A little relaxation for the family ...

---

A week at the cottage with the family ... relaxation and bliss are truly the only words that come to mind. This is a cottage that we have now rented for the past four years but for me it was my second time there (I was travelling the other years!).

It was definitely great to be back there and the week seemed to have flown by. There were tons of photo ops which always keeps me busy for a bit. I managed to finish two mystery novels (I can't remember the last time I was actually focused enough to finish one ... that's a problem and I need to solve that little issue!). Out of curiosty (I really needed to know if there were pieces missing) I managed, with some help from dad, to finish a 1000 piece puzzle. I had not made one of those in years and it was quite relaxing because you really can't think of anything but ...

Oddly I was up really early ... around the same time that I normally get up for work. Not the same though getting up and heading out to see nature and all of its little critters wake up. Such a peaceful time of the day. I even managed to make it out on the kayak one morning just a little bit before 7 am. Now that is stillness defined. My brother was wondering though what on earth I was up to in my flanel pyjamas with the life jacket on!!

Sunsets ... this cottage is perfectly poised to have you watch the sunset as it faces west. Mother Nature at her finest I must say. And again I made it out on the kayak to watch the sunset from the water one evening. Perfect way to watch it.

We actually got to do quite a bit of kayaking this year ... thanks to my brother and his wife for getting these. So fun! I pretty much went out every day on them. On the last day, I went out for so long that I came back and could still feel the motion of the water that night when I was trying to get to sleep. A little nauseating ...

And there certainly was no shortage of little critters to keep us entertained. There were chipmunks and squirrels of course. The obligatory sea gulls of course. There were turtles poking their heads up every so often. The geese were flying south (we checked on the compass to make sure they were going the right way!!). There were ducks quacking back and loons with their distinctive sound. We saw otters playfully swimming in the water. But the topper were the two bald eagles ... wow they were a sight. Well and Oscar of course ... we always had Oscar to keep us entertained. He loves his auntie now ... we even took a nap together.

And now I will let the photos speak for themselves ...

---