Tidbits

Summer is not a time for lengthy projects. It is a time to get done what needs doing with as small a burst of energy as possible. Even so, effort equals extreme sweat. Time for the pool. And meals that are more hors d'oeuvres than entrees. In short, a season of tidbits all around.

When Steve and Lynn visited on Celebration a couple weeks ago, we enjoyed sundowners at Town Dock. Below is a feast of fresh shrimp, kielbasa, tuna spreads and artichoke dip. All, of course, accompanied by each person's favorite cold beverage.

Sundowner edibles aboard Celebration

The following weekend, we had an overnight neighbor on our dock, a fine 88 ft head-turning wooden yacht named Black Knight, which had been the committee boat for the 1983 America's Cup races. Yes, the year Dennis Conner lost the cup. (A broadside view was posted on TownDock.net; see http://towndock.net/img/12181.jpg)

Unlike Conner, Cameron had a successful race day at our last model boat races. He placed well in most of the races, but took first place in two, overcoming wildly erratic wind speeds and directions. I rode rescue in our kayak, retrieving errant boats that had lost their steering or worse.

The set of the sails illustrates how unpredictable the wind.

Summer has definitely arrived. Although it has not been unbearably hot yet, we have the ubiquitous afternoon thunderstorms. We love them for the strong breezes and cooler air. What we do not love so much are the jellyfish that bloom in profusion from week to week. They are beautiful individually with long, elegant tendrils, but not so appealing in a crowd. (Does the jellyfish photo remind anyone of Sphere, the Dustin Hoffman movie?)

Thunderstorm over river.

Thunderstorm passes the point.

Jellyfish abstract beside hull.