Friends - no masks required

Life is good at the lake.....After being on the road, it's just a little boring to sit in one place...in an area we've lived in for close to 50 years.   I guess exciting and/or interesting isn't always necessary though.   Regular and familiar and peaceful are good too.

The Fantastic Fred stopped by right after we arrived home (he called first and arrived, mask on and social distancing) to present us with a welcome home gift.....a strawberry rhubarb pie and two hand sewn masks.      What did we do to deserve him.

Several others have dropped by to welcome us home.  Most of them have feathers and wings, some with masks, but we are delighted to see them all.     Dave has set up a "welcome" station for them and it is a busy place.

We have delicious seeds and nuts (in a feeder complete with a tail rest for our woodpecker/flicker friends), a nectar feeder, oranges and - of course - a large water feature. 

A pair of colorful Baltimore Orioles have enjoyed the orange halves so much that they moved over to the hummingbird feeder for sustenance until Dave refilled the empty rinds with jelly.    Now they're happy!

the bus boy refills the orange rinds with jelly

Now our super tiny Ruby Throated Hummingbird lady has the feeder all to herself, she appreciates it.  (No, her throat isn't ruby - her exhibitionist mate is the only one with that coloration.)

More and more friends come to say hello each day.    Some fly in, some jump.

Some swim up to check us out or rest on our breakwall after working hard to catch any flying bug.
They know how much I hate flying bugs.

Mr. and Mrs. Merganser work the waters in front of the cottage

families come to visit

a raft of young Buffleheads

we first saw a Spotted Sandpiper in Colorado City a few weeks ago
do you think he followed us?

Dave and Lewis have been doing a few "openning the cottage" jobs.    We pay a couple strong young men to put the docks in, that happened yesterday, but once the heavy work is done there are a few finishing touches left.

view from above
Lewis watches the dock guys from a safe distance

Dave does most of the work but Lewis does a fair job supervising and giving advice on where the chairs go, how he wants his sun umbrella positioned, etc.

He helps Dave reposition the large rocks we use for stairs into the water.    His attention comes and goes, (floating sticks are something he just cannot abide) but Dave knows what he wants done so it doesn't really matter. 

so many sticks to take out of the lake, so many sticks

If we go inside for some reason, even if it's only for a few minutes he hustles past all the windows, looking in for us.    He's a tough task master.   No rest for us, there are things he wants done before it's time to rest.

After all is said and done, we're happy to be able to sit outside, watch the birds, and enjoy Second Cup together.   At the end of our day we love a peaceful Happy Hour on the dock and the ritual after dinner fishing brings joy.   

zzzzzzzzz