What we can’t control

Sometimes you have to roll with what you get

Our annual month of family time centers around the lake. The swimming, the floating, the paddleboards, the kayaks, the sunsets, the wet dogs, the bonfires. And it all started out so well, with a week of absolutely splendid weather.

But our little lake, while charming and spring-fed, is shallow, easily warmed, and surrounded by farmland for miles around. In seventeen years, there has only been a problem once before. But this year, we have a bloom of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria. It’s a normal bacteria, present everywhere in the world, but sometimes conditions are right for a bloom, and then it gets dangerous. It really does look like someone spilled green paint in the water. If you get it on your skin, ingest it, or breathe it in, it can make you very sick. It can kill a dog within hours.

It really does look like paint spilled in the water.

Reluctantly, we have returned home. But is that so terrible? Gardens, woods, animals, and frankly, a great deal more comfort. The boys played soccer in the park, we walked the dogs, we went to the custard stand. We napped. Friday night we went to the movies, last night we went to a minor league baseball game which was tons of fun, and the guys came home to be infuriated by the referees in the Argentina-Switzerland game. I watered the grass. The dogs are perfectly content to be home, so long as we have them with us. And I made an actual family dinner instead of defaulting to a custard stand burger or ball park snacks.

What’s more, we have a large swath of new grass seed to fill in the tracks from the heavy equipment last fall in our wall-building activities. It would be impossible to keep it watered properly from the lake, even with the soaker hoses and timers I bought. So being home is a bit of a boon, even if watering is a nuisance requiring spigots that are behind bushes, moving hoses and reconnecting various sprinklers with their varying connector styles. It’s not bad weather to be wet in, however.

You can see why keeping this swath of seed wet could be a challenge. It curves up the hill all the way to the road.

With the heat wave coming, we are unlikely to see a reduction in the algae, which disappoints me and annoys my husband. But we will go to the big lake this afternoon, with its cold water and dunes and sandy beaches. It will be a new experience for the boys who haven’t fully grasped that Lake Michigan is an inland sea. Although unsalted and shark-free, of course.

It will be in the 90s today, too hot to take the dogs, but they will be home in their comfortable beds with water and cool air. Auggie’s back is hurting him again, which is another good reason for him to stay home. If only they could water the new grass seed! That will be my primary task this morning.

Tonight is another big soccer game, and friends will come over. The men and boys will watch the game, and the women will probably sit on the terrace with cool drinks. Maybe we’ll watch for bears. We don’t normally have them in our part of the state, but apparently the population has grown, and the young males are being pushed out of the territory, making their way south toward us. We have had a number of sightings in the communities nearby. They are black bears, mostly gentle, bumbly creatures, but still bears, and not puppy dogs. I have taken to closing the windows at night, because a screen is no obstacle to a bear, and much as I like them from a distance, I wouldn’t want a bear in the house. No doubt Auggie and Eli will keep us informed of any visitors.

It’s getting light out. Almost time to turn on the sprinklers.

Happy Monday!

”And all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”~Julian of Norwich

These posts are about finding the beauty in daily life, even amid the craziness, uncertainty, and anxiety. Reality is not going away, but these are the only days we get, so we have to relish their small beauties while we have them. If you are a paid subscriber, please know how deeply grateful I am for your support. The kindness and enthusiasm of your comments buoy me and keep me writing, but the paid subscriptions are an extra vote of confidence I truly appreciate. These posts will always be free, however, so if all you can do is share, that is helpful, too. Whatever you decide, I’m glad you’re here.

And now for your gratuitous dog photos. Sorry, no bears so far:

Watcher in the woods.