At the Lake

It’s that time of the month again, and I was stumped this month as to what to do.  I have spent most of this month looking out at my back canal or in my office.  My foot is slowly healing but I still have issues with swelling and some days by the end of the day my foot looks twice its size.  So I have limited my walking to the minimum, which means no exploring for me.  Added to that the holidays are over and it is back to the office 4 days a week and a new learning curve.

Richard, however, is itching to get away.  He wants to go on a weekend vacation.  In the meantime, he bought himself a paddle board and is really keen to try it out.  Obviously he wants to go into the surf.  Another challenge, I cannot wear a flip flop at this stage.  So I would be that person on the beach wearing sneakers…not sure I am happy about that.  But I am willing to try.  The weather though is not cooperating, so his next plan is to go to the local park which has a big lake on it.   I agree to that, and so he packs up two chairs, some drinks, the paddle board and off we go.  I have the minumum – my camera and a book.   I hope you enjoy my armchair photography……..

Richard heads off and I am left to hang out in the beautiful South Florida winter weather.  It was breezy, but when the sun came out from behind the clouds the weather was really warm.  I started to look around at what I could take photos of.  No birds…… so I experimented a bit with black and white, blur and negative space.

Beyond the reeds there was not much else to take photos of so I began to eavesdrop on the lives of others.  A little out of my comfort zone to take photo’s of strangers in public, especially when they are so close by.

There was a guy out on the water with his young son on a jet ski and I have to be honest my heart dropped a little at some of the moves they were doing but both seemed to be having a whole lot of fun.

Every time he went past the buoy the Tern took off and had to fly back to it’s post again.  By the way, this was the only interesting bird I saw the entire time I was there.

Fishing is an option at the lake.  This same guy went out on a paddle board and at some point in time he sat down on it and stuck his feet in the water.  Here I am thinking, “Nooo that is not a good idea, alligators live in this area!”  Nothing ate him, but I am not sure you would catch me doing that.

A number of little kids ventured towards the dock where they would hang over the edge and look for the fish.  In fact, one little boy had to be carried away from there crying because he just did not want to leave.

During my meandering, I kept going back to the guy on the jet ski as he made waves around the lake.

Seems like it is also a great place for girl talk.  Friends walked up a little later and the girl talk was quickly concluded.

This guy arrived and sat a short way away from me.  Clearly he decided that today was a good day to head out with a book, a drink and a cigar and enjoy the beautiful weather.

I watched the two on the jet ski for a while longer, enjoyed the clouds and the weather and waited for Richard to come back. Sometimes it is just nice to drop your head back and bask in the winter sunlight.  I leaves you feeling warm and rested.  I have to confess that it was nice to be outside and not busy working in the house.

Finally the father and son team, gave up and headed back in to have some father and son time on the bank of the lake.  I really enjoyed this sweet scene.

Richard arrived back safely after navigating the Lake and the winds.  He thoroughly enjoyed himself and really wants to get out on the ocean now.  So I guess that will be out next stop.

 “Looking over the lake, I felt enveloped in the most peaceful, loving utopia”

~ Laurie Kahn

Thank you for joining me this month, remember this is a circle blog, so don’t forget to see what out newest member,  Lupji  has to offer you.  I am excited to see more of his about him and his family and his part of the world.  Make sure you follow the link and see what everyone else has.

If you are interested in seeing more of my photography take a look at my Facebook page or my Flickr Page.