sunny hours

"let others tell of storms and showers, i'll only mark your sunny hours." -- sundial motto

the red flag was blowing in the wind on this lake michigan beach keeping swimmers on shore.  the breakwaters made a perfect stopping place for hundreds of gulls and a few sunbathers.

no wake zone

"there were little traces of sunny clouds all over the heavens, and little fleeces of foam all over the sea." -- herman melville, redburn



a weekend jaunt to chicago to watch g'daughter Maura play in the national soccer tourney included great weather and successful matches.  a side trip to lake michigan was enjoyable but i wished i'd have taken my boat afterall.  never enough time for everything, but the time together was wonderful. 

called back

"neither will the wave which has passed be called back; nor can the hour which has gone by return." -- ovid, ars amatoria

this time last year the lake was at flood stage, but last night it was at permanent pool 742' and with a stiff south wind blowing in hot air the run to the west beach was good for an evening's workout. it was too hot to even take pictures. i did have the lake all to myself though.

whimsy

artists abound in all forms and this use of discarded lakeside hardware could only be labeled whimsy.

"waves of serener life pass over us from time to time, like flakes of sunlight over the fields in cloudy weather." -- henry david thoreau, a week on the concord and merrimack rivers.

burning books

 "There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” - Ray Bradbury (1920-2012)

with his book, fahrenheit 451, ray bradbury caught my imagination and piqued my interest in science fiction years ago.  i realized that everyone is a book, with some more interesting than others.  how we create a storyline and weave a plot makes the book worthwhile to read or not.  it's not an opinion that people have that upsets me now but how well researched it might be.  "better dead than unread."  rip ray, on whatever planet you land...  "'The world was bankrupted of ten million fine actions the night he passed on.'

sail on

 "o my brave soul! o farther, farther, sail." -- walt whitman, passage to india

sometimes life has to include challenges to make you feel alive, and although lately that has meant only wind and waves, last weekend was a chance to put the football pads back on one more time and play.  the alumni football game against PCM provided another chance to strap on a helmet and make one more tackle.  being the oldest player in the country to compete wasn't too daunting because my friend stripbuilder is 65 and won the everglades challenge against much younger competition.  unfortunately there were so many players that just when i was getting warmed up someone else wanted in to take my place.  i guess i'll have to stay in shape and try again next year... sail on, sail on...

clean up, fix up, paint up

"with an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things." -- william wordsworth

the peace tree is now painted by the many sea birds that call it respite from the wind and waves..