Go!

This past weekend, the Father’s Day weekend, was the first weekend we have been able to put two almost sunny days together in a long time.  It has been so rainy and gloomy this spring, but perhaps we have paid that fine and will be sunny going forward.

It was a weekend filled with family and friends.  A favorite nephew, whom I hold very dear, has graduated from high school and we celebrated him, along with all the family, at a great party hosted by his parents.  This guy has been through a lot in his eighteen years and he holds steady.  He’s a good boy and we wish him well as he has what I hope is the summer to be remembered, the summer after his senior year in high school, and he moves on to college in the fall.  God speed, good boy, God speed.

His party was fabulous and fun.  We spent time with extended family, which is always good, and all of our kids and grandkids were in attendance, too, which is too rare.  Our son and daughter-in-law may be moving out of the area shortly so it may soon be even more unusual for all of us to be together.  *weep* They are an adventurous duo, so we wish them well as they look for next! Can’t wait to hear what they decide. We did take advantage of the opportunity to take a family picture, even all the dogs.

A perfect Father’s Day weekend, with all our kids and grandkids.  Sunny skies and the opportunity to be on the lake, load up the Tervis tumblers and go!  Oh, there was a bit of work as he cut up the fallen gingko tree, taking advantage of the youth and brawn of his sons-in-law.  He usually has at least one project for them when they get here and they go about it in good nature.  He continues to work on the area where the shed will go but ran in to a bit of a delay with a dull chain saw blade and too much rain.  Rewarded with time out on the lake, a good swim and the giggles of grandchildren.
   
A fast ride and a slow cruise ended our Father’s Day, after our kids left for their respective homes a couple hours away.   We had visitors drop in, a favorite family, and one last shot of sunshine to close out a wonderful weekend.  Sometimes last minute plans are the best, and this proved to be one of those spur-of-the-moment treats that will rest easy in memory.

Weekends filled with memories and family.  Chapters closing and new pages to be filled ~ flex, bend, change. 

Timber!

One step closer to building the shed as we laid out where it will sit and hubs began clearing the way, which included cutting up a lot of wood from a huge maple that succumbed in a storm a couple years ago, and felling the remaining snag.  

Now, I have written before about hubs being a little accident prone.  I cannot begin to explain how nervous I was as he walked through the wooded area, looking every bit like someone who knew what they were doing, towards that tree,  his chain saw spitting out smoke as he revved it’s little engine.  I stood on the deck, camera in hand, thinking about all the funniest home video clips I have seen over the years and praying I would not capture film documentation of my husband’s injury or demise.  Why do they always have video? Why would I?

Tree felling is not high on our list of experiences.  Oh, we’ve cut up many a fallen tree but we don’t make them fall.  Before he got started, I walked around the tree, imagining what damage it would do if it fell the wrong way…our house, the swing set, electrical lines, many other trees.  Well, I thought, all that can be replaced, but, please don’t fall on hubs.

I have to say, he did an amazing job.  The tree fell exactly where he wanted it to fall.  It was a loud few minutes of sawing, followed by the thundering thud as it hit the earth and damaged not one branch of any other tree.  I know this was more luck than skill, but, was so proud of the perfect positioning of the tree that I allowed hubs to gloat and puff up just a bit, telling him he was quite the outdoorsman ~ a real Daniel Boone.

Next step is taking out some undergrowth and clearing away for the foundation for the shed.  We decided on size and design and I almost have to pinch myself.  He doesn’t know the cuteness I have planned for that shed, as he sees it only as its function.   He gave me a quizzical look when I mentioned the shed needs to include a little front porch, but shrugged and added it to the plan he was drawing.  Oh, hubs, wait til we get to the gypsy wagon…

Not every bloom is a beauty...

We have distinct spring flowerinerig periods here at the lake.   The first, which is so very anticipated each year and abundantly celebrated, is daffodil time.  Due to years of naturalizing this property with bulbs, bulbs and more bulbs, we get a very showy blooming of daffodils in a variety of colors each spring.  They make me happy and they make visitors happy and they make passers-by happy.  We all love seeing the daffodils. 

We cheer the dogwood and redbud and fruit trees coming in to bloom.  It's spring! It's spring! The trees are blooming and it's spring!

The next bloom is the vibrant and colorful azalea and rhododendron.   We have many beautiful plantings and groupings of these ladies around the property and I plant more every year.   Hot pink, purple, red…these are some shade loving soldiers at this lake house and they, too, make me happy.   

The final bloom, not so welcome and not thought of so highly is the darned oak tail.   I am sure there is a scientific name but anyone who has an oak tree, and we have many, know these buggers by oak tail.  Hanging heavy in the trees in early spring until they drop.  They are pollen laden, they are messy, they stain wood, they clog gutters, they destroy a freshly washed windshield…they are awful. 

I understand  oak tails are necessary for the growth cycle of the mighty oak tree.  But, really?  I waited and waited to wash my car, slightly embarrassed to see it parked at the grocery store.  My grey car dusted with yellow.  I yanked small piles out of the nooks and crannies along my windshield, around the trunk, the gas tank door.   

I swept the deck, and swept the deck…and swept the deck.  Piles of the little fuzzy oak tail, the powdery pollen making me sneeze, rub my nose and sneeze some more.  For days I brushed them from the siding, loosened them from around the windows of the house, pulled them off the azaleas and hosta, swept them from chairs.  Unless it rained.  Then they are little slimy, stick to everything, including the broom, pains in the rumpus.  Definitely a bloom I could do without.    

Yes, but where does it lead?

My bridge has been leading nowhere for a while now and I continue to plan and dream for where I want it to end.  The area on either side has some new additions, with new little trees and some landscaping plants.  I want it to “go” somewhere, though and envisioning a destination at the end has taken up a lot of my time this week.

I walk my bridge almost every morning, thinking not only about plants and trees but life, family, travel.  I have delayed putting a railing up as I wasn’t sure what I wanted.  I put this bridge in as a homage to my background, to my upbringing, to my dad, the bridge builder, who bundled and trundled his family from worksite to worksite.  My bridge is a reminder to me of my childhood. 

Because of my memories, I decided I wanted the railing to continue to reflect that heritage.  I didn’t want heavy wooden sides or the landscaping to be blocked.  Besides, sometimes I sit on the side of my bridge, to ponder or rest, and a railing might interfere.  Husband and I had many talks, tossed around many ideas and I begin work today on the railing.  I hope to post a picture next week of my walkway and my bridge.  My “destination” may be unclear, but my path is taking shape; not yet finished but further than I had been.  Golly…that may be an illustration of more than my bridge, folks.