#ThrowbackThursday: A Perfect Day Up the Lake

Recently, someone asked me to describe my perfect day. Here it is. I wake to twinkling reflections of sunlight on the ceiling of the loft bedroom in our float cabin on Powell Lake in British Columbia. The sun rises over Goat Island and the rays bounce off the water.

I brew coffee laced with cream to enjoy on the front deck, watching work boats head up the lake. When summer crowds are gone, we get to have our little piece of paradise all to ourselves. Even in fall when there’s a chill in the air, golden maple leaves shine with a radiant glow.

After breakfast, I work in my floating garden. I grow tomatoes, onions, beets, lettuce, spinach, carrots, kale, chard and herbs. I also grow a wide variety of things in pots on the deck. Just a little weeding and feeding keeps everything in top shape. I pick some fresh veggies to clean and chill for dinner.

While I'm gardening, Wayne often uses his chainsaw to cut wood for our winter woodpile. Wood floats right up to our deck begging to be added to our supply. When he's done I use my log splitter to make stove-size pieces, and the fruits of our labor stack up fast.

Lunch is a quick snack so I can get ready for work. At least that's what I call it. In the summer I like to read on the deck while soaking up the rays. Living in the north makes taking advantage of the sun important. From October to May there aren't many days to see, let alone soak up its rays.

Just before sunset we get our poles and climb in the tin boat. We troll out into First Narrows and over to the waterfall. If we're lucky we catch a trout. And lucky for him, we catch and release. If we aren't lucky, we still catch a beautiful sunset over the Bunster Hills.

Dinnertime is my favourite. Wayne is the cook and BBQ is his specialty. We start with our garden fresh salad then have our meat right from the grill, maybe accompanied by an ear of corn wrapped in foil. After a meal like that I don't mind washing the dishes.

While summer is my favorite time of year, I've been known to wish for cool evenings. That's because I love a fire in my wood-burning stove. It's so efficient at heating our cabin that it really needs to be a cool evening, or we have to open the sliding glass doors. If the loft gets hot, it’s hard to sleep.

Some people might not think that my perfect day is all that exciting, but sharing it with Wayne in this wonderful place makes it so. If we need a little more excitement, we take our quads out to ride logging roads into some of the most beautiful country in the world, or take our sailboat out for a spin around the lake. Or we can take our Bayliner out on the chuck (ocean), kayak in protected bays and inlets, or hike the Sunshine Coast Trail.

We both worked long and hard at busy city-folk careers as educators. We still work long and hard, but at enjoying our off-the-grid lifestyle. Want to read more?

Go to PowellRiverBooks.com and look at Wayne’s books in the Coastal BC Stories series. Our perfect days just keep on coming. -- Margy