This was my third summer on Sproat Lake with Hazel and lots of family. Two summers ago I fell in love with it upon arrival, before I’d even spent a night. Our family cabins are on a very small boat-access island on the lake. I absolutely love car-free living. Irrationally so, or perhaps it is one of my most deeply rational primal loves. I don’t know. Hazel declared last year it was her favorite place on earth. I concur. Anyway, the point is we both deeply love it. Though Hazel has since revised her declaration to second favorite place. She’s holding the top spot as TBD as we head out to see much, much more of the world.
This summer we got to share it with Justin and Will for the first time. Justin was fresh off his BC Bike Race win. His trophy is now a cabin decoration. Will was fresh off a month at camp in the Sierras. Thank goodness for 14 year olds being able to fly unaccompanied across borders. And gracious aunts for helping them transit from Vancouver to Vancouver Island.
I love sharing the island with others. This summer my cousin Meredith returned with her family and her sister (my cousin) Ali. I’d been given the heads up that Ali “cottages well” so we were all keen to learn from her. She mixes yummy drinks and knows how to chill. These skills are both deeply lacking in the Kirkby and Morgan families ;) so we practiced both.
Everyone seems to be trying to learn something at the lake. A back dive. A dive. Wing foiling. Paddle up foiling. Tow foiling. We do not have a shortage of gear. We are short on experts but we have a few, and a few exceptional coaches especially my nephew Taj.
What do we do all day? Days start with a swim. Sometimes a few laps of the island (about 12 min to get around it). Sometimes not. Sometimes a morning paddle. Then coffee. Always. Then playing in the lake, with kids. Lots of standup paddling. Mum in a kayak. My older brother Bruce is a super pro paddler (and more) and there are more boards than people on the island. There are two cabins and we alternate hosting dinner on the decks. Big family dinners every night is the stuff of my dreams. There are always projects. This summer Hazel made fairy trails with Uncle Bruce (= stone lined paths, with twinkly night lights). Will and Bruce strung cool-looking rope between the rails connecting the bunkies (two tiny one-room outdoor structures). Bruce and his wife, my awesome sister-in-law Christine, finished a much-needed and stunning storage shed. This summer we also did some beach clean-up and IKEA furniture building. Believe it or not, in the hopes of living a good long life, many of us also workout and lift weights on the island including my 85 year old mother. If you’re visiting, our dumbbells range from 2 to 50lb. Giddy up! Alas, not much rest or reading but perhaps those days lie ahead for us. After dinner there is almost always another dip in the lake. Hallelujah to Canadian Lake life!!
And more photos of glorious Sproat Lake!! Including some pics from the day when Mum and I paddled to the end of a nearby bay, put our boats on the shore and went for a walk. It was kind of a radical act of exploration for island dwellers (though for Doug it was his daily approach to running).
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