The lake is as calm as someone sleeping. The water, as I slip into my wetsuit and step down the swim ladder, is warmer than the air so it is like sinking into a dream. And, above me the sky is dancing with aurora borealis, the northern lights.
I had a lot of dreams on those long winter nights in the years before we bought the Little Dipper — dreams of beach picnics, and sunrises, and summer swims. But the real dream, and the one I kept mostly to myself, was to be on board, engine off, in the dark, with the waves of the northern lights breaking overhead.
Last Wednesday night, that dream came true. I had not planned on getting off the boat, only lying flat on my back on the deck, hands clasped behind my head, and drifting like a lake-bound cloud. And I did that, for a long time. But the calmness of the water, so still that the stars reflected as if gazing down at themselves in the water, the warmth of the night, and the nudge of another dream took hold.
So, I slip into my wetsuit, climb down the ladder, and swim among the stars.
— Jeff Rennicke (all photography by the author unless otherwise noted)
These Apostle Islands postcards every Sunday are an offshoot of the “Little Dipper” blog. Paid subscribers to the blog also receive an original, full-length illustrated essay delivered right to their inbox every Wednesday. Subscribe. Come along for the ride aboard the “Little Dipper.”
And as always, send me a message by using the button below and tell me your dream.