Rainy, Gray Chautauqua May

The Girls

Up really early for some reason, about 5:30, and it's around 60 degrees outside, after a heavy night of rain.  I don't think I have ever heard it rain so hard; we got an inch an a half over night, some areas two inches I have heard...just what we need, more rain.  And it looks as though we will have rain off and on the rest of the week.

A May Afternoon in Bristow, VA, with the Girls

We had a great stay at the Bissells, good weather, food, company, and of course, the girls.  What a delight those two are.  They are so different in temperament and looks, but so complimentary overall.  They get along really well, enjoying each others company and looking out for each other.  What is best is that they seem to really like having us around, especially Evie. Grandparents today seem to have closer relationships with their grandchildren then in the past.  Perhaps because we seem younger, have more free time, or it's just the way things  are---grandparents are expected to enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.  I know for many of us, the grandchildren are the best part of our retirement...it's like we have just discovered how wonderful children can be.  We don't have to discipline them, say no, just hug and love them.  The good life.

The lake is really high for this time of year because of last night's rain.  It' also a muddy color, the result of all the run off from the stream beds and farms.  It's so high that we are a bit worried about our dock, as it's touching the bottom runners near shore.  As long as we don't have another storm like last night, we should be fine and I am here to monitor it in case I need to put barrels of water on the pieces to keep them from floating away.

We actually sat out on the dock for a couple of hours after lunch.  The clouds were amazing, puffs of white in all sorts of configurations, off over the bay, with a blue sky and a wind from the north, though it was pleasant.  We spent most of our time reading, Evie talking on the phone, and watching both the purple martins and barn swallows fly, presumably chasing a mate, as the swooped, dipped, turned on literally a dime, 180 degrees.  They are amazing flyer's, fun to watch, and for some reason, they swoop down and dip into the water, mostly swallows, I think, but an occasional martin as well.  We have not seen this before and wonder what they are after, perhaps some floating flotsam from the storm, certainly not fish.  Perhaps they are just cooling off, or cleaning up, after their flying.  They are fun to watch.

As I write, we are sipping mannies, listening to the radio, enjoying the beginning of a setting sun, a couple hours away actually, with Evie playing Scrabble on her Ipad, me filling on my Blog.  We give ourselves ten minutes of computer/ipad time, then we put away our devices and enjoy the evening.  It's been a beautiful afternoon after a storm morning.  We feel lucky.