Scattered Thoughts . . .

It is almost a year beyond when this occurred but here is the long awaited video of Miss Mac kenzie kayaking with Gee! (Scroll to the bottom of this post for the video.) It was a beautiful sunny day but one more optimally suited for sailing because it was so windy. Adam was out on the sailboat so Sheila and I headed for the kayaks with Lukey and Kenzie. The kids kept track of Adam the entire time we were out there and Adam whizzed by us a few times to say hello.  As we got dressed for the kayaks, Lukey grabbed Papa's NASA ballcap and Kenzie decided to wear Gee's large-brimmed hat. In hindsight, we should have packed the top of Gee's hat with a t-shirt or something so it wouldn't keep sliding down over Kenzie's face. This year, we have hats and stylish sunglasses for the kids.  The lake on this particular morning was very choppy which made any video I captured with a camera mounted on the bow of a kayak very bouncy, wobbly and, unfortunately, almost nausea

Today was another stunningly beautiful day. We expected the rains from the remnants of the tropical storm (named "Bill" according to Sheila) to cause problems for much longer than we experienced. Fortunately, this storm hit us through the night and left us with a beautiful day today. Last night, however, was brutal!  We had high winds and heavy rains while the winds blowing across the lake and toward our house caused a bit of a rise in lake elevation on our side of the lake like a mini-storm surge. The lake completely covered our beach and even made its way up a few steps toward the lawn.  This storm reminded me of terrible storms on the waterfront of Long Island when I was growing up. I laid in bed worrying about the power, the roof and the boats while wondering what the high winds were blowing away from our deck and yard. This house is sort of like a houseboat as it is perched out over the lake so the house was also making many unusual sounds as it was battered by

Whenever we are at the lake house, I try to get up out of bed between 6am and 7am so I can get out on the lake in the kayak. At this time of day, the lake is often so calm it is like smooth glass... there is a mist rising off the lake as the sun rises... it is completely quiet until wildlife slowly wakes for another day... and, after all, it really  is the only time to get the chance to see the lake come alive as it does only each morning. This past week we had one particular morning which provided us a beautiful morning on the lake with the grandkids. This is something I typically do alone with my photography gear stowed on my kayak but this past week we had a chance to get out with the grandkids too (unfortunately, the grandchild used up the space for my photography gear). To capture this first time early morning excursion with the grandkids, I had a camera mounted on the bow of my kayak. Lukey was in my kayak while Kenzie was with Gee in her boat. Sheila's parents met us on th

As I wrote in a previous blog post, we had quite a few guests the other day and some beautiful weather for this busy day.  Although I actually shot more than a thousand photos that day, here are a few photos... not necessarily the best... but a quick selection which is representative of the day nevertheless.   Early morning was beautiful... we quietly paddled the lake in our kayaks as the morning mist rose from the lake and the rising sun burned through the night mountain fog.  By mid-morning, the lake was a little windy (and thus slightly cool) but that made for some nice sailing. Lukey actually had a chance to sail for the first time and he enjoyed it immensely! Until now he only got to play on the boat as it sat on its dolly on the back lawn. He actually seemed more at ease in the fast-moving, leaning sailboat than while in a slow-moving, stable kayak. I have some video footage of both this first sailing experience and the early morning kayaking but compiling a video will

We had a very busy day on Wednesday with a visit from Sheila's family. Everyone had a really good time in some magnificent weather on the lake especially the kids.  I'll venture to say that the weather we had yesterday was the most beautiful weather we have experienced in a very long time... perhaps the best ever while at the lake!  It was sunny and clear... it was warm... the lake was calm... the water was clean and warm... it was a perfect day for all water activities and we all took advantage of that by starting our morning at 6am by paddling on the misty morning lake. Sheila had Kenzie in her kayak while I had Lukey in my kayak. Nan and Pop caught up with us on the lake within a few minutes.  When we arrived back at the house, we made some french toast with fresh strawberries. About the same time that we finished cleaning up breakfast, Sheila's brother arrived with his kids. By lunchtime, Liza had joined us as well.   The day was spent kayaking, sailing, swimmin

Our little picnic area on Lake Groton... I wanted to write about this last night but just could not find the energy to do so.  I did, however, manage to post a link late last night on my Facebook page to a small album of photos from our visit to Lake Groton last week.  So, now I will also post that link here and write a little about this latest visit to Lake Groton... First, here is the link to the album...   Lake Groton - 15 Aug 2013. Our original plan was to head back to Groton on Adam's birthday...  August 14th.  Well, the weather didn't cooperate so we postponed the short trip by a day.  Unfortunately, because we postponed the trip, nobody was able to join us.  We still enjoyed ourselves but it was a little disappointing that nobody could make it for Adam's birthday celebration. Putting that disappointment aside, the weather was awesome!  It was a little chilly when the sun was behind the scattered clouds, but the sun was very warm (actually, it was HOT at tim