Overcast, Southerly Wind, Perhaps Rain

Early Morning Kayaking

It seems to have cooled after yesterday's sunny and warm day, as the weather is changing.  The lake is choppy, winds from the south, and we may have rain on and off or the next couple of days.  Let's hope it's not too much.  Nothing planned for today though I am sure we will find things to do.

It is Linda Mc Clure's birthday, so we are going, as I mentioned yesterday to the Athenaeum for dinner, a special to train their staff.  We did go to their house yesterday for dinner; they had just gotten back from Germany but insisted we come over, for steaks and salad.  They had a great time in Germany, spent mostly with friends, a little different from their usual trips, where they were mostly on their own, hiking during the day, staying in a Gashaus at night.  Lots of good food, beer, friends, and some interesting sights and museums, like the Dirigible Museum outside of Stuttgart.  They also stayed on the Badensee or Lake Constance and I am sure we camped somewhere on the lake 40 years ago.  It was good to see them.

It's 11:00 and Evie's out finishing up cutting the grass, as it's been drizzling for the past 15 minutes.  We thought it was going to be sunny today, but not till later I guess.  Right now, it's a good time to sit inside and read.  SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS mentions that six months ago we had 9 hours of daylight, and now it's up to 15 hours, that if you were on a farm, you need these extra hours to get your chores done and in the winter, since it's cold and snowy and nothing is growing, you don't need that much daylight because the chores are less.  Interesting.  Everything seems to work towards a logical, sensible end, at least with nature, not politicians.  And today's entry talked about the wonder of peonies in June, called 'piney's by Borland's grandmother.

"They were peonies, huge blossoms that summoned June bees and colored the whole  garden and made sweet the dusk, and finally fell in a profligate showering of petals...They still mean home.  Home in June. Sweet peas are lovely, and roses are superb; rhododendron is breath-taking, and columbines are simply beautiful.  But peonies are homely, and friendly, and generous beyond belief.  Give them half a chance and they are yours for a lifetime; yours in magnificent color and abundance when June is at it's peak."  

A lovely description of our favorite June flower which unfortunately, because of the wetness, hardly bloomed this June, at least in our yard.