It’s the second anniversary of our Island Thanksgiving Sunrise Paddle. The sunrise paddle is a tradition we had in Ottawa, on the waters of Meech Lake. Last year we brought it to the Island and even without the coloured trees on the side of the lake, we had a spectacular sunrise.

This year, although very different from 2020, was still a wonderful way to give thanks. We were on the water by 6:30 and enjoyed the quiet morning paddling. The birds, ducks and geese had lots to say, there was barely a breeze and even though the thermometer said 1°C, it didn’t feel very cold.

There was a very dark and large cloud bank over Thetis Island that created quite a dramatic scene during the twilight.

We thought it would obscure any type of sunrise, but we were pleasantly surprised. About 7:15 am the sun starting lighting the top edge of the clouds. It looked like there was a string LED lights along the edges, and it looked more like a mountain range than a cloud.

We could see some ‘God Rays’ starting to shine as the sun started climbing closer to the edge of the cloud bank. It was wonderful to see how the light and colours changed by the seconds as we could see the day dawning, as the sun finally rose above the clouds.

We said hello to a new day, reprising the iconic photo from last year.

It’s a great tradition and we hope to repeat for many years to come!