Saturday, July 28, 2007

Phew, its summer




...and its hot. Bleh. The middle of the day is especially gross, so we've been staying inside or "going to the creek" to cool off. On days we stay home the house gets to looking, well, you can see the pic. It looks like that.

The good news, in terms of weather, is that it's been raining. Not enough to get the springs flowing, but we have a back-up system that catches rainwater off the roof of the barn. Yesterday the tank was full to the top and I did a bunch of laundry and took a twenty minute shower to celebrate. Last night it rained again. I haven't checked, but I expect the tank is full or nearly this morning. Yeah! Of course, that also means its muggy as all-get-out today. I think it may be a creek day.

The creek we visit is called "Dry Creek" - rather ironic this year in particular, since its one of the few that is not only flowing, but not noticeably low. Its spring-fed, and goes underground at several locations, which is where it gets its name. Long stretches of apparant dry. We go almost to the source - so its coooooold. If its the least bit cloudy, I shiver in the water. As hot as it's been, cold feels good. In six months I'll read this and roll my eyes, I'm sure.

The spot we visit belongs to some friends of ours - Lee and John. Lee's home most times and comes to hang out with us in the water. Right in front of their house is a wide section of creek where the water is about knee-deep. Just enough for me to float in and Mo to float or swim if she wants, but not so deep that I have to worry. I wouldn't take a nap or anything, but I don't feel like I have to watch her every second. Very restful for me.




A bit downstream, where J&L's property ends is another spot that's deeper. Deep enough for a little swimming for adults. Its shared with the folks who own the next bit of land, though, so the access is a bit restricted. Both parties (and since they're couples, that's all four adults) have to agree on the guest-list. Mo and I are "on", but that's all for our family, which is a bit awkward, to say the least. Recently, though, George has had a bunch of sawing jobs and Ray's been sleeping through the heat (and pollen) of the day. He's basically back to the vampire lifestyle, and longing for fall. He was sort of crowing about that the other day, actually. School starts soon around here, but since he doesn't have to go, he gets to look forward to fall and winter.
Anyway, Mo enjoys both spots, but especially enjoys the company of Charlie, the 13yo girl whose family shares the swimmin' hole. The pic shows the two of them playing in the water. Mo's been dabbling in learning to swim - casting aside her floats from time to time to tread water and do something that looks like a cross between dog paddling and the breast-stroke. She's also been starting to swim under the water, although she doesn't really like getting water in her eyes. We have a couple masks, but they don't seem to seal all that well, and she doesn't want goggles. She doesn't seem any more or less at-ease in the water overall than other kids her age who have had years of swimming lessons, so I'm glad we decided not to trouble with those.