07.26.17

We are already nearing the end of July.  The heat continues and there is not a drop of rain, seldom a cloud in the sky.  We are in the national headlines as the state with the largest number of forest fires.  This year, even the grasslands and round bales of hay have exploded into fire on the eastern side of the state.  There is lots of complaining in our household, but with the Miller family staying here this past week-end, we just “leaned into it” as they say, and spent hours lounging on the dock, glided along on paddle boards, and did a group swim before dinner time so we could be refreshed enough to eat the corn on the cob.

We all went for a sail one afternoon, and as I’m beginning to understand, there are always new problems, adventures to be had.   This time, the jib would not unfurl, just as the wind died down, and we needed it the most.  Don lamented the excruciatingly slow speed read-out on the instrument panel, but the rest of us were entertained by watching the depth measurement.  Lauren and Sara sun bathed on the bow, and we shuddered at what it must have been like to sail on the ocean, way back in human history, when they thought the earth was flat, not knowing what they would come upon.   For us, our house was always in view in the distance, and we were simply content to have the breeze in our face, when we rode close to the wind, and observe that we were actually moving.

As August nears, I am thankful every day in which there is no smoke in our skies.  It’s a miracle, actually.  A fresh round of guests arrive tomorrow, with very high expectations for Montana and summer at Flathead Lake.  Oh how I wish I could control what will happen in our big skies for their visit!  As always, the lesson is to just float along, weathering the weather:

Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot;
Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not,
We’ll weather the weather whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not.
~Cardiff Camera Club, c.1921