My family got me the perfect Father’s Day gift this year. First, some background.

Living, as we do, on Prince Edward Island, we have access to some beautiful beaches. I spent my summers as a child at a cottage near a beach, and we visit the beach lots now that I have kids of my own.

I don’t actually like the beach. The air is too hot, the water is too cold (and there are things in it), there’s sand everywhere. There’s no coffee shop. One star.

What I learned in the past few years, though, is that if you add a stream to a beach, my opinion changes dramatically. There are two beaches we frequent in the summer that both have a small streams that runs from an inland pond, across the beach, and out into the ocean.

These streams change dramatically day to day, depending on the tides and currents. One day, a stream might run straight down the beach to the ocean. Another day, it might wind down the beach, parallel to the ocean for up to one or two hundred meters before meeting the ocean.

This running fresh water gives you something to mess around with. If you dig a shorter path for the water to take from stream to the sea, gravity will take over. Your little canal, no wider than your hand, grow larger and larger and can completely reshape the flow of the stream.

I love this. I can dig this miniature mega-projects for hours. I last for twenty minutes at a beach with no stream. Add a stream, and I’m in for the day.

So, my family got me a mini-shovel for this beach digging. It’s a glorified beach-toy, and I can’t wait to use it. Like many great gifts, it’s something I thought about getting, but felt it was a silly indulgence and never bothered to actually buy it myself. I love it!