Postcards From the Lake: Lazy Summer Days

Summer is moving so quickly -- too quickly for me. It seems we got a late start. Well, a funky start, at best. It got very hot too early; then very cold. And finally, it was well into June with commitments and I didn't get to the lake till July 1! Now I'm dreading the fact that soon we'll be counting down. 

But not yet!

Rick's Laundry

Filling you in on a bit of summer must begin with a look at my lake buddy, Harry North.

I've seen him several times, gently stalking down the beach.

He can be hard to capture. He's very skittery. I suspect he's not quite as used to people coming into his orbit for a photo shoot as Harry the Heron down at home is! So, I hide behind trees.

I've seen him several times, stealthily sneaking out of the house (no door slam or fast movements); quietly stalking him as he stalks his prey (no doubt the small minnows that swim close to shore.)

But the stalking doesn't last long. One false move and....

He's off!

I eagerly await the next sighting1

In other "news," I finished the London puzzle. One piece is missing.

It's a border piece and I'm pretty sure I had it -- but not positive. It could be the victim of cat vandalism but somehow I don't think so. I think it's missing. SO frustrating!

I loved doing this puzzle by Galaxy Puzzles but have some complaints -- first, the photo on the box is only part of the puzzle. Second, the "poster" inside is about the size of a piece of copy paper, which makes reading it very difficult (one almost needs a magnifying glass). And some of the colors are just enough off that it is a bit hard to always find where a certain piece might go. That said, it was a fun one and I'm not liking the thought of taking it down!

I've painted a bit. I think I showed you this before but I touched up the background some since then.

And these poppies will eventually be cut up for book marks for the November sale.

The butterflies were copied (sort of) from a botanical print. Art camp is coming up and I can't wait to see what all we come up with!

I came home for a few days to get Nancy headed back to Colorado and to go through the colonoscopy ritual. (All was well.) For those who know about this, you've always had to drink this wretched yellow liquid the day before, along with a clear liquid diet. Now they have pills. And water. Lots of water. I drank enough over two days to drain a small pond. But it was better than the yellow stuff (which, actually, probably tasted a good deal more like that small pond!)

I spotted this one on my walk the other day. I'm now up to two miles. Isn't it a cheery bloom?

And these were by someone's trash. I so happily remember the days when my cousins and I would water ski from sun up to sun down. We were young, strong, agile and fearless!

Cousin David from Cleveland was north with a group of his friends and after they left he came down for dinner, along with Cousin Jack. We waited till too late in the day to get a good photo but here you have the three cousins, all born within 10 months of each other. 

And here we are at the lake in our carefree days. I think all three of us would be happy to split the difference and be in our mid-thirties again!

Finally, I wrapped up another trip around the sun. In the morning Rick paddled on the kayak around the lake and brought back a few water lilies to start the celebration! Now, is that a good way to start the day or what?!

 

Later we went to see the well-done film "Oppenheimer," because seeing how the world could end just seemed like the right thing to do. After, we enjoyed a splendid bottle of wine, courtesy of Greg, and a terrific dinner -- steak, caprese salad, wild rice. We had a cherry pie but were too full to eat! And lots of good, lovely talk in the evening. It was a terrific way to kick off a new year!

 

And, we enjoyed the first fire in the fireplace this season. (Which really is too early for a fire but it was a nippy, rainy day!)

Well, enough rambling! Time to get on with a new day and a new year. 

Gotta fly!

Sharing with:    Love Your Creativity