On are last visit to Moose Lodge (on a second bear patrol), I snapped some photos to help our visitors envision Moose Lodge. Those of us who hunt and fish have one of these “homes away from home”. One of those spots where you can return to year after year and it still feels like the most welcoming place on earth – mouse droppings and all!
It is a place where life’s lessons are passed down from generation to generation.
I remember a time (as a kid) when dad decided it was time for me to learn a lesson about not fearing the dark. The stage was set and it was to be at an old tamarac that grew beside our water well outside the camp.
The path to this well always seemed dark – even in broad daylight. Sometimes, the only way you knew your were at the well was when you reached this tree and looked at down at your feet. The round lid of the well would be revealed by brushing away the tamarac’s soft yellow/brown needles.
After a filling supper, dad handed me a flashlight and a water pail and sent me down the dark pathway of doom. I could hear grandpa chuckling behind me as I nervously shut the cabin door and met my destiny. When I got my feet to actually move in the direction of the well and the lights of the cabin windows grew faint, I came to a realization.
I was scared.
The water pail rattled in my shaking hands. The quietness of the night amplified every noise. I was sure I was being stalked by something. Then in the darkness ahead I could see the tamarac. There was some relief in reaching the well as I took it’s soggy, wooden lid off to reveal the water below. I skimmed the surface of the water to remove the tamarc needles before reaching deep below the surface to fill my pail. I pulled the pail away from the well and placed it on the ground to inspect it’s contents before retreating to the sanctuary of the cabin. The light showed that there were still tamarac needles in the water. Naturally (without thinking), I poured it all back into the well to try again. The dark hid the sand that stirred up when I poured the pail of water back into the well.
I never checked my second pail of water before I ran back to the cabin. When dad looked at the muddy water I hauled up he was disgusted. Grandpa began to laugh again-except harder. I could swear that dad was snickering to himself as he looked away and poured that water down the drain.
The sand did not settle until the next evening. I found this out because I was sent on another mission along that darkened trail to the well and this time it did not seem as dark. I found out that there are more important things to worry about than being alone in the dark..like sand in your coffee water and tamarac needles in the well.
Sorry about the ramble here are some more pictures of Moose Lodge. Click on any picture for a larger view.
