Having access to a remote family cabin in Northern Saskatchewan is a very special opportunity. Being surrounded by pristine nature is a humbling experience. The beauty, quiet, and sometimes absolute stillness is unmatched. As my mother-in-law states: “This kind of experience comes with an edge.” The only access to our cabin is by boat. We have no electricity, we pump water from the lake and filter it through a Berkey System, we have a good old fashioned outhouse with no door, we chop and burn deadfall trees for heating, we try to use solar power to access the internet and charge electronics, but that is not consistent so reaching someone in an emergency could prove to be a challenge. And there are those wonderfully wild creatures called bears which makes a middle of the night trip to the outhouse a little unnerving.

When one is used to all things at once and with unlimited access, one needs a period of adjustment to live life another way. The wonderful thing is that once you remember you can exist without all of the tech and without the commitment to social media, life takes on a new and refreshing opportunity. The simplicity and reward in creating fire for warmth, water to drink, solar power to charge, and candles to light, gives one a sense of accomplishment and appreciation for energy and how it is created.

The other astounding component of the location of our cabin is the surrouding nature. The more time spent at the cabin, the more I appreciate exploring the lake with Trent on the canoe, the more I start to pay attention to the different kinds of birds, wildlife and plants and geology. My absolute favorite times are the mornings and evenings when the lake is calm like glass and the reflections on the water coupled with the sun, moon, stars, and clouds give me so much joy. Being in nature is so great for the soul.

I am also grateful for the times spent with family at our cabin, swimming, canoeing, playing cards, projecting, enjoying food and beverages and there is that daily jump in the lake ritual. Let me tell you that the water is COLD, but so strangely refreshing and healing. Ater you breathe and count to 30 (and hopefully have a sunbeam to point your body in), it can be quite nice and very refreshing.