Five Years a Writer

It’s a steep climb down to the water, but it’s safe via the steps and the ramp, the grade notwithstanding. Much safer than the original staircase had been, rickety and rotten in places. It had been a brilliant idea to get rid of that contraption and replace it with the short staircase and longer ramp — an altogether easier engineering feat down the 20-or-so-foot cliff face to the lake. Once at the bottom, one arrives on the enormous rock that supports the swim ladder. Though it doesn’t sit true against the rock, it has not moved one inch in the decade-plus that we’ve been using it to get into the lake for swimming. That ladder is as if part of the rock: timeless, solid, reliable. Last summer, the lake was low (see photo) but this summer, the lake is high — so high, the top rung of the swim ladder is often under water, while last summer the very bottom rung was clear. Last summer, the swimming was not appealing, but this summer the dips into the lake for a refreshing cool-off have been...