3 . “Is this making us old or keeping us young?” my husband asked as he lifted the three heavy backpacks from the canoe.

“I don’t know,” I replied. The heat and mosquitoes were getting to me, and I was wondering whether we were crazy to have started a canoe trip during the hottest week of the summer. But even in fall, our canoe trips—while certainly cooler—are no easier.

I’ve always loved getting away from civilization to enjoy the peace of nature, to be on a news blackout (封锁) and to reflect on the past year and the year to come, which is why we’ve been doing this regularly for most of the 38 years we’ve been together.

Now as we’re getting older, it’s getting harder—aching knees, aching feet and aching backs. So, we’re changing our habits. Instead of extreme white-water trips in the far north, we’re going on lake trips closer by. Instead of pulling on the heavy pack myself and rising from a sitting position, my husband lifts it up while I thread my arms through the belts. Along the way, I might stop to admire the green plants beside the path or feel the soft surfaces of the moss, and my husband is usually waiting at the other end, wondering why it’s taken me so long. During the night, we no longer stay up late to see the stars. Instead, we now get into the tent by 9 p.m.—exhausted after one day’s hard work—and drift into sleep listening to birds’ sorrowful call.

Over the years, my canoe-tripping experience has evolved to focus less on the physical and more on the abstract things. Like a solar battery, I store up the energy I absorb from the forest, rocks and waters to help me through the rest of the year. The rhythm of paddling becomes a process of deep thinking rather than an endurance test.

“How long can we continue doing this?” asked my husband at the end of the last trip.

“I don’t know,” I answered, but inside, I thought, “As long as our bodies and minds hold out, I hope forever.”

Collector’s Corner

People collect a wide variety of things, from the obvious ones like stamps or coins, to the less common ones, such as beer bottles or bus tickets. Some collectors spend hours looking through junk shops and build up a collection for a few pence per object, while other collectors might spend thousands of pounds on antiques, fine china or rare （稀有的） paintings.

Some people collect for money, but most people do it for fun. Collecting is basically illogical. If you simply want to listen to Elvis Presley’s first record, you can get a copy at most record shops. A collector, however, will want to own an original 1955 disc, and will be willing to pay for it.

What makes an item valuable? Rarity and condition are the most important factors. A coin or stamp which is worth hundreds in perfect condition might be worth only pence in average or poor condition.

What should you collect? Most collectors begin acquiring things which interest them, and as the collection grows, knowledge of the subject grows. If you want your collection to grow in value, it is probably best to avoid things which are sold especially for collectors. Nearly everybody who buys a set of new coins or stamps will keep them in perfect condition, so that the new coins or stamps will never become rare. The most valuable items are often things which were widely available, but which were usually thrown away after use, such as Coca-Cola bottles or toy cars. An interesting collection can be started very cheaply.

One collector has started a collection of 1950s and 1960s ball-point pens. At the moment it’s worth nothing, but she predicts it will one day be valuable. Ball-points were widely available, and were made in a large range of colours and styles. They were often designed to be thrown away when they were empty. Many people aren’t willing to throw away used pens, and put them in a drawer or box, perhaps hoping they might work again one day. So it is possible to find unusual examples, made thirty years ago or more, for nothing.