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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Eight ducks, one duckblind, one Boykin

Memorial Day weekend we discovered Mama duck and her nest of nine white eggs in the wooden planter that Peeps built to grow ornamental grass on the dock.

Baby ducks grow fast - check out these four:

and four more -

Duck blinds are offered on a first come first served basis, this Georgia Brown knows. See if you can find the camouflaged Boykin in this picture -

Give up? Can you see her now?

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Happy Birthday Dad

This is me, 10 months old, exploring every inch of planking on this 10’ x 12’ dock. He, 28, waiting for my first splinter, could not imagine the boundary lines of his 79 year life falling in such pleasant places.

You'd be proud, I'm still exploring.

Today is July 20, in
the fifteenth week of Ordinary Time. I miss you.

Henry Wilds Smith, Jr. was born on July 20, 1923 and died on September 29, 2002: "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16:5-6 NIV.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Sunny Girl

Avery's father hoisted her off of the dock and into the waiting hands of Peeps, who steadied their precious cargo between his knees, before veering off downwind, hugging the shore, and shaking out the sail. On Avery's 2nd sail aboard Sunny Girl, Peeps vintage Sunfish, he showed her how to tell how fast they were going, by dragging the mainsheet's figure-eight knot in the water, creating a little wake and asked her if she ever saw Bunnies in the clouds. Yes, lots of them, she said. Johnathan, proud his little girl had been born with sea-legs, demonstrated lying down flat on his back, on a deck whose coaming had not yet been refastened to the faired hull. "Daddy, don't lie down," as if she wanted her Daddy to see the full enjoyment of her voyage. Upon returning to our side of the lake, Johnathan and Peeps spotted a georgeous yellow sunfish two docks down, turned upside down, getting her hull cleaned. A mid-1960's boat Peeps surmised from her bronze kick-up rudder attachment. "Let's go in for a closer look," not the first of simultaneous thoughts we two have had. Steering toward our neighbor's dock, Avery's actual words to her father and me were, "I need a boat." And with that we introduced ourselves to our new neighbor, Cecil. We're going back Sunday to give closer look and see if Cecil needs a hand putting his boat back together. Stay tuned.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

today is Friday July 4th, the 13th week in Ordinary Time

Avery and Peeps share one iPod and two ear buds and listen to the choir from Westminster Abby sing The Kyrie, from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices, Kyrie Elision, today’s featured devotional from pray-as-you-go, available in podcast for your MP3 player, for people young enough to be amazed with how an entire cathedral choir can fit into an earbud or old enough to wish fireflies lasted all summer.