The house that my awesome in-laws live in is a simple bungalow on a cliffy edge of the lake.
Perched comfortably close to the shore it has just enough yard to maintain a small and very productive vegetable garden. And some years they get to start planting in MARCH!!! While I’m lucky if I get my tomatoes outside by June something… ahem, pardon the tangent.
I love this butterfly, made by a local artisan of whom there are several in the area.
The house is simple and stylish, with a wood stove, lake water, and framed with my mother-in-laws awesome quilts, that *I* think she should sell on ebay, but she says take too long to make.
Psychedelic
The rear of the house is pretty much all glass to take advantage of the view which often takes my breath away. The lake never stays the same going from a glassy smoothness to an angry chop, accompanied by incredible sky panoramas. Imagine drinking your coffee on this deck and watching the lake and the eagles gliding lazily overhead. No words can explain the tranquility and something in me is flat out awed at the beauty.
View from the window
Wooden steps lead down to the water which is best enjoyed from a boat since the deep lake never gets warm enough for me to even consider swimming in. A cool splash on a sweltering day? Sure. A dip, no thank you. We used to take a canoe down to the water, but now we have a kayak to enjoy, and let me tell you, kayaking on a gorgeous lake is one of the best ways to spend time in the whole world.
Steps to the water
And of course there is the time to hang out with their huge and wonderful Australian shepherd dog Mysqua, who adopted them over a vigorous campaign one year. See she used to belong to a couple living nearby, and did not really receive the attention and training she deserved. Blessed with size and heft – she’s over 100 lbs easy, she quickly became too unruly for the owners to bother with, and she did as she pleased. What she pleased to do is go over to my in-laws house and hang out with their departed dog Kelsey. To accomplish this she would vigilante out of her yard and come over to hang out with her friend. They had two older animals at the time, and had less than no desire to take on a new boisterous dog, one that was very smart, but also untrained and full of energy. But the universe and Mysqua worked their magic and one day the owners came over to see if they’d consider adopting her. And eventually they did. They trained her and walked her and shed a ton of attention on her, and she is a wonderful addition to the family. No fool she, she knew how to pick ‘em.
Mysqua
Her buddy Kelsey
But the overarching point of these two posts is not just to showcase an amazing place to live for those lucky enough to do so, but also to lament to the fact that our cities can be such ugly and soul sucking places. And they don’t have to be. The world teems with examples of cities and towns that do very well with urban planning and create beautiful places to live and work, and intermix nature into the desing instead of paving her over with concrete. There is something in us that yearns for natural places, the beauty of the wild, and something in us gets restored when we commune with it. Even most vacations are centered around nature – tropical beaches, green golf grounds, rugged ski hills. We head out to the parks and campgrounds. When we go there we come back recharged and refreshed. It’s a shame not to be able to live in such a way that a gorgeous view greets you in the morning. My garden as fun as it is simply does not compare, or it is not enough to fulfill that urge. So I drive to places like the Kootenay Lake and get sad when I have to say goodbye. Do you have a special spot that restores your soul? Are you lucky enough to live in one?
Going back
PS I also wanted to mention a blog by an area photographer which showcases the incredible beauty of the area, and whose wildlife, unlike myself, he consistently manages to capture.