Scattered Thoughts . . .

These two loons were fishing out in front of the house this morning. They were hardly above water though. They would come up for some air every two minutes or so but only stay on the surface for about five seconds before diving again. You'd never know where they would pop up for a breath... it could be next to you or it could be 200 yards away. It didn't take long before the morning flies would send me back indoors after each attempt at a photo or two.

I got to do two nice sailboat runs today... (no photos, though, since I forgot to give Sheila one of the cameras)... First, I went out alone to test out the boat and the rigging before I brought Lukey out with me. I wanted to ensure everything was safe. I came about a few times, zig-zagging across the lake and then brought her back in to our beach to pick up Lukey. Lukey and I went out on a longer run... zig-zagging to Boulder Beach State Park before turning downwind for the easy trip back home.  It was some nice sailing and Lukey had a good time. I'm left with legs of jello though. I guess this is a sign of how lousy my health has been... my muscles are weak and easily fatigued. Hopefully I can build up some strength with our summertime activities. Jello legs are no fun.

As happens on most mornings, we had a visitor right outside the house this morning...  I managed to capture a few nice photos this morning. It was not without tons of frustration and struggles though. This camera has been problematic for me for years. I'm not even sure why I am still attempting to shoot with this piece of junk. This morning, I resorted to switching to full manual mode (no Auto ISO, no Aperture Priority, no Shutter Priority, no Auto). All methods of auto-exposure were working incorrectly (white balance sucks on this camera too) and it has always been this way with this crappy Olympus camera. I've said this before but I'll say it again... I'll never buy another Olympus product again.  The other problem I've been having with this crappy camera and the other long distance camera I have is that the viewfinders are far too small for someone who wears eyeglasses. I need to find a new body with a much larger viewfinder or I must switch to ...

The summertime weather finally arrived yesterday afternoon!  After a very nice climb to the summit of Owl's Head Mountain in the early afternoon, we spent the late afternoon and into the evening enjoying the water at the lake house when the wind was calmer and the afternoon sun was warmer. Somehow, the kids managed to squeeze in kayaking, swimming, and fishing. As always, I moved around on the dock surrounding the house shooting photos of all the activities and keeping an eye on things.  As the sun began to set, we started on dinner. (Here is a little secret... keep your guests active and serve dinner late and everyone will love the food!) I grilled chicken pieces after marinating the chicken all day in a lemon, olive oil and herb mixture... we filled out the menu with corn on the cob, fresh green beans and some handcut homefries. I think everyone enjoyed their meal. We really fit a lot into this one day! More importantly, everyone seemed to have a great day! ...

At the trailhead... The grandchildren did their first mountain climb yesterday! The weather was kind of lousy for being at the lake house and beach (far too windy and chilly) but it was perfect for hiking on a trail... it was rather cool... it was windy which keeps the flies away... and it was sunny, clear with unlimited visibility. We decided early in the day that this was the ideal day for doing the short climb to the top of Owl's Head Mountain with the grandchildren. This is a very easy climb and quite short but it provides some beautiful views of our lake and a nearby pond. The kids liked the trail with stone steps... they liked the little toddler-sized caves... and it was short enough to provide a sense of accomplishment while not overburdening them.  When we broke out of the trees at the summit, we quickly realized that this was the perfect day for a climb because the view was crystal clear, colorful and beautiful. Best of all, we were able to spot our lake house...

Kenzie and Lukey stealthily arrived at the lake house this morning. Sheila and I were doing some food shopping in preparation to their arrival but they arrived at the house before we did... We saw Liza's car in our parking area when we arrived home... we pulled the car up to the back door so we could unload the car... but we found the back door to the house was still locked! I retrieved the key we hid for Liza... it was still in it's hiding place... and we entered the quiet house...  When we got to the living room, we could hear unrestrainable giggling coming from the loft... sure enough, Kenzie, Lukey and Liza were hiding in the loft and Kenzie was giggling uncontrollably! Before mommy had to leave for the day to work, we had some lunch. Fortunately, for Kenzie, we had just finished food shopping so we had a full refrigerator of food to choose from... naturally, she chose her usual staple, fresh strawberries... and some Mickey Mouse chips, some cheese, and a small bowl o...

I had originally stepped outside to shoot a few photos of these loons because I saw this pair of loons being illuminated by the early morning sun and the contrast looked great... illuminated loons with darkened water surrounding them. It looked like a great opportunity.  By the time I grabbed my camera, got out on the deck and had found a steady place to shoot, the sun was obscured by clouds... my bright light was gone. The result of dull light is rather dull, flat photos.  Regardless of the dull, flat light, here are a few shots of our resident pair of loons... This loon decided to take off on me and I managed to follow... if there had been more light, these two would have been crisper with less motion blur...  some gee-whiz info... a loon needs up to a few hundred yards to take off! They run across the surface of the water as we see in these photos trying to pick up enough speed to take off. Their short wingspan makes it difficult for them to get airbor...

We got up at 5am this morning... my spine has been killing me... pain through the left side of my pelvis radiating to my hip (I'm even feeling it through my groin... fun times) ... and enough pain that it is keeping me up most of the night so we got up at 5am this morning and, fortunately, we were treated to quite a show! First, we saw blue sky! That is a bit unusual at the lake early in the morning since the lake is often shrouded in fog at this time of day. This morning was beautiful! (It is now overcast, windy and we are experiencing a passing shower.) Next, as I was sitting here at my desk overlooking the lake... with Sheila sitting on the couch beside me... I noticed something floating in the middle of the lake. It looked like a log... then it started changing direction slightly and we were debating whether it was a beaver or something along those lines... we both agreed it was too large to be a beaver...  I grabbed one of the cameras off my desk... the one with the l...