Lets Jump Together

I had such a great surprise the other afternoon.

We were swimming at the lake about 5:30 in the afternoon.

We like to swim away from the beach area - less people and deeper water.

In fact, we were the only ones there at the time - and it was great.

Turning from back floating to front floating, I caught a glimpse of something black and white just beyond my grasp on the top of the water.

I almost let out a shriek - it wasn’t  a head of another swimmer, and it was too small to be a bathing suit clad body part.

Then, the most sleekest black head I have ever seen rose out of the water and it had a bright red eye.

It finally registered in my brain what it was - a Loon, with a half eaten fish hanging out of its beak.

Such beautiful, perfect, most distinct markings it had on its body.

That bird had just come up from under the water, and he was completely dry and oh-so sleek!

He floated for a bit beside me - enough time for me to tell my husband who also got a good look at him, then back under the water he went.

He reappeared next way out beyond the swim area that surrounds the park.

In that quick minute he had traveled quite a distance under the water - with the fish still in his mouth.

He finished eating the fish then went under again.

We never saw him reappear even though we spent quite a bit of time looking for him.

We have been swimming at this lake for 28 years - and this was a first for us.

Mother Nature gave us a special treat - one we will never forget!

My little grandson has just turned seven months old.

He came and spent the night with us last night, and what a good time we all had!

Viewing the world through his eyes is a great joy - everything is so new and exciting for him.

I have raised two children, and when you are young and working a lot, keeping a house, and keeping all the family members happy, you miss some of these little pleasures, sadly.

But grandchildren give it all to you and more.

I think of how much I loved my grandmother, and I can only hope my grandchildren feel just a portion of that towards me.

What a joy he is, and I feel so blessed to have him in my life.

He is a great gift that keeps on giving!

Last weekend one of our computers had become infected with a nasty piece of malware.

Even though I had encountered it before, it had regenerated into a tough one that required lots of extra time researching how to get rid of it.

I knew I had the links somewhere but couldn’t find them anywhere.

Well, I bookmarked them again, and now I need to get it and all the other ones I have saved under control.

And since I spent a lot of time finding them originally, I figured if I put them into a blog, it may help someone else when they need it.

There is a lot of garbage out there that isn’t going to help anyone, and weeding through it to find the right fixes is a big job.

The blog is new, so it will take time to build it up.

But the info in it is stuff that works and I pass it along to all the other nonGeeks out there like me

You can find it here:  Tech Tips From a NonGeek

The water seemed a bit chilly at first, but after the dunk in, it was just gorgeous!

Not too crowded when we arrived around 5:00pm, so we had a good swim without any interference with other swimmers.

It was so good!

The freedom of the water makes the joints feel so much better and of course the exercise is the best.

But the very best thing about swimming in the lake is the feeling of your skin afterwards.

The ocean doesn’t give you this feeling, the shower doesn’t, and even a soak in the tub can’t deliver it.

The softness and smoothness is undescribable.

The air feels good against it and even clothing doesn’t iratate like it usually does.

All feels right, and just that is enough to make one want to go and dive right in that chilly water!

Never realized just how amazing these cuttlefish are.

We do not have them in our region of the world - they are a tropical fish.

They have the ability to change not only their skin color, but the texture as well in order to blend in with their environment.

And they are quite intelligent.

Several tests both in the wild and in captivity show they are fast learners that remember and are not easily fooled.

They do fool their predators and food supplies though by using their camouflage abilities for both hunting and hiding.

Watching them in action while they hunt was quite interesting.

They look almost like aliens as they flash their skin colors in a beautiful pyrotechnic way to confuse and mesmerize their prey.

If you get a chance to watch the Nova show on PBS, it will be well worth your time!

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man my son!

- by Rudyard Kipling

My son graduates today, and this post is for him.

I have always loved this verse by Rudyard Kipling,and I think it is most appropriate for this day.

Congratulations to my son and his friends on this day and may your lives ahead be filled with all that is good in this world!

The last few days have been very damp and dreary.

In between the rain drops, I took a stroll outside to stretch my legs.

The grass was vibrant green and quite wet - it was also a bit longer than we normally keep it.

And just as I was about to take my next step, something orange caught the corner of my eye.

A tiny newt’s life was spared by a fraction of a millimeter.

I am so glad I saw him in time.

I helped him along his way to the garden so he would be safe.

And I took another walk around the house.

There he was again - just about where he was the first time.

I didn’t move him - he must have had an agenda that I interfered with the first time around.

It was another hour before I took the next walk - and he was in the garden this time.

Can’t seem to make up his mind I guess.

This morning I found another one, about half the size of the one I found yesterday.

We are not near water, so I am not sure where they are coming from, but I enjoy seeing these little guys.

So fragile and beautifully colored they live to about 12 - 15 years.

Their diets consists mostly of insects, so they are welcome in my garden anytime.