Still in a Daze at the Cottage by James Ross

Author:James Ross [Ross, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn
Published: 2014-02-25T05:00:00+00:00

The Dock

When we bought our family cottage from my parents five years ago, fixing the dock was the first project. One of the large stringers had broken in the middle, so the planked surface sagged and fell away into the lake.

I invited my brother and brothers-in-law and their families up for a relaxing weekend visit, and then surprised them with a sling of lumber. We pulled off the old, rotten boards, cut away the stringers, and fixed up the three cribs. The cribbing had actually stood up quite well, considering that the original dock had been built at the same time as the log cabin, in 1927.

We spent hours wading around in the waist-deep water in shorts and old sneakers, spiking logs together, sawing, levelling, and lugging big rocks to refill the cribs. We cut and fit three long stringers, on to which we nailed new five-foot deck boards.

In a stroke of genius (I think it was my idea), we built a large platform at the base of the new dock, starting on land and stretching out over the shallow waters along the shore. Into this was set a tall, straight peeled pine — our flagpole. Whenever we arrive at the cottage, one of our first chores is to raise the Canadian flag, telling anybody who cares that we are here. On the deck we set our Muskoka chairs, some loungers, and a couple of small hewn-log end tables.

The dock has become the hub of social activity at the cottage, where morning coffee is enjoyed. If you are up early enough, you can have a cup while watching the sun rise and the mist lift and swirl off the water. It’s a great place to greet the new day, and to enjoy a hot breakfast or a bowl of fresh fruit.

Our cottage is at the peaceful end of a quiet lake. Few boaters buzz through, save for the occasional person fishing who raises a hand and trolls on. We see loons, mergansers, and ducks; sometimes in early summer, large broods trail behind. If you look more closely, you realize that a whole ecosystem lives around the pilings of the dock. Water bugs flit here and there, their shadows on the clear lake bottom make them look enormous. Minnows dart in and out of the daylight, and crayfish crawl across the pebbly lake bottom. Sitting on the dock and looking out over, or into, the water is as mesmerizing as staring into the embers of the evening bonfire.

The children arrive, and suddenly the dock becomes a hub of activity, as tubes and water skis are laid out, and the boat goes to work. Lunch is set out. The kids, refreshed and satisfied, disappear again to play. We gather on the dock for a late afternoon cocktail hour. Nibbling on appetizers, we talk about new cottage projects. We talk about life and we talk about our kids.

At night we often lie out on the dock and stare up at the stars. It is so dark at the island that the canopy of stars is acute and magnificent.

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