Monday, July 28, 2008

Summer Days


It doesn't seem possible that July is nearly at end, but it is. Although we certainly have had some busy days filled with sunshine, beach, water and good company--and after a long stretch of humid, wet weather (did I mention humid?), so July is going out with a bang, for certain. We've had two tranquil days on Taylor Pond with my Dad and Tim and my sister's family. Here's our recipe for a memorable summer day: have a rowboat ride, catch a couple of fish, swim to the rock, dive off rock, scrape knee on rock, bump nose on rock, do it all again. Many, many times, and do it with your cousins and aunts and uncle. Follow all this fun with Auntie Sarah's fajitas and Grampie's strawberry shortcake, (all provided in Grampie Tim's house on the pond, of course) and have yourself a perfect summer day.



On another day, we all went to our favorite cove. This cove provides a wonderland of treasures for children and adults. Not only is this working harbor beautiful with the moored lobster and fishing boats, but it also has rocky mini-cliffs and caves and outcrops that become ideal tidal pools. My five-year old nephew demonstrated to all, his marine biologist leanings with a dramatic eel demonstration. He soon had a small audience captivated with his eel whispering technique and sizeable green crab collection.
The tidal brook provided some fun frog watching and near-capture by my sister, that had all the kids entranced. My niece had a fabulous time both patting sand into the bucket and tossing it onto Tim's back, giggling the entire time. Long swims in the calm waters of the cove, some path exploring, some fishing, more tidal pool wading, hilarious stories shared, lots of laughter, and somehow that's how eight hours passed us by like it was maybe one or two. One more swim as the sun set, sandy and exhausted kids packed into the car and we said goodbye to another perfect summer day in Maine.

6 comments:

  1. What a great time! Minus the bumping knees and noses part!
    We are stuck in the middle of Michigan so it a bit of a drive to get to the Great Lakes. I want to go!! Not as great as the ocean but the next best thing! You guys in the East call lakes, ponds right? When we think of a pond... it's a small body of water, full of seaweed, frogs and little squiggly things. Maybe you could canoe on a pond but that's about it. lol!!! Here's to a slow paced rest of the summer!

    ReplyDelete
  2. haha, Anet, the pond vs. lake distinction depends very much on where you are georaphically located, I think. To answer your question, yes, we have ponds in Maine that in the mid-west are called Grand Lake Would Be Pond In New England. I know, as I have lived in Ohio. Here, our lakes can be viewed from space. lol! And yes, New Englanders regularly boat, ski and wind surf on ponds.

    Hey, the Great Lakes are amazing, and actually have tides they are so large, as I recall. Must get yourself to water, woman! Hey, and how's your back?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Amy, sounds funny... skiing on a pond! lol! My back is doing a bit better, yesterday it felt bad when I woke up, so... more ice and heat. Today it's feeling better again. Thanks for asking.:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Amy, I was wondering about the little wood burning stove in the fireplace in your header picture.
    We have a white brick fireplace too, but we have never used it. I like the thought of the inserting small stove in it. Is that a real woodburner, or electric? If it is a woodburner how does it vent the smoke out, with a chimney pipe inserted up the fireplace chimney? I would like something like yours, it looks so cute too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Anet, that is a propane stove and it is vented out of a fully-lined chimney. Our house is 120+ years old and the fire place was originally intended for coal, so it is very shallow. We wanted to be able to use our firebox, so we added this back-up (pilot light and switch) heat source. It's a Hearthstone, cast iron and soapstone stove. They also make wood stoves. They make direct vent that do not require a chimney, so there are lots of options worth exploring.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...