The Canada Day Celebration that Wasn't - Mother Nature had other Plans

 

View of Black Lake from the safety of the 
       lower room as the first of a series of storms 
 blew through the area starting in late afternoon


We just spent the better part of two weeks with various members of our family at Erin and Justin's Black Lake retreat. We had a wonderful vacation, except for Canada Day when a line of nasty storms blew through the area on a track headed further east.  Parts of west-end Ottawa were flooded out by historic levels of rainfall -- more than three inches of rain in less than four hours fell over the nation's capital. 

After an extremely wet June, facing an already high lake level, Black Lake rose four inches overnight causing the boat dock boards to submerge and then pull free of the frame as waves from the storm pulled the retaining bolts through the metal frame.  Back-breaking labour aided by a windsurf board for extra leverage, allowed Justin, Charles and I to raise the dock by eight inches to keep deck boards in place and the boat from floating away. 

The dock that later submerged and
the boat that wouldn't start

It was a bad omen when earlier in the day Justin's boat wouldn't start and had to be tied back up to the dock after push off. Flooding problems with the engine are the bane of Justin's existence! Later in the week the boat started fine and ran well during several family tours of the lake. 

It was the story of Upstairs - Downstairs throughout the night of July 1st as repeated storm warnings screeched over the phone, including two tornado alerts. Around 9:00 at night we had the Campbell and Bertrand families join Mary-Ann and I in the downstairs bedroom which is surrounded by four solid cinder block walls with no exposed windows. 

 The king-sized bed was filled with small grandchildren, Grams, Anna who is expecting a baby boy, and me. To say we were fully loaded is an understatement. The older boys flaked out on mats on the bathroom floor. Various adults lined the perimeter walls. Joanie, the family dog lay partially under the bed until someone stepped on her tail and with a yelp, she decided to join the boys in the bathroom. This accommodation arrangement persisted for over an hour until the tornado alert ended, then everyone dispersed to the upper level of the cottage -- until the alarm went off again around 10:00. Back they all trooped for shelter from the storm, but this time it passed quickly without high winds and the group trudged back upstairs.

We hope everyone  had a Canada Day that wasn't quite as disruptive as ours. Mother Nature has a way of rearranging plans and you're best to heed her when she turns ugly. 

Anna and Charles and Erin and Justins'
families enjoy afternoon Smores around the camp
fire before the Canada Day storms hit the lake



Comments

  1. Lisa EstallJuly 16, 2026 at 6:19 PM

    That area was getting the worst of things. A storm from the north and another from the west following up the St. Lawrence. Glad everything came through ok. Although it stormed in Pembroke, it was nothing like your neck of the woods. Happy blogging. L.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kevin in KanataJuly 17, 2026 at 5:46 PM

      Thanks Lisa -- glad you were spared the worst of it up in Pembroke

      Delete
  2. Scott ShackellJuly 17, 2026 at 6:48 AM

    Crazy weather indeed - would’ve been a tight squeeze downstairs had our family spent the night Canada Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kevin in KanataJuly 17, 2026 at 5:45 PM

      We would have found a way, but it would have been tight -- maybe room in the shower for Chloe

      Delete
  3. Kathryn WitneyJuly 18, 2026 at 6:35 PM

    Good thing the lower bedroom was constructed! It sounded like quite the adventure! Thankfully you were all safe!

    ReplyDelete

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