So Far, So Good

The phone just rang: she arrived safely, or as my SIL put it, "Hi! We have Miss B and you don't!"


See that big grown-up kid? I guess it's time to dial back the panic a bit.

Until it's time for her to fly home.

Miss B, World Traveler

A few months ago Miss B's Midwestern aunt suggested that she and her husband and their respective two daughters each would all be thrilled to pieces if Miss B would come visit them for a week in between the end of camp and vacation and the beginning of school. Miss B and Grant both thought this was an excellent idea, so Grant bought her a ticket, paying extra for the privilege of having her sit up front where airline employees can keep an eye on her, and will take her to the airport later this afternoon to begin her adventure. It's amazing to think that this tiny pink creature who used to clutch my hand tightly when crossing the street is now old enough to fly 700 miles by herself.

Please pass the Valium.

Saturday Sky: Tuesday Edition

Our camera having recovered from some minor issues (note to self: always take a backup camera battery on vacation), I can show you our final view of Rangeley as we headed south.


There's always one tree that gets out there in front of everyone else, but the process is inevitable. The wheel turns, seasons change, life hurtles onward. Sometimes I can feel myself hanging on, my hair flying in the wind.

CHOMP!

That, my friends, is the sound of reality biting. We arrived home Saturday to find the cats in good health and spirits, the lawn mown, and the house cleaned in our absence — we pay for all this, of course, but it does make reentry a little smoother.

We ran various errands yesterday and feel slightly more in control, but the kitchen is a shambles, the van still holds various vacation gear, and Mount Laundry and Back-to-School Ridge throw ominous shadows in our path. Oh, and the Red Sox are impaled upon the world's largest toasting fork. I will have to gird my loins to address myself to all of these challenges (except, of course, for the Red Sox, about whom nothing can be done except to become a Yankees fan, which would be wrong).

As soon as I get home from work.

Waterfollies

The falls were spectacular.


The water was cold.


The rocks were warm in the sun, great for basking after a dip.


The slide was just the right amount of scary.



The day was perfect.

Moose With Me

My thanks to those of you who have really high-resolution screens, excellent eyesight, graphics programs and/or vivid imaginations, and have verified that, yes, there really is a moose in the last post. The rest of you will have to bear, er, moose with me until I get back to civilization and can photoshop the original photo and, I hope, bring the moose to light.

Meanwhile, I will attempt to placate you with a couple of sky pictures.




Only one more day...

Moosing in Action

On our way to dinner last night we saw a moose. This thrilled us quite a bit, since 1) we hadn't seen one here in several years — the woods are full of them, but whether they make themselves available for photo opportunities depends on the time of day, the weather, and, presumably, moose mood — 2) we had never seen one with antlers, and this one had them, small ones, but antlers nonetheless.

Unfortunately, all moose are crepuscular, and the males are very shy, so neither the light nor the distance was ideal.


There's a moose there, really. You'll probably have to take my word for the antlers, though.

A side note: at this point, due to limited computer time here in moose country, I owe just about everybody comments and/or email. Please bear (or moose) with me.

I Love a Parade

It's not all bucolic relaxation here by Rangeley Lake. On Saturday traffic was blocked off on Main Street in Rangeley for the annual Shriners parade, which has become one of the highlights of our vacation. The spirits of participants and spectators alike remained undampened by a passing shower, the marchers at least having come prepared.


There were clowns...


animal costumes...


there was even a little bit of marketing.


And, of course, the Shriners have the sense to let grown men be kids in a good cause.


You will notice that the sun is out in this picture. Rangeley's weather probably inspired the adage, "If you don't like New England weather, wait a few minutes." (At least in the summer it does. We've never been here in the winter, but I suspect I might have to wait quite a while.)

Another Thousand Words

Gray Day

Yesterday dawned cool and overcast; the sun came out briefly in the morning but faded rapidly as the day went on.


It would have been a terrible start to a vacation, but as a fifth day it was perfect: undemanding, slow-moving, the allure of bathing suit, beach and boat replaced by the siren song of the laundromat. Après laundry, grocery store and, of course, a stop at the library — would I neglect you? don't answer that — we headed back to the ranch as the ducks hunkered down...



...and the rain began.


Miss B went off with a friend to dabble with the ducks and watch videos; Taz, Grant and I retired to the cabin to nap, read Cicero and spin respectively. (Grant is learning not to look at me expectantly after reading me a Latin passage, which proves that he is still trainable. I may let him live a while longer.) After a while the rain let up a bit and we decided to risk lighting the grill. The charcoal held its own against the rain (just barely) as the clouds began to break in the southwest...


...and we saw a spectacular double rainbow. In 15 years of coming up here, we had never beheld such a thing.


As Grant said, somewhere there is a skin-diving leprechaun.

Duck!

Today I take you up close and personal with... ducks.


The ducks allowed me to take these pictures from a couple of feet away.


They had other things to think about.


What do you mean, there's no more?

I think ducks are pretty cool, but I recognize that tastes differ, that you may not have come here with duck p*rn in mind. If you're not ornithologically inclined, yet have patiently scrolled through the duck pictures, I'll reward you by flashing a bit of sky.

My Blue Heaven

Thanks for all the comments on the previous post! It just goes to show what good material can do. Today, back by popular demand, more mountains, sky and water...


...and sock meets duck.


(You didn't really think I left the sock at home, did you?)

Paradise Regained

Let's hear a rousing round of applause for the Rangeley Public Library, which has an Internet connection and a bunch of computers just for the use of Web-deprived tourists (but since there is generally a line, this will be a short post). They will also let us borrow books. They are altogether lovely people, but then librarians generally are.

The library is, however, but a small cherry atop the most chocolaty, berry-studded, ice-cream-scrumptious, whipped-cream-smothered confection of a vacation spot I have ever experienced. Despite that verbose and fattening metaphor, neither my words nor my pictures will be remotely equal to the task of conveying to you how amazing this place is, not that I won't try.

This is the view from the front deck of the place we rent.


Miss B knows what to do.


(Is that water blue enough for you, Margene?)

Finally, I give you a sky picture, complete with water, mountains, and accidental duck. There are lots more where that came from (mostly without ducks), so stay tuned.

Sky and Bye

Can I call this a Saturday sky picture if I took it on a Friday? A couple of weeks ago it had rained all day until it began to clear toward sunset, resulting in some very eerie light and dramatic clouds.


We are shortly off to Maine for a two-week vacation; I plan to do lots of lakeside knitting and spinning. Yippee! I probably won't get much if any chance to blog. Given my sloth lately, blogging-wise, you probably won't notice. Happy August, everyone!