I Fell Out of the Boat, Which Wasn't So Bad, Except for My Knee

We spent a week with Anne's brothers and their wives and our son Leo and his wife and various relatives and dogs at Anne's brother's cabin near Canadice, NY. Andy, Anne's brother, likes to go on the lake with a small boat and motor and just putt around. Canadice is a restricted lake in that it is part of the water supply for the City of Rochester, so you're not supposed to make contact with the water; no swimming, wading or anything. So, when we were coming back to the take out spot, Andy asked me if I would put on the waders and pull the boat in. "Sure, no problem," so I slipped into the waders and when we got close, I put one leg over the side and promptly slipped, landing on my left knee, which was just recovering from a prior fall. At this point my right leg was still in the boat being difficult to extricate while I was floundering around trying to get up. I almost succeeded when Andy, seeing the my leg was still in the boat, freed it and sent it overboard, whereupon my efforts to right myself were thwarted and I fell again. Fortunately, the water was only about ankle deed, but I felt like a walrus flopping around. Also, fortunately, there was only one other boater there to witness this debacle and he was very kind about it and didn't laugh until he was far away.

Andy and Art, another of Anne's brothers, decided that a shower was needed at the cabin, so Andy built an outdoor shower consisting of a wooden framework with a bucket that you fill with water and then raise with a rope and pulley until it is above you. There is a lever at the bottom which you operate to let the water fall on you. Art made two kettles from old propane cylinders for heating the water (don't worry, he knows how to cut them without causing an explosion) and he dutifully sat by the outdoor fire making hot water for anyone who was brave enough, or felt dirty enough, to venture into the shower.

Now the shower is in the woods and no one can see you in it, so it had no sides until some of the ladies protested causing tarps to be erected. The water was another concern. It was fairly clear when it came out of the spout (well water), but after it was heated, it took on the color of something from the Big Muddy. I thought I would at least look like I had a nice tan and the gray would have been washed right out of my hair, but, alas, by the time we got home and took proper showers, I look once again like a gray haired paleskin. Despite this, the shower worked surprisingly well and at least gave you the feeling that you were taking a nice, hot, clean shower, out there in the woods