Monday June 24th

Hnausa PP was a bit overcast this morning, but it soon cleared. I had a quick breakfast and then took my kayak off the top of the truck and got everything ready for a paddle. The lake was calm and the high cloud was clearing. I paddled to the Hnausa dock and then back and all the way around the bay to the public beach on the other side. It took about 2 ½ hours all told. So peaceful and beautiful. I saw a bald eagle catch a fish and lots pelicans near a fishing boat. There is a commercial fishery here – I learned later that they were fishing for pickerel (the season is just ending) and whitefish using a net system with two markers.

The pelican are huge – they are at least as big as the white swans you see at Stratford, if not a bit larger. When they fly, they look just like fighter jets – flying in formation – and with a sense of power. They also sometimes fly in line, one after the other, and I’m sure that they flap or dip right after the bird in front – it looks a bit like a linear game copycat. I keep trying to get a picture, but can’t get a close enough shot to look like anything.

There are many beautiful cabins, cottages, and homes along the lake front – but older, not modern.

After my paddle I sat in the shade by the edge of the lake with my lunch. I had too much sun so felt a bit done in. Spent the afternoon sleeping and housecleaning my little home. It did very well without any hookups. The solar panel worked a treat to charge the battery and the propane did everything else, including providing me with a shower.

Finished a book today – Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich. I’d been keen to read this. Ravens are beautiful birds, and seem to be so intelligent. I kept trying to like the book, but did not warm to the techniques the author used in his research. It’s true that this is not a journal article, but he did not present findings in a manner which would make them credible, and I didn’t like the way he treated living things. For a biologist, he was pretty cavalier about the well being of the animals he used in his experiments. In one case he added a wild caught raven to a group of 4 or 5 which had been living in captivity for quite some time. Then he suddenly realized he had to go away for a while! When he returned, the wild raven had been killed by the others. The author put it forward as an interesting observation rather than the unnecessary tragedy it was. I have to wonder if the Animal Care Committees of the universities he was associated with knew anything about his work! I’m glad to be done this one, and can’t recommend it.

I’ve moved on to Lee Maracle’s I Am Woman. Not an easy book either. It certainly fits with my experiences on Saturday at the Human Rights Museum. Here’s a quote: “Until all of us are free, the few who think they are remain tainted with enslavement”. A very Buddhist sentiment.