Lake trip

Spent a peaceful few days at the lake house, doing nothing useful. Our Good Neighbor Bob is always doing useful things. He's a semi-retired contractor, with too much time and heavy equipment on his hands. He has built docks, decks, boat ramps, a playground, fire pit, swings, rafts, and a campground with latrine and shower down by the lake in front of his house. This is about 50 feet straight down from the yard, so he uses our slope to get there. This is fine, because we enjoy the facilities, even the boats and dune buggies if we want.

Sunday I heard his kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews playing and splashing around in front of our house. I walked over to the edge of the yard and there they were, having lots of fun with a big banner that said "Now Open for Breakfast." They took turns throwing buckets of water uphill and sliding down to the lake. One had brought a bottle of dish soap to squirt at the uphill end, making the slide fast and foamy. Bob said he hoped we didn't mind, but there was no room to play over at his place.

Bored kids will find stuff to do. We've been going up there to be bored for about 40 years. We've watched ants form two lines, one toting home groceries, the other going back for more. We've watched spiders work their webs, turtles lay their eggs, dirt daubers build nests, snakes shed their skins, caught tadpoles and lightning bugs, all because we were bored.