The snake and the chipmunk

Selim and I went out to Hermit Lake this afternoon with Amy and Jacob.  Today's wildlife sightings included a beaver, a snake and a chipmunk.  From the lake house second story deck, we watched the beaver swim across the channel between the grass islands and the lake shore.  When he got close to his dam, he thwacked his tail and disappeared under the water.  I wasn't quick thinking enough to grab my camera and document.

When we went down for a swim, the boys were jumping, cartwheeling, cannonballing off the dock.  The lake water was warmer than the ocean, but still, not bath water, or just walk right in temperature.

The snake appeared by the dock.  Amy and I were separated from our boys who were on the dock in the lake and the snake was in between us.  The snake has slithered out of the water and was headed across the area in front of the boys.  It posed for me and I got a good shot.  Vogue.

Then, it went into the stone wall, seemingly stalking a chipmunk.   The chipmunk scampered off and the snake decided to hang around the chippy den and wait. 

The boys grabbed sticks (because really, what boy wouldn't), climbed up on the bench in front of the den, out of the snake's reach and brandished their weapons.  We waited, ate popcorn, pretended to be chippies and waited for some action.

Finally the snake moved out of the den and went back into the water.  And the guys moved on to eating apples.

With the wildlife entertainment portion concluded for the afternoon, the boys and Amy got back into the water on a wide, inflatable, kid size wind surfer base and went out a bit into the lake and away from the weeds.  Much diving and falling off the base ensued.

Just as I was getting ready to swim out to them, I noticed the the chippy was in front of the den.  It froze as I grabbed the camera and asked it to stay still, please, so that I could take its glamour shot.  It obliged.

I swam out for a bit but didn't feel like getting splashed so much; so I didn't stay out too long.  Some friends from across the lake swam out to join the gang.  I lay out on the dock and snapped pictures of the flowers and the swimming party returning to shore.

All in all -- a great afternoon.

In other news, Neil Armstrong died today.  They are showing the landing on the moon on the news tonight.  What an amazing man and time in our country.  I wish the Mars landing was as unifying and uplifting as the moon.  But without humans touching down on Mars, it isn't quite the same.

The other Armstrong making headlines yesterday and today is Lance.  I don't understand fully the merit of the court battles, jurisdictions, charges and accusations against him.  The whole thing makes me sad.  He never tested positive for doping.  But the sport of cycling was full of cheaters while he was at the helm.  I appreciated Sally Jenkins column for her viewpoint on the Agencies that are stripping him of all his titles.  Her writing gives me pause in thinking that since he has stopped fighting the charges that he is therefore guilty as charged.

And the Red Sox did a huge trade sending Beckett and Crawford and two others out to the LA Dodgers.  I don't know who is coming this way in return.  The Red Sox team is a mess this year.  I guess Bobby Valenine isn't working out quite as they expected.  Although with his track record, they should have known what they were getting into.  But still... wow.