rain, rain, rain.......... and more water every day. the lake is kicking out 60,000 cfs and the down stream on the des moines river is now "way down stream".... with a kayak you can put in just about anywhere now... if only there was time in the week.
with weather finally breaking to sunshine an uncharted morning on whitebreast creek (lake) found stripbuilder caged by the 92nd ave bridge's girders. a four hour round trip, with a southern terminus on s45, was a welcome return to activity in the flooded fields southwest of town. it could have been a three hour tour~~~~~~
i went to a garden party and all my old friends were there... there was magic in the air. this summer is the year of the hydrangea macrophylla or "nikko blue" hydrangea. we have never seen such color and blooms before so the "planets must be aligned". with flooding and constant rains we are seeing colors never before experienced. acid soil produces blue ones and alkaline soil promotes pink.
the lilies are not just in the valley this year. with a colorful array of varieties the raised bed is vibrant, if only in better view from the deck. 
late evenings on the backwaters of red rock lake can blur the lines between heaven and earth.
in the republic of ireland the official language is gaeilge or as english speakers refer: irish/gaelic. still after two trips to ireland i can only pronounce "thank you", and that with some dispute. it depends if you are in county clare or county mayo, rather like dialects of english in the US. our trip to the emerald isle again was met with sunshine and friendly faces...... and this year a few pints of guinness in dublin. it is difficult to describe the beauty we encountered but i'll try with a few pictures.
kayakers paddling along the giant's causeway in northern ireland made me wish i'd have taken my folbot along, but so did every stretch of water along the coast and every "lough" or lake.
the geometric shapes of the rock formations, raised up along the coast at giant's causeway, proves that there really is a reason to take geometry in school....... couldn't have proven it before this.
the falls hotel lacked the usual "falls" with low water levels and less rain than normal, but the lush countryside was still full of flowers in bloom and "quite lovely" vistas.
sometimes in the course of traveling through this universe we get stuck in the mud, so to speak... it's always nice to regain the flow and appreciate where you've been...
last weekend JC and i paddled from red rock dam to keokuk, 140 miles, in two days. sunday we paddled ~90 miles to keosauqua and monday 50 to the mississippi river. with a SE headwind the long stretches seemed endless, but every turn and every bridge was a milestone to encourage more effort. life seems a bit the same way but i'm not necessarily looking forward to the straight stretches.
