A Day at the Lake

The view from shore

 I am relaxing and enjoying a quiet morning at the cabin and looking to keep my brain relaxed and in the moment. I came up here to help put the docks and boat lifts in the water and get things largely ready for summer. That mission was accomplished yesterday with only some mild soreness manifesting so far. 

Working as a team with my dad and brother, the whole process of positioning the two docks and three lifts of various sizes took pretty much the whole morning. The lists are particularly heavy and we leveraged a couple of the plastic, small kayaks the kids use to help create some buoyancy and ease positioning once they were deep enough in the water. One of the kayaks did get a little out of position though and launched itself from its position and nearly concussing my dad. Good thing he's still got a little bit of quickness. 

The work itself, while in waders that eventually got washed over in the deeper spots and ended up being a sort of aquarium for my feet, was tough but it felt nice to be just focused on the project and not really concerned with anything else for a while.  It required a little bit of problem solving along with the physicality of moving and positioning pieces, planks, etc. The lift moving was a good time to grumble and muse on ways the job could be done more easily. For me, some kind of temporary wheeled approach would make sense as it accounts for while the lift is on land as well as in the water. I might have to design something to try. Obviously, there are some solutions available: https://amzn.to/42JDUaS

Once everything was in and I had dumped the gallon or so out of my waders (okay maybe more like a quart) we went out to an early dinner and I ended up taking an amazing nap with the rest of the evening being quiet. On the way back from dinner it was noticed that there were big billows of smoke rising to the northeast. Apparently the dry weather had finally resulted in wildfires that, when the breeze turned in the evening, covered the opposite shoreline from the cabin into a murky haze. 

Hazy sunset

Sitting here now it seems that the wind is still from the northeast but the haze is gone. Perhaps the fires quelled some in the evening or the wind has adjusted just enough to move us out of the prevailing path. The weather, bright and sunny yesterday, has turned mildly chilly and overcast. Rain is expected this afternoon and will hopefully put a lot of the wildfire to rest. 

And now here I sit with a cup of coffee that is in need of a refresh and much of the focus from the work yesterday gone as I look to returning home in a couple of short hours and the multitude of tasks and uncertainties that need to be addressed in the coming month or so. I suppose it was good while it lasted.

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