Pascal Bouillon: The house by the lake

In our imagination, there is a place where everything is just right. We associate this place with memories, with seasons, with experiences and with feelings. I wish such a place for every good person out there, knowing full well that not everyone is lucky enough to know such a place.

My place, where everything is just right, is my tent. It is sometimes here and sometimes there, sometimes for a day, sometimes longer.

 

My tent is my ‘house by the lake’. It would be unthinkable if I didn't have this place.

Last autumn in particular, I realised again how powerful this place is. As soon as I pitch my tent somewhere, I feel content. I don't really need much. Everything I need to spend days, even weeks, outdoors fits into less than five square metres. My house by the lake isn't big, so reducing it to the bare essentials is essential.

I actually wanted to set up my tent at a quarry pond for the whole autumn, which I wanted to fish until the season was over. Things turned out differently and today I'm glad I did. A spontaneous change of plan (whether it was really justified remains to be seen) took me to various waters this autumn that couldn't have been more different. From small quarry ponds to streams, everything was there and there were many special moments in between, occasionally with equally special catches.

 

The view from my house by the lake was not the same every day. Most of the time, however, there was a ‘medium-sized’, still body of water in front of me, with thick fog hanging over it. Yes, it wasn't a particularly fishing-friendly autumn, as there was no wind or weather, but that's no reason to complain. After all, I had the privilege of visiting my lake house 25 days and nights during the autumn months. The manager in me won't believe it until he puts it into perspective: I spent over 30% of my time on the water this autumn. Who would want to moan about that?

 

I manage to find a word to describe each of the 25 days:

Surprise, cohesion, doggedness, anticipation, full moon, new moon, fog, calm, cold, meticulousness, preparation, hope, disillusionment, friendship, solo effort, fun, visit, bus party, mud fight, sunny day, high pressure, current, feeding, blank nights, chapter 29.
The word ‘surprise’ doesn't come first for nothing. Surprises were very present this autumn, but surprises are okay. Especially when you have a constant in your house by the lake that can withstand bad surprises and counter them with good surprises.

 

And I still have a little ace up my sleeve: I'm about to embark on my last adventure of 2024, during which I'll be able to put my house by the lake on red sand one last time before the season is over. No, there's really no need to moan.

A la bien
Pascal