Diary of a Perfect Day

Summer has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest and we had a beautiful August long weekend (with rain on only one day!).

Monday dawned bright, clear and fresh. We had breakfast on the deck complete with Queen Anne cherries.

They look so beautiful in this blue bowl which I bought years ago while in Switzerland.

The snowball tree is almost in full bloom.

After a perfectly lazy morning, we had lunch the loaded the canoe on the car and headed up to the lake.

We drove around the campground at Hicks Lake looking for my husband's friend, but he must have checked out. We found Hicks a little too busy, after all, we're spoiled by living close by and are not used to holiday weekend traffic and crowds. So we went on up to Deer Lake where there were fewer people and put the canoe in the water.

There were a few boats on the lake, mostly people fishing. Motors are not allowed on the lake, so it was quiet and peaceful. As you can see, only a gentle breeze rippled the surface of the water so the intrepid paddlers did not have to fight the wind.

Here is another view. We're never sure what direction we're facing on the mountain lakes because the road driving up is winds through forest so we get totally mixed up.

The water is clear and shallow, particularly around the shores of the lake. Since I'm in the bow, I have to watch for underwater logs and branches, called snags, that stick up and could damage the canoe.

Here is Gord, the ship's captain - at least that's what I call him because it makes him feel good. And yes, his legs really are that white. We've had hardly any sun this year so we're all Vitamin D deprived.

Water lilies grow in the shallows and many were in bloom with waxy, bright yellow blossoms sticking out of the water.