First Visit to Camp 2016
They say, "the older you get, the faster time passes".
It sure seems that way after this winter…which, by the way, was a "non-winter" by Canadian standards as Ontario enjoyed most of its snowfall in APRIL this year. This is fine if you're schlepping to work every day (us), but lousy if you want to ski, skate and toboggan (you?).
As I write, Dianne and I have made our first sojourn north to Ak-O-Mak to see how camp faired over the winter. We were surprised that it looks, and quite frankly feels, the same as when we left in October.
All of the docks and roofs have remained in their original positions, unmoved by disengaging ice flows, heavy snows or high water levels from the spring thaw. Hooray!!…No expensive damage!
Saturday was the picture-perfect, first day of spring at Camp Ak-O-Mak. The weatherman delivered on a promise of severe-clear skies, brilliant sunshine and 13 degree C temperatures, although it sure felt a lot warmer!
Dianne, Catherine and Jim Fraser, Ak-O-Mak's chief maintenance man, did their annual Spring Walk About, prioritizing the myriad jobs that will need to be done in the next 2 months. It is "wakey-wakey time" for this grand ol' dame, Ak-O-Mak, and there is a lot to do to have her looking her best in time for the first day of camp!
According to Jim, the Ahmic Lake ice went out about 10 days ago. The last snowfall here was last Monday and enough fell that the local snow plows were called in to action. The only white stuff now are the remnants of snow drifts in the shaded nooks and crannies of camp's forested perimeter.
With the lists and planning finished for the day, we retreated to Buck's Dock to take in the splendour of the beautiful spring afternoon.
The lake and forest is quiet at this time of year…not that heavy, blanket of silence that so characterizes winter, but a quietude born of of this seasonal transition. No people. No boats. A lone seagull…and very few birds occupying the still-naked forest. The rest of the birds, I presume, remain en route from more southern climes.
As we took in the sights and sounds from our sunny dock, our attention was captured by a distant, unmistakable, high-pitched hum. Looking up against the sun at the border between sky and trees, we saw a massive, morphing cloud…of newly hatched mozies!! Gazillions of them! They were in that stuporous, naive, newborn state where they know not the scent of food, so fortunately for us, did not notice the "tasty morsels" sitting below them on the dock.
Unmolested by the mozies, we happily enjoyed the peaceful view til sunset…on this most perfect, spring day…on Ahmic Lake.