A CABIN ON A LAKE
It was a dark and stormy evening. We had started late due to the press of sending off last week’s column. Finally after a three hour drive north, we reached the turnoff to the wooded lane to the cabin. The headlights picked out the white arching raspberry canes on both sides of the road along with tall walnuts, oaks and cherries. Suddenly at the top of the third rise in the road, we saw a tree fallen across the road. On closer examination it turned out to be a limb from high up on an oak tree. Still, it was twelve inches in diameter and we planned to saw our way through it.
We had come prepared, forewarned by Michael, our ex-son-in-law,. It started to rain but it barely penetrated through the leafy canopy. Our chainsaw sputtered and balked, then the handle pulled off and the rope coiled up inside the machine. No help from that source that evening.
Percy backed the two hundred yards to the country road, twisting to peer through the darkness with one hand on the steering wheel. We were forced to ask the neighbor whose property is in front of our lakeside holding if he would come out and move his truck so we could enter on a lane barely visible through his property. Not unwillingly, he came out in the rain, it was raining heavily by then, and moved his truck. Relieved that we had finally reached the cabin, we hurried in with our groceries and clothes, eager for a week of rest and visits with our family.
We feel fortunate that we were able to be a part of the group of seven partners who bought the cabin in 1991. Our daughter Catherine and their friends from Ann Arbor knew the cabin and had rented it for weekend retreats. It had been maintained as a sanctuary for wild life through two generations. Sand hill cranes, wild turkeys, partridge, great blue herons, and many songbirds call it home. Deer are seen frequently.
Except for the faint sound of cars on the distant highway and of occasional airplanes overhead, the surrounding woods make a person feel that they are far from civilization.
The cabin sits on a ridge overlooking a “kettle” lake, a deep lake scooped out by the retreating glacier perhaps l2,000 years ago. Larch, red maple, dogwood and dying elms surround the lake. Our playthings on the lake include a rowboat, a canoe, a small sailboat and a dock and sunning raft. One of the partners, Ken, enjoys windsurfing even though the winds are variable. For some of us, sitting on the dock and enjoying the surroundings is enough, alternating with a cool dip in the lake.
Percy’s great love is fishing. The bass fishing along the brushy edges is superb. He has caught black crappy and one northern pike. Blue gills abound. The children have great sport with them at the dock. Night fishing has yielded good result. Even that big one that broke the six pound line and got away remains as a challenge for the next visit.
We had a couple of quiet days to ourselves before our daughter, Laurel, and her husband, Tim, and their children and friends arrived. Percy and Tim caught enough fish for a fish fry for supper. Away from the TV, the children play games, catch toads and enjoy swimming. At night we lighted the cabin with candles and told “ghost” stories. Catherine and her husband, Ray, and Brennan came out later. Brennan played his guitar and Percy, Catherine, and Ray played off the backgammon championship once again.
The cabin was designed by a U of M student as an class assignment in architecture. It is square and provides no privacy for the ten or more people who may sleep in the loft, on couches and beds. It has a fireplace pit surrounded by seats on three sides, and a level where the couches and beds are, Up three steps is the kitchen-dining area and the bathroom. A loft over a closet and one of the double beds sleeps several children. A line of windows breaks the roof line and provides light and ventilation . Everyone’s favorite bed is the one where the windows face east and they can watch the moon rise.
The deck off the kitchen in a great place to watch the birds at the feeders. Chickadees come right up to the deck and our granddaughter, Tyla, had them eating out of her hand. Nuthatches, titmice, rosebreasted grosbeaks, goldfinches, and cardinals visit the feeders.
All the partners contribute to gathering wood and general upkeep. Memorial Day weekend all of us meet to choose our weeks for the coming year and discuss cabin matters. Labor Day weekend we meet again for a general window-washing and housecleaning. We have six weeks a year in all four seasons.
In May, the small white lady slipper orchids, jack in the pulpit and yellow iris are in bloom. Great masses of Dame’s Rocket line the lane through the woods. Now in July, on walks along the deer trails we see lavender bee balm, milk weed and wood lilies. In the fall Percy gathers chestnuts from some survivor trees to propagate at home. He has to protect them with wire baskets when he plants them to keep the squirrels from digging them up. Down at the lake, the soft feathery leaves of the larches have turned yellow. Red maples, cherry and willows add other hues.
Now we are safely home again, Percy is delighted to start watching the Cleveland Indian games again. He believes there is a deliberate conspiracy in Michigan that blocks even radio transmission of their games. We are slowly catching up on a week’s worth of papers and mail.
Mary