Can't Beat the View

When I was filling my vehicle with fuel yesterday, I was once again thankful for where I live. Seriously, you can't get this view filling your tank in the city.

Frosty morning

It is never good to see this after the ground has thawed and the wheat has come up after the cold winter months. Only time will tell if the freezing temps during the night affected the crop.

The only time a weed is a sweet gesture

I remember doing this when I was younger, and maybe some of you do, too. When you are a kid and spring finally arrives you are just so excited about every little change outside. Excited enough that when you see your first "flowers" you pick them and give them to everyone.

Thus, I ended up with a dandelion during first grade art, which just happens to be right after they come inside from recess. You still have to love the sentiment behind the gesture and I'll never turn down a dandelion from a little one. Now...I might draw the line if a 6th grader brings me one ;-)

P.S.

The little guy in the photo behind the flower is my nephew when he was a toddler. Such a cute little guy. Can't believe he is almost a teenager!

Return to Sender

 

It looks like the wind tried to mail my parents a tumbleweed yesterday. They sent it back.

Lake Phobia

For years I have had a dramatic relationship with any lake. It isn't that I don't WANT to love the lake. It is very simply that the lake hates me.

So, when I suggested to my husband that we go try out his "new" boat this weekend, I knew there was also a chance that things would not go well.

The boat made it to the lake fine, it got unloaded fine, it floated fine...the motor did not run fine. Well, ok, one motor did work ok. The cute little trolling motor worked. I was quite bonded to the little guy by the time we got off the boat.

So, while my husband fiddled with the big motor, I was captaining the boat with the little guy up front.  I counted it as a success...mostly because I didn't capsize the boat or dump my husband out the back. The lake wasn't exactly calm. And we were the ONLY people that even tried to put a boat on the lake. That doesn't make ya feel much better when you think there is a chance you might sink.

At least since I was steering the boat I could make us stay fairly close to the loading dock. I wish I would have video from above of what we looked like. The only boat on the lake, puttering along with a tiny motor while one person hung over the back looking at the motor and the other person in the front was bundled up for winter weather and barely able to fasten their life-jacket over all the layers and pregnant belly.

 

This is how I wanted to feel about the lake that day.

 

This is really how I felt.

You see, my dislike for the lake isn't from a lack of TRYING to like it. Here are a few stories.

#1. When I was in grade school, we went to a gathering at a lake somewhat close to us. I don't know that we played in the lake much but we did play at the basketball court nearby. There was a partial cement wall that we sat on while resting. I went to sit down and misjudged where the wall was and hit my tailbone really hard on it. It resulted in hurting so bad that I was sick for the rest of that day and had to go to the doctor to see if I had broken it. I didn't break it, but the end result was me having to sit on pillows for a good portion of the summer. The worst part was being super uncomfortable during our annual trip with our beloved Grandmother that summer.

#2. When I was college-aged, I was talking to my best friend and told her that going to the lake was foreign to our family. She convinced me that I should go with them one weekend. So, we loaded up the pickup and boat, drove over an hour to the lake, got it loaded into the water, sped out away from the shore...and then the boat died...and I think it might have started to leak a little water. Anyway, she and I had to get out and swim the boat back to shore while her dad tried to fix it. He thought he had it fixed, so we loaded up again and sped back out. And again, it died. So she and I had to swim it back in again. That day ended almost before it began.

#3. I don't like thinking that fish and whatever else are swimming around my toes when I swim in a lake. That fear was only made worse when some friends and I were cleaning off in the lake after playing mud volleyball. While in the water and chatting away, a fish popped out of the water, smacked my friend in the face and then swam right off. Of course it was hilarious, but it didn't help my phobia.

#4. Once again, I was convinced by friends that my lake experience would be much better if I went with them. We spent a decent chunk of time water skiing (ok, they water skied while I rode in the boat) and then headed back in. Part way back, we ran out of fuel. So, one person jumped in the water and swam while pulling the boat and those of us in the boat picked up paddles and went to work. Finally about 200 yards from the loading dock, a jet ski came to the rescue and towed us in.

#5. My husband LOVES to fish. But apparently that isn't a full-day activity. He tells me the fish bite best at certain times. So, we sat around with his family and friends on the shore of the lake for hours upon hours. I was trying to drink enough water in the 100 degree heat, but we also didn't eat lunch until about 3 in the afternoon. If you know me, you know I need food on a regular time schedule ;-) By the end of the day, I was experiencing dizzy spells and just not feeling very well. And I don't think we caught more than one or two fish at the most.

I'm sure I have forgotten several stories, but you get the idea. I try. I keep going back. And I have had a few fun moments at the lake...but doggone it if the bad times don't stick out like a sore thumb in my mind. 

I'll keep trucking along. Hoping that my husband's love for the water will eventually turn into something like that for me. Oh, and he has the big motor fixed now...so I guess we'll give it another go sometime in the near future.