A Perfect Day at the Lake

 

An overcast, rainy day seems a good time to finally post something that I wrote a few weeks ago, that was just waiting for some photos.  It was a day that defined a perfect summer day for me.  Here it is, with photos:

Rice Lake today is calm enough to be a mirror, with a slight lazy haziness and a hint of a breeze, hot, but not

scorching.  O the balcony of the condo, I can enjoy looking out over the lake while hearing the giggles of the small children at the beach, 150 meters away.  A small boat is quietly chugging into the harbor below me, barely disturbing the surface of the water.  A seagull squawks every once in a while.  If only a heron or a loon would complete the picture!

My days have a nice pattern, and I am feeling – and acting – very much like I am in vacation mode, which I am not really supposed to be in 🙂  Oh, well, I am enjoying it nonetheless.

Like most mornings, I have coffee on the balcony, with some time spent contemplating and some spent checking emails and some reading.  After, I go for a run through the property, up and over the hill of “the estates”, back down following a sandy trail through the woods, and back home to do stretching and other exercises on the grassy area by the boat. Following that, I walk to the beach for a 20-minute swim to complete my exercise routine.

After a shower and a light meal, I write.  In an effort to procrastinate less (i.e. be in less of a vacation mode) and to write more, I am dedicating a set time to creative writing, every day, for the month of August, in addition to any other writing that I am doing.

No, I am not writing at the beach like all those pictures of digital nomads seem to show.  But since the balcony is still in the shade, it is a nice outdoor space in which to write.

Later in the afternoon when the balcony is in full sun, I will wander over to the lakeside pier to visit “my boat people,” as I call them – friends who I met last year around the campfire.

They are also my saviors when it comes to the boat.  The first time that I took the boat (my uncle’s) out, they saw me coming back to harbor.  Since they knew that I was a little apprehensive about my first time docking, one jumped on a bike and raced over to my dock, where he helped me with my first attempt.  Seriously, a savior is not an exaggeration of how I felt.  But success!!  I didn’t hit anything or cause any damage.  Another savior helped me on my third attempt, too.  So far, so good 🙂

It was also a good lesson in the boating community.  When someone is docking, you always go to help.

I was able to help someone else with a very large boat the following week.  I had to bolt from the balcony and run to get there in time, but they were very thankful.  Even, or maybe especially, in boating, etiquette counts.

For dinner, I usually barbecue, sitting and reading in the Adirondack chair while dinner is cooking, and then eating outside, again looking at the lake. To watch the sunset, I may be by the campfire or sitting on my balcony, both of which I abandon as soon as the mosquitoes discover me.  Hopefully, before their first bite, I retreat inside to either study Spanish or Italian, read or watch a movie, preferably in Spanish or Italian.

That is basically my typical day at the lake.  It is definitely not a rigid schedule – what would be the point of being by the lake? Or being self-employed? It changes depending on the weather, company, work deadline, etc. And some days, I actually drag myself away from the lake to explore, shop for groceries or go out for lunch, all of which come under the category of research for writing!