An early autumn chill on Arbutus,
ending over a century of pristine serenity.

Described as a jewel among the nation's many lakes, Arbutus is a smaller, unpretentious lake. And for over a hundred years, it has inspired its residents to conserve its quiet grace.  Little boys and girls who once summered in an Arbutus camp, have now  returned to build cottages  quietly hidden behind groves of pine...preserving the views for the developers who do not, and cannot know  that Arbutus is  a way of life.  

For four, five generations, it has been a legacy passed on with few words, and even fewer questions:.  When you were 12, you simply knew  it as that summer warmth so golden on your back. You take in the crisp, piney air, and brace for that first dive into the crystalline water.

And another generation later, it is the silent promise to your child, as you row  behind his first swim across Third Lake - just as you once did -  and it really has little to do with proving anything, but to share in this rite of passage.

Arbutus is that wordless smile between you, satisfied, just sitting on the western shore and scrunching the sand with your toes . You squint into the sky.  

Yes. That was a good swim.

Photo :   Western Shore of Third Lake  by Dave Brautigam
overlaid with a simulated condoplex