Wednesday, June 23

A Great Day.

We got up late and went to Pyramid, and rather than hitting the West side of the lake like we usually do, we decided to cross the river's mouth and take the jeep trails over sand and brush to get to the beach on the East side near Anaho Island and the Great Stone Mother. Anaho is a breeding place for the great American pelican. I love those big birds, and today I swam within twenty yards of one. I am always surprised by their size. The Stone Mother is a beautiful Rock Formation and the object of a sad Paiute Legend. This is also the side of the lake where my grandfather’s ashes were scattered. The wind blows across the lake to this side, so the beach is covered with driftwood and tumbleweeds. It is even more secluded than the East side. We didn't see anyone else out there today.
Ruby liked it better today, probably because the wind wasn’t nearly as fierce as it was last time. Today, she could concentrate on her foot rather than flying sand.

Ani walked right up to the shore with her, and she laughed heartily at the waves for quite some time. I hope she's going to love the water.

Ani and I both went for a swim, and just as we decided it was about time to head back to town, the storms that had been hiding on the other side of the mountain came to life and crept toward the lake. Desert storms are riveting, especially just before they hit; they pull at strings deep inside my gut and make me feel like a kid again: expectant and ready for something big. Here's another picture for Charlene's BABY FEAR FACTOR show:

We got home just in time to go to Cornelius and Buffy’s house for a party where we met Jim and Jen’s little dauhter Quinn. I miss Jim B, and it felt nice talking to an old friend who is now a fellow dad. It was strange to see so many of my old pals with kids. I've hit that age where you look around and everyone you know is doing the same thing. So many guys that I grew up with are being great dads. D6, Cornelius, Jim, Pa Bennett, and I were all there. Hooray for dads! Ruby got to make her usual rounds, and wound up in the arms of “Uncle” Dudley. It’s really amazing how much Ruby (and all the kids there) loved Dud. He's got the touch. I told him that I was probably going to post this picture on the blog.

Then we all joked about how we hoped that this would be the only picture of him with children on the Internet. Seriously though, I’m glad to have good friends to play with my kid.