The cottage at Wee Island was well appointed for summer living. Raised on pilings, it allowed for good venitlation. Large windows offered beautiful lake views in any direction and the open floor plan, with vaulted ceilings, gave an airiness to the pine building. It was a lovely place in summer, but not so in the chill of early April, when temperatures dove into the 20's overnight. A fire in the old franklin stove took a bit of the edge off, but required constant tending.
In the morning, bleary eyed and smoky, Willard trudged through melting snow to the dock where ice had re-formed overnight in the still and frosty air. The boat was ice-bound. Hopefully the morning sun would melt the ice and allow them to leave. Breakfast and, later, lunch passed reading, planning, listening to the radio for weather forecasts and hoping for a little wind to start the melt again.
Just after lunch, a southerly wind began to whip at the pines sheltering the cottage. At the southern edge of Wee Island, the ice began to ripple as it broke into pieces. The boat loaded and Wee Island secured for another day, Willard and Mary headed south toward Gohere Bay. The going was slow at first as they broke through remaining sheets of ice, nudging the boat gently onto the ice before it settled through. Once they reached the eastern edge of Wolf Island, the water cleared and Willard opened up the throttle as, after a ten year absence, they returned to the Camp at Gohere Bay.
No comments:
Post a Comment