Summer Days

Not once this summer have we managed to get a few minutes to make it to our favorite spot...camping by the water. Usually we've left behind city life and its "survival of the fittest" for the lesser demands of wilderness life. We love to set up camp far away from the camper filled hot spots of Wisconsin where my favorite pastime is plopping by the fire and never leaving it until we pack up to go. Stress and worries melt away. I love to just lay back and look up - the blue sky is like a bulls-eye when surrounded by the tall pines and birches that stretch heavenward. The sounds of the forest are soothing to me - if all is quiet I can hear the woodpeckers doing their thing...the bluejays yelling and screaching at one another...insects buzzing, the swishing of the tops of the trees as the breeze blows through...distant laughter of the kids at the beach...crackling fire...chipmunks rustling through the underbrush...sometimes if we are close enough to the water, I can hear the gentle lapping of the lake reaching the shore. It is heavenly, serene and beautiful. A respite indeed.

even in the northwoods one can eat gourmet pear, walnut and bleu cheese salad!

But, we haven't been there yet...not until next week. In the meantime, I trekked northward with a gang of girlfriends on Thursday for a quick reprieve of life-as-I-know-it - a sort of impromptu trip to hang out by the fire, eat good food and laugh a LOT! Linda's place at Duck Point is beautiful...we spent time out on the peninsula, relishing the cool breeze that makes life in humidity a little more tolerable. It was divine. Now I can hardly wait until this next weekend. I'm in desperate need of a lot of fire time. A lot of drinking in the beauty of the northwoods and a lot of doing nothing! Well, I will get up from the lounging to eat!

I surely hope that you all find time to get away to some kind of retreat. One can't go wrong comtemplating the simplicity of nature and gaining strength from its beauty.