cottage.  Their chirping call is among the first noises of the morning at sunrise.

Every single year I am aware of the nest-building that begins almost as soon as we get here.  Every single year it's obvious when the eggs have hatched because both Mom and Dad, in a very equal kind of parenting partnership, make constant trips with juicy, squirming insects in their beaks.  Shortly after that, every single year, we are treated with the excited signature chirping, as the new hatchlings grow strong enough to be heard, a little louder every day.  

But, every single year up until now, one day it all just stops.  All the activity ends, and the birdhouse is quiet.  Everyone's gone.

I have never seen any of the babies depart.  Until now.

And it was the first time I was ever greeted back from my time in the kayak by a chipmunk on the dock.

So it was a happy day of little critter encounters.  Somewhat unique ones on this day, yes, but actually a feature in some form every day here.  Someone pays a visit and I learn something new, spending the moment, being in the moment with them.  

There.  All sappy and Disney-princess-like, like I said.  

Dominic Monaghan, by the way, is the actor who portrayed Merry in the film adaptation of Lord of the Rings (2001), just so you know.

Wishing you sappy, informative, randomly cute moments to be in today, however they might happen for you.