Showing posts with label Lake Superior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lake Superior. Show all posts

Monday, July 8, 2013

The Reflectiveness of a quiet lake



“When the pond mirrors the sky, Its soft blue sheen flawless, The pond will reveal its hidden life, A sign for you to dip your hand.”  --
Vic Klimosky, former director of the Benedictine Center at St. Paul’s Monastery, St. Paul, MN


The other day, while gazing out at Lake Superior, waiting for some sign of spring to arrive, I noticed a small flock of golden-eye ducks seemingly floating – one upon another—on the lake. It was reflection of course, but one rarely seen on our perpetually turbulent lake. Only the day before, the lake had been turgid with the runoff from wild rivers racing downhill, filled with snowmelt, mud, and debris. But that day, the lake was blue. The waters totally silent. The silt settled to the bottom, allowing the lake to reflect the immense sky above and the small creatures cruising upon it. Even more amazing was the clarity of the lake's waters. Each rock on the lake bottom next to our shoreline was revealed in all its amazing beauty and color. They were visible for a good 300 feet from the shoreline -- a phenomenon that I'd never witness before.  A perfect metaphor for the messiness of our lives, which … given room to quiet … can assume the same clarity reflective and reflective qualities.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Wonders on returning home

It hardly seems possible that, with the Summer equinox only days away, it should still be so chilly. Bill and I arrived home, having spent four months in Florida, to find we needed to fetch our long underwear from the cedar chest. From early May till now, June 13, we've had a log fire at night warming the house. The cold however, did not stop our beloved denizens of the shoreline … the eagles, the deer, goldfinches, sparrows, chickadees and the tiny hummingbirds (which arrived a week late -- from making their welcome appearances.

As I've been so remiss in blogging, I thought I’d hop back into the blogging world to share some of the wonders we've encountered on Lake Superior since our return. Florida was lovely and warm but my writing genie preferred the cold and the lake to the warmth and a pool.


On our first day home, a mother eagle settled onto our ledge rock to teach her two children to fish – or at least that’s what I think she was doing as both juveniles had a freshly caught something on which to dine. I think it was the same mother eagle sitting atop a dead birch with her two juveniles close by as I wended my way up our long driveway the following day. One sibling lifted off and made a huge sweeping circle through our woods, then headed back to the same tree where it’s mother waited.  By the time I fetched my camera (actually my telephone as I don’t have a digital camera), I returned to find both juveniles gone, the mother alone remaining. Perhaps that was the day she’d sent them packing. They knew how to fly and, presumably, to hunt.

Taken by Surprise

I wasn’t sure I’d like Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough's Pioneers when I first began reading it. I'd expected a hist...