I was driving through our tiny town, taking my dog Katie to her park for a walk when I noticed an early 1960’s Chevrolet Greenbrier van.
A beautiful working truck.
I had to turn around and go back to take a few pictures.
Such simple details.
The owner came out and we talked a bit. He says it runs great.
Classic.
I thanked him for letting me take pictures. It was beautiful and I thought it was perfect for Cee’s challenge.
I’m at my park!
Well! You know how I love my park. So I barked and jumped around her ankles until she got moving toward the car! Heavens, I haven’t been to my park in a long time! Mama says it was only the month of July, because she was gone, but in dog years the month of July is a bajillion years!
If you have a treat I’ll sit!
I had so much to catch up on that I stopped a whole lot along the walk. I had to smell everything! And leave pee-mail for my dog friends. Everywhere. After a long time my mama said, “Come on now Katie-girl, you don’t have to pee on everything. Everyone will know you were here. After all, it’s YOUR park!”
Mama was sort of sad because the only flowers left out there were queen annes lace and (oh no!) goldenrod! She says the summer is slipping away and she can’t figure out how to hold on to it. I told her that the reason the summer was going by so fast was because she’s spent most of it somewhere else! And that she needed to spend the rest of it with me. Me me me me me.
Late summer flower.
But anyway.
The best part of my walk this morning was that I met a new friend! A little girl and her mom and baby brother were out walking in my park! I was resting in some shade when they showed up. The little girl was so beautiful! And she asked the right questions before she came up to me. She asked if it was OK to let me sniff her hand, and then she asked if I liked to be petted!
Only a little of this still in bloom.
Mama told her that she asked exactly the right questions and that it was always important to ask the doggie’s mom or dad first. And that if she petted me on my side I’d like it better than on my head. Mama says she was hoping I wouldn’t back up and shy away, cause I break little kids hearts like that all the time. But I was thinking my mama should just quit talking and let the little girl pet me!
And you know what the little girl said as I was lying down and letting her pet me on my soft fur? She said I looked just like a princess! Isn’t that cool! She knew I was a princess! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, everyone should know I’m a princess, it’s perfectly obvious.
Mama told her she was right, I was a princess! And that we had named the park after me. She smiled and asked if she could get a picture with me. I guess she knows royalty when she sees it! So I sat on a bench and let mama take a picture of the two of us. Mama is going to email it to her mom.
I was having so much fun I didn’t even notice this guy. Do you see him?
It was special and I’m glad I met her. She is a very nice little girl, a princess herself I think. I hope we meet her again some day at my park.
I had a wonderful time and now I’m hogging all the air conditioning in my living room by sleeping on the vent. I’m so glad my mama is home. She says we’re going on a walk with my friend Deuce tomorrow night! It’s about time she gave me the attention I deserve.
Natives and invasive mixed together, on our way out of the park.
I hope you all are having a wonderful summer too. And that you all have an air conditioning vent to nap on.
When are we going back to the park mama?
Home
But we weren’t like that. We rarely shopped together, neither of us were really into it. We didn’t meet for lunch at little coffee shops, though she made all of us lunch thousands of times at home. No, we weren’t the stereotypical mother/daughter. Plus she lived in Alabama. I lived in Michigan. Each visit I made was a big deal, a family reunion. Something she’d plan for weeks.
An event.
The hellos were wonderful, full of anticipation of time spent on the lake or around the table, all of us together. The goodbyes were heart wrenching, never knowing how long until the next reunion.
I want to go to lunch with my mom. Just a casual lunch, nothing special. I want to talk about her ducks and my dog. Her garden and mine.
Sometimes at night I look at the sky, stare at the stars and ask her to please come home. Please. But I know she is home now, and there aren’t any flights that leave there.
I’m here and she’s there.
Someday I’ll have lunch with my mom. It probably won’t be a casual meal because it will be a pretty special reunion. An event. For now I guess I’ll go make a sandwich and talk to her in my head. About her ducks and my dog. What’s in her garden today, and the tomatoes in mine.
You know – just casual stuff.
Her lake.
Morning light.
So I set out.
Let’s go see what there is to see.
This is what we lake people call ‘water ski water’ because it’s the perfect glassy surface to fly free at the end of a tow line. I’ve had plenty of beautiful skis like that over the years but this morning was designed for more quiet refection.
Going around a bend I lost the perfect water and headed into a bit of a wind. And I realized I had forgot the sunscreen and the water bottle.
Paddle harder!
So paddling got more difficult physically and mentally. But I wanted to see how far I could go with a bum shoulder. So I’d rest a bit, floating silently, looking at all the lake houses, now empty of their people for another week.
And up at the next point I saw a tree. A tree that made me feel even more blue.
Not fall color. Not.
Because surely that was not fall color! Surely that was just caused by the drought. Even though it’s sitting right on the shore with plenty of water. Sure.
I quickly paddled around that point, and the water was smooth again.
Mom and Dad are everywhere on this lake.
I’d have to go way past that island and around that next point to get even close to the mountain where my parents’ ashes were spread. So even though I was curious about whether I could paddle that far I floated a bit and reluctantly turned around for home.
After all the turkey buzzards were circling above, waiting for me. And I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of dehydrating in the hot Alabama sun.
Ever hopeful circles.
As with any trip, the paddle home seemed a lot shorter than the going out had been. Partly because that breeze was at my back. Partly because I’d moved into a rhythm, one with the water and the sun and the breeze and the paddle.
Still, home looked pretty good.
Home and shade, plus a bottle of water, await.
It’s day one at the lake and I’ve been itching to get onto the water but the weather has been fickle. Neighbors tell me that they haven’t had rain in weeks but there was a good chance for it today.
Of course.
All day the wind has been gusty and and blowing away from the house, so I hesitated taking the kayak out, concerned about battling the elements to get back home. Twice I went out to chance it and was turned back by the wind.
By evening things had settled down, the sky was still a pretty blue with puffy white clouds. I decided to take the kayak up the slough toward the cyprus trees.
Quiet down here.
Just a short jaunt.
It was peaceful up there, water like glass reflecting the pretty trees. But I noticed the clouds overhead were changing.
Uh oh
And I heard a noise coming up the slough behind me. It sounded like a fast boat, which would be unusual, but newcomers to the lake sometimes mistake our little slough with a throughway to bigger water. So I moved over to the side and turned around to watch.
It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t a boat coming around the curve. It was rain. Really loud hard pounding rain. The kind that will instantly soak you.
Is that RAIN up there?
Nothing to do but sit there and watch it come. It began to sprinkle a few fat drops on me. I braced myself.
And there it sat, about 10 yards away from me, the water pouring down and the lake rough with wind. I continued to sit in a slight shower, complete with sun above.
Reflections
Then it moved across the slough, up the hill and disappeared. I shook my head as if to clarify what I had just seen.
Drip
And then I paddled peacefully through the sun drenched evening on a little piece of a big lake toward home.
Home again, home again, jiggity jig.
Le Chateau Frontenac, built in 1892 is the centerpiece for Old Town Quebec.
Very French
It’s a huge building, so hard to fit it all into one frame. This image shows just a tiny bit; some of the lines and curves, windows and roof.
Definitely more than 50 years old.
To see other people’s interpretation of ‘more than 50 years old’ click on the link above, go over to Cee’s original post, then check out the comments there.
I don’t have a perfect representation of the people that inhabit or visit NYC. These are only those the images I felt I could get away with undetected. Except for the girls in Little Italy that posed for me while I was trying to get a street scene. We laughed about it after, how the street was better looking with them in it. Which was true.
NYC is filled with such facinating people. I wish I was braver and could walk up to those interesting faces and ask if I could take their picture. Maybe I’ll grow into that someday.
Each of the images in this slideshow has a story. I could tell you what they were…but it’s probably more fun if you make up some stories on your own.
.
Going to see a lady.
All eyes are on her.
Hey Lady!
You pay an extra five dollars to go up inside the pedestal and enjoy the view. It’s worth the money and the 200 or so stairs to enjoy the view and the breeze. Yes, you could use the elevator, but why, when there are stairs to climb just for the taking? Once out on the pedestal walk you have an up close and personal view of Ms. Liberty.
She’s huge!
Or, if you have a zoom lens you can get even closer.
She’s ready for her closeup.
Once you go back down the stairs, don’t skip the museum. It’s not large, but it has some interesting details. Like how they built her.
Not an easy task.
And full size features of her face and her toes.
Beautiful detail.
Afterward, tour the grounds a bit. Take some more pictures. It’s not an easy angle to get your family member and the Lady in the same shot.
Perfect angle.
But it can be done.
Enjoy your Statue of Liberty! She’s there for you.
Change Is Hard 