A Lakeside Stroll.....

"I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail was strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets."

~Hamlin Garland~We live about ten minutes from a popular lake in our area. Last evening Handy Hubby and I had an impromptu picnic beside the lake. We sat at a picnic table under a canopy of pines over looking the swim beach. It was a bit chilly but we enjoyed it immensely. There are lovely large homes built all around the perimeter of the lake. The lake and park cover approximately 1,200 acres. There is a boat ramp available for boating, fishing, and skiing. A park surrounds the entrance to the lake with sports, playground, and swimming areas.

After eating house salads and sipping iced tea from Zaxby's we strolled around the edge of the lake enjoying watching the boaters and fishermen. The trill of purple martins, red winged black birds, and swallows accompanied the lap of the water upon the shores edge. Clouds scudded across the sky reflecting on the mirror like surface of the water.

It seems lakeside living is in high demand and the birdie condos were quite full. There are a few small boat slips where pontoon boats are stored with all the homes having private docks for lake access. I could not help but remember my magical 13th summer when I spent a great deal of it on a houseboat living on the lake with my best friend, her mother, and little brother. The only down side to the stroll were the colonies of misquotes hatching in places which made talking or breathing nearly impossible unless you wanted to inhale or ingest an extra bit of protein. Some lucky spider netted a web full.

A lone tree out on a peninsula was filled with red~winged blackbirds. I spotted a shy female as well as her dashing date. I delighted in watching him puff up as he trilled a love song to her. First he checked to see if she was looking as he practiced a few notes, a loud check and a high slurred tee~err. Then he went for the attention grabber. He would squat down and then stretch upward, fanning his tail, and fluffing out his wings as he burst into his love song, a liquid gurgling konk~la~ree or o~ka~lay. He decided that in case a serenade was not enough to impress that he would flex his wings lakeside by making a one winged landing on a pipe perch.To which her reaction was to double over in laughter at his antics.

Another pair of love birds came paddling by, a mallard and his mate, out for a romantic sunset swim.

The clouds began to tint pink and it was time to end our lakeside stroll.

With one last look and sigh we drove off towards a soft water colored sunset barely visible over the tree line. I hope you enjoyed this sunny stroll around Lake Beaverfork. I know you are seeing a lot of nature on my posts lately but it is what I am into after having been cooped up all winter. I promise in the near future to get back to some more creativity and have a couple of new tutorials in mind as well as an upcoming give away. I am nearing my 300th post so stay tuned for the give away announcement!

Blessings,

Miss Sandy