Mating Dragonfly, Hissing Otter

Sorry to anyone who tried to reach me in the past week.  I went on vacation.  I thought about posting something on Facebook, but I didn't feel like being specific, and "goodbye everyone" sounded more like a suicide note than a reference to my whereabouts.

My whereabouts....

If you wanted to reach me, I was not dead.  Rather, I was cozied up in a cabin not far from the Canadian border, next to a beautiful lake.  No cell phone service, no internet, no newspaper, no television signal.  Only one person who knew the number for the house, and its doubtful whether she even remembered it.  Seattle could have caught fire and we wouldn't have known anything about it.  It was a glorious week with no plans, only a lake, a couple paddleboards, family, friends, a good book and a hot tub.

Not only was there a lake... it was a glassy lake.

I didn't keep track of time, hardly knew what day it was.  I picked my activities, all 5 of them, based on what I felt like doing and whether the paddleboards were occupied.

....

I guess the weirdest part is realizing, now that I'm home with my computer in front of me, that I didn't feel bored the whole time I was there.  There was so much more to do when I didn't have anything to do.  Its like, most days, I have too many choices.  When my choices of what to do where few, it was easy to decide what I'd do next.

Don't worry, I didn't try walking on the ice.

It was also amazing how versatile the paddleboards were.  They were great for exploring the wildlife: easy to move around, fit into all the little inlets.  We saw countless mating dragonflies (or, post-mating dragonflies).  And tadpoles.  And small fish.  And mosquitoes.

But the best of all was the last run on the boards, when I saw a flash of motion.  Otters?  We slid in to investigate, and, lo and behold, otters.  One stood on a log and looked at us for a while, before they both scooted into the bushes.  For some reason, we stuck around, trying to see them in their bush hideout.

Finally, we spotted one on a log.  Next thing I knew, I was looking at a huge cluster of otters on a log, hissing at us and jumping into the water towards us.  Seven, maybe, I wasn't counting.  Looking like they wanted to attack...

I never thought otters could be so frightening.

I can't say I never thought ditching my phone and my laptop for a week would be so relaxing.  I wish it was easier to unplug more often...