RICE LAKE, ONTARIO – It was maybe a quarter to 7 a.m. on our first morning at Elmhirst’s Resort. We were in a lovely, second floor loft at a lovely cottage overlooking Rice Lake, and I woke up to see a soft, orange light glowing in the sky.

Not being one to miss a good sunrise, I threw on a t-shirt and some flip-flops, grabbed my cell phone and scampered down to the dock in front of our cottage.

I could hear some distant Canada Geese welcoming the morning with their familiar honks as I stepped out onto the dock and gazed up at a rainbow sherbet sky with layers of deep pink and orange. There was barely a ripple on the water, and the leaves on the trees hadn’t begun to whisper their greetings to the coming day.