"Kid Sandwich"

We met Drew and Jaden for a play date today. They decided to make a "kid sandwich" and stacked themselves according to age.

The next "course"

Kid Soup - what else?

"Kid Soup" take two

The heartier version - Now with more kids!

We're on a roll!

They were loving the camera today.

Feet - The Exhibit

From left to right: Jaden, Emmalee, John and Drew. Can you tell they had a great time?

Tree-mendous Farms

John and Emmalee smile for the camera . . . Each in their own way.

Stopping For Fresh Produce

We made a detour on the way home to stop and buy some fresh fruit. Roughly a dollar a pound for plums, peaches, and apricots.

Willow Tree

The big willow tree at Tree-mendous Fruit Farm. Their brochure touts the big tree, saying "bring a picnic lunch and enjoy it under the willow tree".

Sunrise

Blistered digit

Casualty of a cast iron pan at the campfire.

John tends the campfire.

Emmalee enjoys her first adventure picking Blueberries.

Blueberry Harvest

The kids never had picked blueberries before.

Emmalee and Gramma Karen

Campground panorama part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Self portrait

Climbing

Emmalee about to climb.

View from the hill

The scene from atop the tallest dune.

Still waters and sinking sun

Gramma D, Gramma Karen, and Carolyn.

John on the beach watching the sunset.

Sunset on day two.

Sunset on lake michigan

Water and light

Girl in waves

John in the distance, and Gramma Karen.

Emmalee plays in the water.

First glimpse

First glimpse of that great midwestern secret . . . That mid continent freshwater ocean . . . Lake Michigan.

Movies on demand

travelling entertainment . . . We couldn't do five hours in the car without it.

Wild horses

Emmalee likes anything to do with horses, and we all enjoyed putting this puzzle together.

Summer at the pool

We joined some friends today at a pool that has diving boards (so rare these days!). Here, John does a "stunt" off the low dive by twisting around after jumping.

Emmalee got in on the diving board action after I was satisfied she could swim the distance to the ladder through 12 ft. deep water. She handled it like a pro (what was I worried about?) and never looked twice before taking her first jump off the low dive.

But even bigger things were coming. John had tried on our last trip to get up the courage to jump off the high dive but it was just too high and scary. This time, he decided that he could try just walking off the end without stopping to get scared. It worked! He took the leap today. I was so proud of him - and he was very excited and proud of himself.

But wait, there's more. After jumping off the low dive about 10 times in a row, John asked Emmalee if she'd like to try the high dive. When I gave the ok, she ran straight to the high dive ladder, John close at her heels. But this time, it was a bit too scary to do without hesitating. She turned back. But John coached her from the top of the ladder on how to jump off without stopping and then demonstrated it for her. She immediately followed him right off in the same manner. I was blown away - and so proud of her! Only 6 years old, her first experience with ANY sort of diving board and she goes for it. That's our girl!

And they jumped... and jumped......

and jumped.... and jumped......

It was a VERY good day.

Game time

Sunday game of backgammon. I remember playing it with Aunt Carrie over thirty years ago. Emmalee and i had fewer arguments. ha ha. Of course, had siblings played today, arguments would have arisen for sure.

Windfarming

We drove past the Benton County Wind Farm on the way home. Amidst the corn and bean fields were an assortment of enormous windmills, generating electricity. They moved in eerie, synchronized motion.

One was relatively near the main road, so we stopped to take an impromptu tour. Access was by a 1/4 mile long gravel road, which we hiked.
You could hear the enormous blades slicing through the air.
As far as the eye can see, more windmills.
You can't appreciate the scale until you are underneath one. From a distance, or from a photograph, you don't realize just how massive these generators are.

The view from the base. As you get closer, the whoosh of the blades is accompanied by the hum of the generator. It sounds ... electric.
As a point of reference, John, Carolyn, and Emmalee, at the base of one of them.

Chalk Art

John's chalk art at a friend's house this week. They all drew their names on the concrete. This was his contribution.

He worked for a long time on this and you can see why. He loves working with contrasting patterns like this.

Sunrise

Saturday morning I was awakened by a dream at 4:09 am. I arose, quietly dressed, and sneaked out of the house for a sunrise walk.

I walked a mile to the bridge over the Iroquois River.

There I stood in the center of the bridge and took a panoramic view.

When I photoshopped these pictures, they got lighter, but also got pretty grainy.


Unseen and thus escaping capture by the camera, what's missing from this scene are the birds singing their praises in the light of the dawn.



The nearby farm seemed to capture the essence of the morning. See the grain bin and mists on the field beyond.

The plants in the background look out of focus, but actually, they are *not*. Even in real life, they had this fuzzy, out of focus look to them. The stalks of the plant were surrounded by fuzzy shapes, causing some sort of optical illusion.
The mist is slowly lifting...
I can see the way ahead ...
And I've left behind the empty streets that once inspired my life...
... love eternal will not be denied ...