This weekend was Rowan's real birthday which the 4 of us celebrated at the cottage. That our kids get something like three birthdays each is nuts, but this is how we subdivide our resources (aka time).
While I like all of the birthday elements of the triumvirate, the us-alone ones are special because they are far more subdued, simple, and free of the stress that follows you when you've got people to entertain, or at the least, feed. The weather was not very good during the morning with intermittent showers blotting out the view of the lake every once in a while. This, however, didn't stop Bronson from scrambling outside in between spats and hunting the poor frogs and salamanders that don't seem to know any better, even after two summers. Maybe they don't mind? Here are some pictures of frogs looking pretty happy, and kids looking pretty pleased with themselves:
Once the weather cleared we took our customary trip down to the water to do some off-the-dock fishing and swimming. The water levels have declined enough that I'm no longer prepared to dive in, even from the deeper end of the dock. I'm fairly certain I wouldn't Bob's Lake Bonk myself on the bottom, but I'm also not convinced there would be much pay-off to diving in either. Regardless, we did do some under-the-dock swimming. Rowan even practiced some under-water swims under the protection of the dock (protection from what, I wouldn't know ... maybe that little green turtle?). Bronson, too, wanted to do some life-jacket free underwater swimming, which he undertook in genuine Porky freestyle by clambering down the low-end dock post into the water where he polled himself below the surface to wave at me. I dare say that the cottage has made them more bold and intrepid than they might have otherwise been if we stayed land-locked at home or at the city beaches.
We also caught our very first pickerel in years of fishing the lake. This is it after I Bob's Lake Bonked it:
I would have liked to call him "Ned". He was tasty ... or she was tasty ... it was tasty. That should do.
We left late Saturday so that Rowan would be able to make his first hockey practice ... but that is most assuredly a story for another time.
.JPG)
