Tick, tick, tick

Holiday pancake with feet and sausage eyes.

It's 8:04 a.m., my bath water is run, my second cup of coffee is half downed and time is wickering closer to the moment when I must shut down this silly computer and dash off to work. I should be getting in that tub RIGHT NOW but I feel so LAZY that it seems like way too much energy to devote to a silly thing like cleanliness.

End of vacation is a tough pill to swallow. It's not that I'm not happy about getting back to a regular routine – it's just the orderly scheduling of everyday life that is hard to adjust to. From getting up when I wanted, to lazing in a camp chair with a second or third or fourth cup of joe, it was all about no schedules. And here I am and the clock is ticking and it's now 8:08 and I'm no closer to the tub than I was four minutes ago.

I also feel SO remiss about not checking in with everyone's blog. I made a half-hearted stab this morning but I really need some serious time to make my rounds. Last night we had shopping to do and tonight there's a very, VERY excited young girl named Bethalin who is coming around to pick up the old Neon she bought from Dave. It's her first car and she's absolutely thrilled. I kind of like that it's a fresh-faced, enthusiastic girl who is adopting "Jessie" – so named by Tracy, the original owner of the car, also an enthusiastic fresh-faced young girl who now is a savvy businesswoman with an incredibly successful career. Funny thing is, they're both pretty brunettes who look a great deal alike. I'll take a photo of Bethalin and Jessie tonight and post it for you. Do you remember the TV show Blossom? And a character named Six? That's who Bethalin reminds me of. Cute as a bug's ear and happy as heck. Gotta love her.

8:14 a.m. and the tub water is cooling off. Sigh. Better get in there, I guess.

Here's some more Grundy Lake photos while I'm getting ready for work. Have a great day, OK?

Clouds rolling in over Pakeshkag Lake island in Grundy Lake Provincial Park.

They say there are lots of pike and pickerel and bass in Grundy but all
we caught were sunfish. Cute little beggars, aren't they?
Yes, we released all of 'em!

"Liftover" portage on Pakeshkag Lake. I love the rock formation here.
So smooth.

The levels of the lake are very different because of this
rocky outcropping. It's a natural dam, carved by glaciers.

Meh. Me.

Pakeshkag Lake narrows at the railroad tracks, where it
flows under a bridge made in 1911. I thought this
was pretty.

Red is a colour rarely seen naturally in the summertime (although it's common
in fall, of course). That's why these Cardinal Flowers (Lobelia Cardinalis)
are so striking.

If you're looking for wetlands, you'll find them at Grundy Lake Provincial Park.
And what's a wetland without a frog? 

The railroad bridge I mentioned earlier. Grundy is next to a
main CPR rail line and we heard trains all the time – EXCEPT
when we waited to take a photo of one. Dave and I waited for more than
an hour to take a picture of the train before we finally gave up.
Now I'm humming a bastardized version of the Rolling Stones'
song "Just Waiting for a Friend" in my head all the time...
"I'm just waiting for a traaaaaaaaaainnnnnnn."

Watersnake! Just under Dave's paddle is a teeny tiny Northern Watersnake.
They're brown banded when they're young, like this little guy, but they
turn almost completely black when they're older. 

And look! This youngster had just shed his skin when we came across him!
You can see the skin that used to cover his head! Isn't this cool?
Isn't this gross? Yeah, sorry, I'm kinda icked out too.