Sandy Scott Art: #443 In the field: "My Source"

The most important days of one's life are spent when one is young for
that is when the foundations of what comes later is laid. My parents laid
that foundation by taking me to Lake of the Woods, in Ontario, Canada. Later in life I bought a cabin on the north end of an island across the bay from the lodge which we had stayed, many years earlier.

Typically, in the summer and again in the fall, I spend several weeks at the cabin and attached studio.
I'm very busy at the Wyoming studio headquarters this year and must be near the foundry . . . therefore,
I won't open the camp due to a commission for the Briscoe Museum and a fall trip to Africa. I'm not complaining . . .
but O, how I miss the island, lake, and the wildlife!

My island on Lake of the Woods holds a special place in my heart. It represents a place of solitude where loons call, eagles cry from high pine limbs, and moose thrive in bog and muskeg. It is flooded with memories of spring portages, of summers fishing for walleyed pike and warm autumn days hunting ruffed grouse on lonely logging roads.

Above all, this place is "my source": Ravens, jays, pelicans, partridge, ducks, geese, beaver, fox, squirrel, wolf, deer, kingfishers, otter, mink, mergansers, cormorants, osprey, herons, gulls, woodpeckers, black bear, and the ever-present loons and eagles are common in this rugged, watery wilderness. I've experienced these creatures in their domain as the seasons change, for my island has given me a choice seat from which to observe them and the wonders of the great Northland.

Below, is an aerial view of the island . . . the light dot you see is my boathouse.