Summertime; a week in July on the shore of the St. Lawrence River
I'm a spontaneous planner rather than a long range planner. My wife is the long range planner, she's good at it, for which I'm grateful.
Waiting too long to submit my request for summer vacation, I was left with only 4 work days, if I wanted time off in July, available to me. To be fair, there were bonafied reasons for my procrastination this time, (aren't there always?), but still...... The last of those 4 days is today and you couldn't have picked more perfect days for a summer vacation; one hot humid day, the rest comfortably warm, low humidity days, cool nights for sleeping, placid river water with frequent ship traffic, time to enjoy family and slow the passage of time by drinking in every second of nature's offerings.
My favorite time is morning. I arise with my friends, the avian denizens of the neighborhood, calling to me from just outside my bedroom window. As the eastern glow brings color to the river, the crows strut and caw, surveying the neighborhood and peruse the feeder. Rabbits, squirrels, red and grey alike, field mice, each in their turn, hop, trot, and scamper across the front lawn searching for sustenance. The hammock swing hangs still in the cedar tree, waiting to cuddle a visitor wanting a moment of quiet reflection. The empty bench on dock's end stands sentinel, waiting to greet down bound lakers heading for port, in Montreal perhaps. A hot cup of freshly brewed coffee, a pen and journal starts my day.
Later, as the sun climbs higher in the morning sky, I'll be greeted by my wife, first to follow me to awakeville. Over the course of the next hour or so the grand daughters will venture, sleepy-eyed into the common area to slowly creep to full wakefulness, mutter reluctant good mornings, and make their way to the water closet for morning ablutions.
Soon the smells of breakfast cooking fill the camp; oatmeal simmering, bacon sizzling , eggs boiling, and bread browning under the broiler combine to provoke salivary glands to activate.
Then the planning starts. But serendipity lurks at every turn, and that my friends is what summer vacation is all about.
Speaking of serendipity; the week following my "4 days" opened up unexpectedly allowing me to take the adjacent week.
Waiting too long to submit my request for summer vacation, I was left with only 4 work days, if I wanted time off in July, available to me. To be fair, there were bonafied reasons for my procrastination this time, (aren't there always?), but still...... The last of those 4 days is today and you couldn't have picked more perfect days for a summer vacation; one hot humid day, the rest comfortably warm, low humidity days, cool nights for sleeping, placid river water with frequent ship traffic, time to enjoy family and slow the passage of time by drinking in every second of nature's offerings.
My favorite time is morning. I arise with my friends, the avian denizens of the neighborhood, calling to me from just outside my bedroom window. As the eastern glow brings color to the river, the crows strut and caw, surveying the neighborhood and peruse the feeder. Rabbits, squirrels, red and grey alike, field mice, each in their turn, hop, trot, and scamper across the front lawn searching for sustenance. The hammock swing hangs still in the cedar tree, waiting to cuddle a visitor wanting a moment of quiet reflection. The empty bench on dock's end stands sentinel, waiting to greet down bound lakers heading for port, in Montreal perhaps. A hot cup of freshly brewed coffee, a pen and journal starts my day.
Later, as the sun climbs higher in the morning sky, I'll be greeted by my wife, first to follow me to awakeville. Over the course of the next hour or so the grand daughters will venture, sleepy-eyed into the common area to slowly creep to full wakefulness, mutter reluctant good mornings, and make their way to the water closet for morning ablutions.
Soon the smells of breakfast cooking fill the camp; oatmeal simmering, bacon sizzling , eggs boiling, and bread browning under the broiler combine to provoke salivary glands to activate.
Then the planning starts. But serendipity lurks at every turn, and that my friends is what summer vacation is all about.
Speaking of serendipity; the week following my "4 days" opened up unexpectedly allowing me to take the adjacent week.
posted by rel at 7:48 AM
1 Comments:
Sounds very peaceful and am glad you got to stay and enjoy for another week!! Summertime is just too short!!
Post a Comment
<< Home