beluga

beluga

Saturday, June 10, 2017

First swim of the year


Cool air.   Can you see the cool air coming out of the registers here at the lake?  I can't see it either but I sure can feel it.   When the cottage was built the air conditioning unit was installed but not completely hooked up because it was below zero outside.     This morning the HVAC guy came and finished the job, just in time for the weather to change from cool and rainy to hot and humid.   Nice.

Nothing too exciting going on other than that.  We had a nice dinner with Tom and Robin at the Rabbit Room on Thursday.  We borrowed brother Mike's trailer and drove to Victor and picked up bales of pine straw to spread behind the house where it is simply too shady for grass to grow.   I love walking on pine straw.  We'll use it later this week to pick up some wood pallets Dave's old partners have saved for us.    They'll be the foundation of Dave's Lake of Fire (our 3rd of July party) bonfire.



John helped build the last one in 2014 




 We've been monkeying with the driveway (ding dong) alarm which is supposed to chime when someone pulls into the driveway.   It does that, but it also chimes when a motorcycle goes by and sometimes chimes for no apparent reason.   Lewis jumps each time it makes noise so we're trying to fine tune the system to avoid unnecessary ding donging.

Evenings bring the waterbird mom's out with their kiddies.   We really enjoy watching them parade by.   These gals run tight ships and their little ones do exactly as they're told.

Mallard Mom and babies

the Merganser mob

Tonight there was a bit of a traffic jam and Mrs. Merganser had to move her brood out of the path of an incoming Canada Goose family.   They're bigger.


Our Welcome Home Robin is also busy feeding her two (maybe three) babies over our entry light fixture.   We're hoping they are all Robins and not baby Huey's from a lazy Cow Bird like we often had at our farm.

they look like Robins....


a baby Huey fledgling from a tiny Wren's nest at the farm

It was quite hot and humid today.   That's not a complaint, just a description of our weather.   We sometimes take a beach umbrella out to the end of the dock to provide a little shade for our delicate flower, Lewis.  Don't laugh, he's black and wears a very heavy curly coat so the blazing sun is not his friend.    At any rate, Dave and I sat on the dock with our feet dangling in the water, cooling off, and a gust of wind blew Lew's shade over our heads in right into the lake.

Dave, being the gentleman he is, downed the last of his happy hour gin and jumped in and swim out to grab the umbrella as the waves began to take it away.


From the sound of his voice as he came to the surface I knew the water was still very cold.    Anything for dear Lew.


He was very appreciative of Dave's efforts but didn't really want to sit under his now soggy umbrella so he trotted off the dock and parked himself in the shady grass near the cottage.


6 comments:

  1. Brrrrr...get that water was cold! What a good dad!

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  2. I can't believe how many little families entertaining you. They are all so cute:) Love the way the robin is checking you out. How nice of Dave to brave the frigid water to save Lew's umbrella. John said the last time he had to go in and rescue a piece of wood floating away. Ahhh, the Rabbit Room!! Wonderful food:) Good to hear summer finally arrived. We have returned to winter. Heaters are running and the down comforter is back on the bed. The 30's at night are back. We have been in the high 40's and low 50's with off and on showers (and a hail storm today) so we can't do any hiking. I don't mind the low temps;they are great for hiking. But with a shower every hour we can't do much.

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  3. All of those families with babies paddling around on the lake together are so cute! I hope there aren't any cowbirds in the robin's nest....it's just such rude behavior that the cowbirds dump off their eggs for another hapless parent to hatch and raise. I've seen tiny little junco's with huge baby cowbirds hopping around after them crying to be fed. :-( Love the photo of Dave rescuing Lew's umbrella.

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  4. Oh that traffic jam is wonderful! Soooo many babies. I'm not missing the humidity of the east this summer, spending my days in a sweatshirt is wonderful - but sitting on the dock in the evenings sounds pretty sweet. Lew's hero is so funny! Can't wait to see the bonfire this year - someday I want to see the whole ring :-))))

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  5. Love all the babies!

    Too bad Lew isn't trained to swim after his umbrella! I bet the sun felt real good to Dave after that swim!

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  6. Oh my gosh...what a treat to have all the mamas and babies.

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