A cloud hangs over the bay,
and Iris looks out on the morning.
She returns with specimens:
seaweed, driftwood, stone.
* * *
A cloud hangs over the bay,
and Akiva drives out in the morning.
Out in the morning, out in the morning. Akiva drives out in the morning.
While Iris and I went for a walk up the Sainte-Marguerite river,
Martin stayed by the bay and played with metal cars with Akiva.
Upon my return, I noticed we were situated in the perfect location for shooting 4×4 truck advertisements!
I made some mock-ups using Toyota advertising slogans and Lorem Ipsum text.
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In the afternoon, we went on a hike.
In the evening, we made popcorn with a cute little popcorn cage that we held over the fire. I made a couple of batches and timed it: six minutes to pop over good coals. Martin wanted to make a batch, so I filled up the cage with corn. Wanting to be a guy and beat my six-minute average, he tossed a couple of logs on the coals to build up a roaring guy-style camp fire. Unfortunately, Martin never did spend much time studying the physics of campfires and did not know that before you get a roaring flame, the logs have to catch fire. Then after you get a roaring flame, you have to wait for good coals or you just burn the kernels. It took him a good 20 minutes of shaking those kernels over the cold fire in an uncomfortable squat position before I relieved his suffering by moving aside the logs to reveal the coals. Sorry, Martin. Sometimes, it hurts to be a guy.
At the sea in the morning, the tide was out,
so we went exploring.
One can walk a long way into the bay of St. Margeurite without getting one’s knees wet.
Far, far out into the bay at low tide, even the bird people had dry knees.
Then we turned and walked up the low-tide river.
Beneath our feet, little green things enjoyed the sun while waiting for the tide to return.
* * *
Later in the day, Iris and I took a walk together.
We discovered an outhouse that would prove to be the only place Martin could poop.
For this reason, I have immortalized it in my photo album with the grand headline,
“Remote Outhouse Saves 50-Year-Old Man’s Colon from Bursting on Week-Long Camping Trip.”
Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos of my mother and brother while they were here.
Fortunately, I did take many photos of Iris wearing Dan’s sun hat at the Cherry River Marsh.
Right here in town there’s a place to rent kayaks. You don’t even have to own one. If you’re happy starting off from the same spot all season— which I am— a person can join for a mere 60$ per season. This includes all the kayak rentals and the PFDs and no boat hauling. And the kids are free. Why didn’t I join at the beginning of the summer? Who knows! But even joining at the very end of the summer was worth it. Both kids wanted their own boats. Akiva would have been happy turning a few circles at the boat ramp and getting out. I promised that if he would paddle down the river until he got tired, I’d tow him back. Because in addition to coming with paddles and PFDs, the boats come with tow ropes for tugging in tired tots. How nice is that!
Looking on the map, one might think that Raymond Road is a road one could drive
from one end to the other.
It isn’t.
Due to a gate at one end and a gate somewhere else in the middle,
the center of the road is able to accumulate a good amount of greenery.
It’s nice.
Looking to photograph a picturesque scene upon the road less traveled,
I ask my children to please run up and down the lane.
They do.
For a good explanation of how Newton’s cradle really works, watch this video:
For my dad’s 79th birthday, I took my children to play at the Point Drouin covered bridge in Compton.
He was unable to come. Happy birthday, Dad!
Whenever I hear the name “Megantic,” I think of this horrible train accident that occurred on July 5th, 2013. I heard about the crash on the radio while driving to Quebec with my one-year-old daughter, Iris, and her father, Martin, the man who I eventually married and remain married to a decent number of years later. Am I not lucky?
Because that was the first I ever heard of Lac-Megantic, the national park and dark-sky preserve will forever be tied in my mind to a train carrying 72 oil tankers that crashed and burned in the middle of a small town. On that day, the beauty of a sky full of stars exploded into an inferno so bright it rivaled the lights of Quebec City as seen from space.
As they say— at least for now— “life goes on.”
We went to the national park & dark sky preserve with our friends, the Maurice Family Girls. It is great to camp with friends and kids! I love it. I did not take any photos excepting on this one day when I was particularly tired. I stayed above on the bridge for a while, using my camera as an excuse to view Claudia and the children from afar. In the entire national park (which I admit we saw very little of), this little river crossing was voted the absolute best place.
The maroon girls work on the mouth of the canal. Akiva attempts various bridges.
Tabéa works on an independent study. Claudia keeps the peace.
Iris fixes the walls of a pond. Tabéa’s tripple-pond complex is revealed.
Back at the canal, bridge construction is not looking good.
Akiva attempts a different style of bridge at the opposite end of the canal from the initial construction.
It works!
Iris says she is all out of English stories.
She begins a series of French stories for Tabéa while sitting atop something tall, hollow, and resonant.
Here I am again! Oh, how I love this place.
I like to take a photograph both with my back to the sun—
—and facing the sun. I love to see the light on the plants and the clouds.
I love the kettle lakes, formed by receding glaciers.
I love my family as they follow me.
To show them my love, I take 137 photos and choose my favorite one.
I love how quiet it is.
When we walk through the bog on the way back, the light has changed again!
I love it!
Iris follows every photographic suggestion. She is the perfect model.
Akiva refuses to pose as I wish. He is a different kind of perfect.
I like the curve of the boardwalk, the light of the late evening sun,
the smile on Akiva’s face as he runs at the camera for 43 more photos.
I chose one of my favorites.
I love this place!
