An Evening At Fireside After A Day Touring Muskoka

Enjoying some end of the season ice fishing on Lake Muskoka.   Beautiful sunshine, crisp air, and the anticipation of snagging a prize fish! (photo by Fred Schulz)

MUSKOKA AS WALDEN

AN EVENING MY FIRESIDE HERE AT BIRCH HOLLOW

     WE HAVE BEEN OUT HUNTING AND GATHERING FOR MOST OF SUNDAY. IT HAS BEEN A TYPICAL SPRING DAY, WITH A COLD BLOWING RAIN, SOMBRE SKY, AND THE KIND OF BLUSTER, THAT TAKES HATS LIKE MINE FOR A FROLIC DOWN THE LANE. SO I TOOK THE CAP OFF, AND THREW IT IN MY POCKET, AS I'M NOT AS NIMBLE AS I USED TO BE…..BEING ABLE TO CHASE IT THROUGH PARKING LOTS, AND DOWN DUSTY STREETS WITH LOTS OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC. IT WAS A "CLOSE YOUR EYES," SPRING DAY, FENDING AGAINST CLOUDS OF SAND BEING DRIFTED ALONG THE STREETS.

     SUZANNE AND I BOTH HAVE THE SHIVERS NOW, FROM BEING WET, COLD AND WINDBLOWN THIS AFTERNOON, AND IT'S QUITE A REWARD, EARLY IN THE EVENING, TO HAVE THIS OLD HEARTH AND FIREPLACE TO COZY UP TO…….WITH SOFT MUSIC AND A GOOD BOOK. WE LOVE OUR TRAVELS. AND WE REALLY LIKE IT WHEN WE PULL BACK THROUGH THE GATES OF TOWN, MOTOR DOWN THE FAMILIAR MAIN STREET, AND TURN UP THIS NARROW LANE TO BIRCH HOLLOW…..ANTIQUE TREASURES IN TOW. AS SOON AS I FINISH THIS EVENING'S "WALDEN" BLOG, I SHALL RETREAT THERE IMMEDIATELY, AND RIGHTLY ASSUME THE TEAPOT, IN MY FAVOR…….AND POOR A RESTORATIVE CUP OF STEAMING HOT BREW, FOR THE DRIVER OF TODAY'S MOTOR TRIP.

     ONE OF THE MOST RELAXING, END OF THE DAY EXERCISES FOR ME, IS TO SIT AT THIS KEYBOARD, A SHORT DISTANCE FROM THAT CRACKLING FIRE, AND RECALL THE EVENTS OF THE DAY. IT'S ALWAYS A SENTIMENTAL "HOME TIME," FOR ME, AS SUZANNE AND I DISCUSS THE ENJOYMENTS OF THE PAST WEEKEND, AND READY OURSELVES FOR THE CHALLENGES OF THE WEEK. AS A SOON TO BE RETIRED TEACHER, AFTER THIRTY-ONE YEARS ON THE JOB, AT BOTH BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA LAKES SECONDARY SCHOOL, AND GRAVENHURST HIGH SCHOOL, SHE REALIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF ENJOYING THESE FINAL DAYS OF THE TERM. ALTHOUGH SHE REALIZES THE HUGE CHANGE OF PACE SHE WILL BE FACING, SOON ENOUGH, THE SENTIMENTALITY OF IT ALL HAS BEEN SLOW TO SETTLE IN, AND WHILE WE TALK ABOUT THE TRANSITION, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WILL ARRIVE SLOWLY AND PROFOUNDLY, ONE DAY IN EARLY JUNE……WHEN SHE REALIZES IT WON'T BE THE SAME KIND OF "GOODBYE" SHE HAS ALWAYS HAD FOR RETURNING STUDENTS THE NEXT SEPTEMBER. SHE'S A PRETTY TOUGH COOKIE, BUT BEING EMBRACED BY HER STUDENTS, AS THEY HAVE DONE IN THE PAST, AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, IS GOING TO "WATER THE GARDEN," ME THINKS. SHE IS A TEACHER TWENTY-FOUR-SEVEN, AND I WILL BE HER NEW PROJECT FOR THE COMING YEARS.

     IF THERE WAS ANY DISTURBANCE OF HOME SPIRITS THIS WEEKEND, IT WAS WHEN I HANDED HER A RETIREMENT GET-TOGETHER INVITATION, FROM HER EMPLOYER, THE TRILLIUM LAKELANDS BOARD OF EDUCATION…….THAT WAS ADDRESSED TO, "MRS. SUZANNE CURRIER," GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO. I MADE LIGHT OF THE SITUATION, AND ASKED HER IF SHE WAS, IN FACT, RELATED TO A MR. IVES, OF THE FAMOUS "CURRIER & IVES," WHICH DIDN'T GO OVER TOO WELL. AFTER THIRTY-ONE YEARS, THESE KIND OF INTIMATE ERRORS HAVE LITTLE HUMOR ATTACHED, AND TRUTH BE KNOWN, SHE WON'T ATTEND THE FUNCTION BECAUSE OF THE ERROR. SHE'S A STICKLER AS A TEACHER, AND WILL BE AS A CIVILIAN.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

     Suzanne (Currier), out of great compassion, has just this moment brought me a couple of freshly baked cookies, and a cup of tea. She has no idea that I've included a passage about her retirement, in this evening's blog……but I couldn't resist. I'm as mad as she is, that they couldn't spell her name on an official invitation. I was invited to a local heritage event, not so long ago, as "Ted Curren," and I also didn't attend. We're fussy beggars, but we're too old to change now. Don't invite us places if you can't spell our names.

     There are crumbs and at least one chocolate chip that have landed on the keyboard, and a spot of tea has made a nasty wet mark on a financial document Suzanne left behind earlier. The wind is still rattling the window pane, and some of the furniture on the verandah. The firelight is drawing me closer, and the warmth radiating is finally removing the relentless shiver. There's a cat on my lap, and another interested in lodging up on my shoulder, but the warmth is rather nice despite the claws sinking into my skin. Their purring makes me so deeply relaxed, I'm very likely to slumber-off right at this keyboard. These are the real creature comforts of our tiny Muskoka home, looking out over The Bog, from the treed knoll of Birch Hollow.

     I will soon retire to bedlam, with a well worn favorite book, as it will be a busy week of composition, as many of my column obligations are closing in on deadlines, and I find myself with no plan "B," this time, to fill the copy void. Thanks for taking a few extra minutes in your day, as a writer winds-down his…..at this portal, looking out onto the evening silhouette of our Muskoka hinterland. See you again soon.