July 1 2024- an absence appreciated

This evening was not humid. The temperature was relatively cool. The lake was just choppy enough to be fun when kayaking in a cheap recreational kayak. A cool breeze touched me like a gentle massage. I saw the first snowy egret I have seen in two years. Seeing the egret along with witnessing the graceful flight of a great blue heron, and the predatory dive of an osprey, lifted my spirit. 

The Skypainter celebrated the relatively dry air with subtle and calming colors on its sky blue pallet. For 45 minutes my own little world seemed peaceful despite the political, ecological and atmospheric chaos of the time. Gratitude!

Not everyone appreciates the lake for its natural spirit.  I guess that is fair since this lake was created by humans to provide water for Cone textile mills. Although a homeowner's association owns almost all of the land around Lake Jeanette between houses and the lake,  the water is privately owned and leased to the HOA who manages most of the lake's area.  This season a new boat appeared in the small marina drawing everyone's attention to it like a truck would if it had "Fuck You!" in large letters painted in iridescent orange on the side of the 16-foot trailer. The boat is decked out with a 20+ foot mast with a pirate flag, a stuffed sailor at its base and a flag attached to the back of the shelter with images of skull and bones. It did elicit a smile the first time I saw it. But, once was plenty.

The boat consists of two pontoon boats tied together. One of the boats has been customized into a living room/bar with a wooded and roofed shelter, leather seating, AstroTurf carpet, bar, stereo, and I am pretty sure I saw a TV with a baseball game on it several nights ago. It even has a large potted fern on the deck along with Tiki decorations on the deck and on the sides of the boat.

The stereo is not played loudly, but just like in a bar, it is loud enough that people on board have to talk very loudly over the music such that someone else can perfectly hear conversation more than 100 yards away. And, it seems that the sailors are drinking, even though alcohol is prohibited on the lake.

When the boat starts up after "anchoring," a puff of blue smoke and engine fumes waft across the lake and the engine fumes follow it along as it sails slowly across the lake, causing coughing by a kayaker in the wake. 
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The boat is out on most days or evenings, usually with a group of boisterous people.  For me, and perhaps only me, the boat is as in-congruent to the spirit of Lake Jeanette as a car graveyard would be in Yellowstone National Park. I think most of us in the Lake Jeanette community value the beauty of the lake, or quiet fishing on the lake, or just appreciate the conservation area around it.  A few, maybe many,  would probably rather have the lake as a loud floating sports bar with the roar of jet skis and ski boats.

I was disheartened yesterday when I found out that the owner of the attention grabbing pirate boat is none other than the lake's owner.  I do not know the owner or anything about him and his son who are the officers in the LLC that bought the lake. They probably are great people and definitely like to have fun. But, nonetheless, I have felt like on other days the boat, the noise, and the pollution associated with it, are akin to a landlord having skateboarding tournaments and an open bar in the hallways of an apartment building they own. I mean they own the building.  But, the water, unlike the tenant, truly has nowhere else to go.

 I am saddened by the bird and insect populations declining around the lake (and globally). And I mourn the absence of few cormorant couples who used to summer here. These are absences that sometimes leave me empty. 

Some absences, though, can help a spirit smile- such as a boat not sailing. The pirate boat did not sail on this night. My spirit smiled a bit brighter under the muted glow of the Skypainter's subtle painting, and only hearing, mostly, the calling and singing of birds. The absence of the boat was appreciated. I am grateful.

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