Grass and cedars and Canadian Shield rock frame the lake. Sun-dappled waves ripple towards shore, gurgling, keeping time to an invisible metronome, breaking up as they reach land. Mama Duck and her 9 ducklings mesmerize us as they scoot along the shoreline. She’s preparing them for survival—on water and land—with seemingly endless vigilance and patience, especially for the duckling we nickname No. 9 who lags behind, exploring nooks and crannies, then quickly skims across the water surface, like a roadrunner, to catch up with his family. Mid-afternoon swims cool us from the sun’s searing rays, and dragonflies hitch [...]