Day 8: processing
This is the view of Lake-of-the-Woods from our room at Best Western Lakeside Inn in Kenora. It costs $129 for the night, including breakfast. We arrived before 4 p.m., agreeing we both wanted quiet time. We had a glass of wine and sat on our beds, mesmerized by shimmering afternoon sunlight on the gentle waves below. Now Danny is snoozing and I am processing-images and memories.
Singer-songwriter Heather Bishop, keynote speaker at the banquet on the final evening of Unison Festival, suggested the queer choruses thrive because they have retained the sense of community so many other queer organizations have lost in recent years. It's the truth. The weekend was an emotional rollercoaster for many delegates, but we were collectively in love as the festival ended. I felt ambivalent about my decision to retire from singing. I would probably continue were it not for my resolve to focus on writing. I have learned I can't do so effectively while also memorizing and rehearsing music. But perhaps the retirement need not be permanent.
Unison has decided to form a national organization, instead of passing the torch from one city to another every four years. The 2014 event will take place in Ottawa, which won't be as demanding financially, to me personally or to the Rainbow Chorus. I would like to participate. We'll see. These festivals have been intensely memorable.
There is a challenge not to become depressed after the farewells are said. I felt this after Toronto in 2002 and Montreal (the international event) in 2004. Fortunately Danny and I have these few days to ground ourselves before returning to the routine.
I want to write more about my experience of Winnipeg, overwhelmingly enjoyable, over these past few days. Hopefully I will have time.
Danny's parents are incredibly sweet. We did not out ourselves about the nature of our relationship (they are elderly and Catholic and have been supportive of him and Bill, which seems enough to ask), but we felt they understood. From his mother, who is frail, I felt as much warmth and empathy about the situation as my own mom was ever able to offer. I hope I will see them again.
This morning we started early for Oak Hammock Marsh, a hotspot for waterfowl, gulls, terns and sandpipers. Despite intense wind, we checklisted an impressive 35 species between 8 and 11 a.m. Danny, who is not an avid birder as I am, was delighted. It was thrilling for me to see more unusual species than expected. At least two-clay-coloured sparrow and Wilson's phalarope-were life birds, and perhaps some others as well (I won't know until I check my records). The latter was in breeding plumage, as were the willet and American avocet. We saw six duck species-gadwall, mallard, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler, canvasback and lesser scaup-plus red-necked grebe. American white pelicans came as a surprise to me; we rarely see them in Ontario, and I had assumed their range was semi-tropical. Today we observed a small flock circling lanquidly on the wind. I was delighted to see black terns in great numbers (I believe I saw one once at Point Pelee). Numerous and glorious were yellow-headed blackbirds; I know for sure the only one I ever saw before was by Lake Okanagan in British Columbia when I was 16. What a satisfying morning!