Prolonging summer

I woke up determined not to sleep my day away.  It seems like the weekends have passed me by as I have been unable to rouse myself until noon.  I've felt exhausted and unable to muster any energy to do anything.  Today was different.

By 8:30 I was up and packing our beach bag with towels, changes of clothes and snacks.  I did not give in to Selim's desire for a lazy morning.  I was pulling out of the driveway at 9:01, headed for the beach.  After two quick stops, we were parking along Route 1A, the closest spot to the access street as one could be.  At first Selim did not want to go in the water.  He was content to rest on a towel, play around in the sand, or skip along the edge of the waves.

Despite the huge sign saying no feeding the seagulls, some lady brought a huge bag of bread and disregarded the notice.  It was a bit creepy as the number of seagulls zoomed in and fought over the scraps.  After the lady went away, I did take a few pictures because I liked their reflections on the wet sand.

The air temperature warmed up pretty quickly and the ocean became more enticing.  The water wasn't too cold; it felt warmer than a few weeks ago.  We were able to stay in for an hour at a time before resting on our towels, eating snacks and getting warmed up.  Selim has gotten so comfortable in the water.  I love it.  He rode the waves, ducked under those that were about to crash right over his head, and pretended he was a beaver, smacking his board against the water to get my attention.

We had the best day.  The two of us were in sync and spent the time happily together.  I can't get over how much fun we had.

I took a couple of pictures with my camera phone.  I managed to download them this afternoon.  Using the instragram filter/application, this one turned out pretty neat.

On the drive home, as we passed by Rye Harbor, we noticed these people on their boards sitting cross legged in what looked like to be a meditative pose.  I did a u-turn and when I got back to the spot, it turns out that it was a yoga class on surf or paddle boards.  How cool is that?

For Robert

Happy birthday, Robert!  Thank you for your love, patience, guidance, and understanding that you have shown me growing up and now extended to my family.  Selim's love of the outdoors, ability to swim and ski, and knowledge of birds comes directly from you.  I'm toasting my tea mug to you this morning.

Here are some pictures from last week that I think you will enjoy.  First up, the bird walk:

Getting out the binoculars

Testing, testing

About to set forth

Bird spotting

Bird identification on the ipad

Then, a canoe paddle from Kevin's dock:

What could be better than ending a day with a sunset walk?  Although, Selim didn't find it too funny when he slipped on the rocks and got wet.  We were treated to a slightly exaggerated re-enactment of the event before he took off to the cabin to put on dry clothes.

The next day you took Selim, Heather, and I out for a kayak adventure that will be remembered for Selim's lack of energy and the "swarm" of deer flies that made him hunker down in the kayak with a beach towel over his head while you towed him back to the docks.

The next morning you managed to get my hubby in a kayak with Heather and Stan.

On the windy day, you helped Selim arrange the towel to give him a new look.

On the last day, you took my pirate down to check on the kayaks.  After the wind and storm of the night before, who knows, treasure could have washed ashore.  Later, you and Heather returned the kayaks to Keven and Doug and Sue.

What a fantastic week we had.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I hope you enjoy the blueberry muffins Mom is bringing back.  Selim and I picked the berries yesterday at Emery Farm.  We managed 7 pounds in under an hour of picking.  Not bad considering how many ended up in his mouth rather than the bucket.