An Idyllic Summer Morning

West Lake

I should have known when the blueberry muffins turned out so well that our trip to the lake would be perfect. I am no baker, usually forgetting an ingredient or trying to substitute something unworkable; so perfect baking is a good omen.

Every summer, we make a few trips to West Lake, a provincial park only 15 minutes from home. We brew coffee, usually buy muffins on the way (a surplus of blueberries and milk called for the home-baked kind), take our books and our portable lawn chairs, and off we go for a couple of hours of early morning quiet and soul-renewing scenery.

The beach is quiet, usually until around ten, when the mothers with kids start to arrive; by eleven on a warm summer day, it's really filling up.

This morning, we were not the first to arrive, as we often are. A lone canoeist, possibly in his late sixties, had already paddled the 3.5 miles to the end of the lake and back and was taking his canoe to his car. We chatted briefly with him and moved on to find a spot beside the lake, amongst the trees.

After settling  down with book, coffee, and muffin, I looked up to see a loon directly in front of me, quite close as he dove for fish. I tracked his path across the water - he would dive and re-surface maybe fifty feet further on. He made no call, but his beauty more than made up for it.

The fish were jumping, and at the water's edge, we could see dozens of fish, from tiny minnows to larger fish, maybe 5 or 6 inches long.

That many fish means eagles hunting, and there are several nesting eagles at the lake. We have sat on occasion with one directly above us in the trees. They are so majestic, circling, looking for fish, then swooping down, pulling a fish from the water. We could see one later in the trees on the shore, eating his catch.

The other notables were big yellow butterflies and bright blue tiny dragonflies.

People sometimes ask whether I miss life in Vancouver, sitting on Robson at an outdoor cafe, relaxing after shopping, and watching the crowds walk by. And sometimes I do - urban life has much to offer.

But on days like today, I would rather be nowhere else than beside West Lake, drinking coffee, eating my perfect blueberry muffins, and watching the wildlife.

(The pictures of West Lake are mine from a couple of years ago; the picture of the loon is not.)

Coffee and Bordeaux? Neaux, Neaux!

According to a May 2010 article in the New York Times Style section by Eric Asimov, Bordeaux is no longer popular among younger wine drinkers, who perceive it as stodgy and fussy, a drink for rich older people, a wine with not much excitement to recommend it:

Bordeaux, some young wine enthusiasts say, is stodgy and unattractive. They see it as an expensive wine for wealthy collectors, investors and point-chasers, people who seek critically approved wines for the luxury and status they convey rather than for excitement in a glass...

''The perception of Bordeaux for my generation, it's very Rolex, very Rolls-Royce,'' said Cory Cartwright, 30, ... ''I don't know many people who like or drink Bordeaux.'' ...

To be fair, Asimov writes broadly of problems and perceptions of the Bordeaux brand. But according to the article: "For young Americans in particular, Bordeaux has become downright unfashionable."

Coffee is another product beginning to lose its lustre. An article in Mindfood (June 2010) - "Trendy Tea Consumers Revive Industry" by Miral Fahmy - suggests that tea is "attracting younger, more discerning fans."
Elsewhere on the web are instructions and suggestions for different kinds of tea parties (not the political kind!).

On a recent visit to the local mall, I was surprised to see a new tea store, selling prepared tea drinks and loose tea and bags to prepare at home. I was also surprised to pick up a package of Starbucks coffee and see the possible new branding Starbucks Coffee and Tea. Sounds like tea is a slam dunk already.

Trends are interesting things, based as they so often are on the tastes of one's peers and so often not on the actual objective attributes of any particular item, be it shoes, wine, or tea. We all succumb to it.

I have often wondered, though, with my own generation's trends and those of others, just what our preconceived notions keep us from experiencing. How much pleasure and knowledge do we let go by because it's not "in," because no self-respecting________(fill in your own blank here) would ever enjoy something so not in style, so old, so loud, so irresponsible? So passe.

Sometimes it is all about identity. I well remember a friend's then seventeen-year-old son having a near meltdown when his dad won the bet that the son's favourite band's so popular song was a cover of a song from a band of dad's era -  twenty years before.  It wasn't about the song, but about who was cool, who owned cool, who invented cool.

I'd like to have it all - the coffee and tea, the bordeaux and burgundy. Fashion also loses some of its lustre as I get older - but that's probably not so cool - and the word "cool" is probably s-o-o-o o old-fashioned!