Snyder's Flats
Lately I have been travelling to Snyder's Flats to sit by the lake. This is a place of contradiction. There are giant estate homes and aggregate pits right by the site. The site itself was a giant aggregate pit. But now people see it as natural.
There are a lot of hypocritical messages here. There is a big sign that says there is no swimming, but there are life preservers stationed around the lake. You are not supposed to allow your dog off-leash for fear of a $160 (?) fine, but everybody treats this as a leash-free dog park. I don't like this hypocrisy. Part of me wishes that the Grand River Conservation Authority would just accept how people use the space, but my guess is that they just turn a blind eye.
I personally do not mind that Snyder's Flats are a leash-free dog park. I agree that dogs can disturb wildlife, but most dogs keep near the trail, and humans disturb wildlife too. Most dogs are well-behaved enough, and many of them seem genuinely happy to splash in the lake and run along the trails. That's fine by me; I like happy dogs. Of course, there are some dogs (and some humans) who ruin things, which is why I expect Snyder's Flats will never be officially leash-free.
I like sitting by the lake because there are small fishies here. I wish I had a good camera so I could take a picture, because I have tried to identify these fishies on the Internet and I don't know what they are. They are smallish (maybe 10cm long). They have a black spot behind their gills, and their fins are have a teal tinge to them. They hang out by the edges of the lake, and I like them a lot. I think they think of me as a frightening zoo exhibit; several of them will hover near me and swim away if I stand up suddenly. They can also swim backwards, which surprised me. I guess it makes sense that fish would have that maneuverability but I had not realized this before.
I have also seen frogs sitting at the edge of the lake, but I do not see a lot of other wildlife. A few years ago I swear I saw bald eagles circling the sky, but I may have been mistaken.
There is an astonishing lack of ducks and geese at Snyder's Flats, making it quite different from other parks. I suppose the tall unmowed grasses are to blame?
Unfortunately the lake carries sound well, so when there are whiny children or shrieky swimmers they are difficult to ignore.
I guess sitting by a lake is the reason people own cottages? I will never have the money to own a cottage, so maybe this is as good as it gets for me.