Lake Day of Zenith
Jul. 21st, 2022 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoIt was a fine day, though the most amazing thing about it is something I've been asked not to post abroad until later. It's a very happy thing.
We decided to take a Lake Day, and packed ourselves up and went. We got started rather late, because both of us slept late and had trouble getting with the program, and then we had to make sandwiches, put gas in the car, decide whether to wear swimsuits under the clothes or change later, write a couple of quick emails, etc. etc. But finally we were zipping along to the lake. I believe I saw a bald eagle above the highway. It was very high up but had a tremendous wingspan, and I'm pretty sure I saw its white head. We also saw a couple of hawks. It was a hot sunny day, and they were all out cruising the highway for snacks, I guess.
We stopped to get coffee and took it out to the park. But when we arrived--woe! The beach flags were RED. The wind had been very strong yesterday, and the waves were over 4 feet high. One time in past years, when conditions were red at the state park, we saw a ranger on the beach and asked him what would happen if we swam anyway. He said if he saw us, he would tell us not to. But, he added, if I don't see you, then . . . . So we went off down the beach out of sight and swam, as we always did. Lately, however, they've been cracking down hard on people who transgress the red flag (and by cracking down, I mean giving them 500 dollar tickets), because quite a few people have drowned. They were mostly not local, and mostly down at Grand Haven where the pier creates rip currents. But still . . . we had promised ourselves to be good and stay out of the water if the red flag was up.
So we moseyed off to the river and sat by the water and ate our sandwiches, pickles, grapes, and cookies, and drank our coffee. It was too late in the day, and too busy with people, to see a lot of wildlife, but we did see the kingfisher, and a really big old crow who kept turning up through the course of the day and giving us the side-eye. After awhile, we decided to stroll up and down the river path. We usually don't bother, because it's paved and kind of tame, but we were not in the mood for a strenuous sweaty hike. The river path was really very pleasant, with a cooling breeze and a lovely scent of sun-warmed pine needles and cedar. We picked out a nice spot where there were no people, and when we got back to where we'd parked, we got out the folding chairs and took them back to the river, and sat there for a change. The Sparrowhawk took a nap, and I used my fountain pen to sketch an old oak tree by the water.
My plan was to go back to the beach about 4, because often the wind dies down in the late afternoon, and see if the flags had changed to yellow. Oh joy, they had! We had a delicious, refreshing swim in the waves which were now just big enough to be fun. We stopped at the ice cream place for a bite to eat, and drove home, enjoying masses of gorgeous painterly clouds as they changed hues, and arrived just after sunset. I suggested we go straight to bed and do our winding down there, so we wouldn't be tempted to stay up, and here we are, propped up with pillows like emperors.
We decided to take a Lake Day, and packed ourselves up and went. We got started rather late, because both of us slept late and had trouble getting with the program, and then we had to make sandwiches, put gas in the car, decide whether to wear swimsuits under the clothes or change later, write a couple of quick emails, etc. etc. But finally we were zipping along to the lake. I believe I saw a bald eagle above the highway. It was very high up but had a tremendous wingspan, and I'm pretty sure I saw its white head. We also saw a couple of hawks. It was a hot sunny day, and they were all out cruising the highway for snacks, I guess.
We stopped to get coffee and took it out to the park. But when we arrived--woe! The beach flags were RED. The wind had been very strong yesterday, and the waves were over 4 feet high. One time in past years, when conditions were red at the state park, we saw a ranger on the beach and asked him what would happen if we swam anyway. He said if he saw us, he would tell us not to. But, he added, if I don't see you, then . . . . So we went off down the beach out of sight and swam, as we always did. Lately, however, they've been cracking down hard on people who transgress the red flag (and by cracking down, I mean giving them 500 dollar tickets), because quite a few people have drowned. They were mostly not local, and mostly down at Grand Haven where the pier creates rip currents. But still . . . we had promised ourselves to be good and stay out of the water if the red flag was up.
So we moseyed off to the river and sat by the water and ate our sandwiches, pickles, grapes, and cookies, and drank our coffee. It was too late in the day, and too busy with people, to see a lot of wildlife, but we did see the kingfisher, and a really big old crow who kept turning up through the course of the day and giving us the side-eye. After awhile, we decided to stroll up and down the river path. We usually don't bother, because it's paved and kind of tame, but we were not in the mood for a strenuous sweaty hike. The river path was really very pleasant, with a cooling breeze and a lovely scent of sun-warmed pine needles and cedar. We picked out a nice spot where there were no people, and when we got back to where we'd parked, we got out the folding chairs and took them back to the river, and sat there for a change. The Sparrowhawk took a nap, and I used my fountain pen to sketch an old oak tree by the water.
My plan was to go back to the beach about 4, because often the wind dies down in the late afternoon, and see if the flags had changed to yellow. Oh joy, they had! We had a delicious, refreshing swim in the waves which were now just big enough to be fun. We stopped at the ice cream place for a bite to eat, and drove home, enjoying masses of gorgeous painterly clouds as they changed hues, and arrived just after sunset. I suggested we go straight to bed and do our winding down there, so we wouldn't be tempted to stay up, and here we are, propped up with pillows like emperors.
