Relative Something

We have officially witnessed the first obvious example of a tree’s leaves making the transition to fall. The end of summer is moving well into sight.

There is a high possibility that I played my last pickleball match of the season on the court up here. I had the pleasure of being invited to fill in a foursome two days in a row over the weekend. I was just beginning to get my touch back after a long gap since the last time I’ve played, and the next long gap is most likely starting today.

We set out for one more pontoon cruise after pickleball, taking advantage of the beautiful weather and reduced boat traffic of a Sunday. Since we had no destination planned, Steve brought his dog, Vern, along for the ride.

I think he was loving the wind in his hair.

When we got back from lunch on Saturday afternoon, we noticed a lot of large, white spots of bird droppings on the deck and a rare lack of activity around the hummingbird feeders. Wonder what we missed.

Eventually, one, and then two, made an appearance again, and soon the numbers returned to normal, with the usual swarming and flailing at each other for the shared resource. Cyndie has barely been staying ahead of their appetites for the sweet water. They are preparing for the journey to come, which will mean an end to the season of entertainment they bring just outside our sunroom windows.

Today marks the end of our August visits to the lake this year. We are driving home this morning to relieve our house/animal sitters in caring for things at Wintervale. We’re leaving behind a smaller-than-usual Round Lake. Dry conditions up here have added a foot of beach width due to the lake level being unusually low.

We’ll all be a lot happier when the end of this dry spell shows up. The uneven distribution of life-giving precipitation around the planet is maddening. While we are suffering, places like Edmonton, Canada, have broken records for rainfall amounts this summer.

Feast or famine. Something tells me these kinds of weather extremes will not be ending anytime soon.

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