#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
Wild Tiger Lily
Hooray, the smoke has cleared her, the sun has returned. A surprising and refreshing wind. Cool today, almost autumnal. I worked on a poem for a bit, the house was quiet, and then went out for a long walk in the meadows. Met two monarchs. Seems to be my daily average. Al the cheerful wildflowers, and the bunnies having their morning hunts. I couldn’t decide about going to the pond. I wanted to get my newest shrubs planted in the side garden. A mix of azalea and rhododendron of all different colors. My little sale shrubs. I didn’t have enough, but I got in all the ones I bought and hope to find a half dozen more. I did a bunch of weeding. And then my daughter asked me to watch Wave for a bit so I went in. We went to the pond in the afternoon and had an amazing time. He stayed in the water for hours. There was a cool breeze, the kind of breeze that chills you a bit if you let your body out of the water, so you stay under. The sun was quite bright. I gave him a couple of swim tests to see how he’s handling going over his head, and he was doing great, so I decided to let him swim with me all the way out to the floating dock which is, of course, well over our heads. He has asked me before, but I wasn’t sure he was ready. Or, that I was, in case he couldn’t handle it. But today I knew he could. So I stayed beside him and he handled it great, all on his own into the shadowy deep part of the water all the way to the dock. A bunch of boys slightly older than him were playing and scrambling all over the dock having fun and he was quite happy to watch them and do his own thing, jumping off the dock again and again. I tread water just to be there handy, but he was quite fine and had a great time. Together we swam back, he was completely confident, and so was I. By then I needed to warm up in the sun, but he stayed in the water playing for another hour. Then he made one more super achievement. His mother came with a snack for him, and he got right out of the water with her, no fuss! He loves the water as I do. I love to see his joy. At home I made pizzas and all the kids and Wave were here, a casual meal. We were supposed to play pickle, but time ran out and I wasn’t sad. I worked on a poem for tomorrow and felt ready for a good night’s rest.