My Watermark is Murtle Lake, British Columbia.

In 2001, I went on a fishing trip with my aunt, uncle, and father. It was the first time I had ever been scared for my life in a canoe. There was a lot of wind coming through on a giant lake that was so big, it had it’s own weather system.

We were paddling across it, and I was a little shaking and scared. I wasn’t strong enough to paddle as hard as I needed to, and all of a sudden we are in the middle of a lake and I see a loon, then another loon, and another, suddenly we’re surrounded by them. I’ve never heard of a flock of loons before, I didn’t think that was a thing, but it was kind of magical and really exciting. The fear that was in my stomach about drowning went away, because I was surrounded by all these wonderful creatures and I was not the only one there to witness it. My dad and uncle who spent their whole lives in this canoe, had never seen anything like it.

I could have been scared and started crying and complained that they put me on the boat when I was not strong enough, but all I could talk about after were the loons that I was surrounded by. It was amazing. It stuck with me forever and every time I returned I look for that, and every time I see a loon, I’m looking for three or four more. It really struck me that so many birds can live in one place happily.

10 years later I went back, I was grown up and I returned to Murtle Lake with my aunt, uncle, and their daughter, Brooke. Brooke was the same age as I was the first time I had been to Mertle Lake. We were able to explore all of the same places together, the same rocks, running away from the same mosquitos, catching the same fish, and being in the same canoe. It was really nice to relive some of my most fondest childhood memories. I didn’t get to see 100 loons again, but I did get too see ospreys, eagles, moose, and other amazing wildlife, in addition to meeting other people who were enjoying the same experience. It felt like nothing had changed.