Thanks for asking about our weekend. It was really one of those nearly perfect weekends that will be recalled for years.
First, the weather was exactly as you described it: bright blue sky and sunlight. The sky was so blue in fact that we at one point we found ourselves just standing there smelling the air while we lifted your faces to the warmth of the sun. We spent most of the time working. Mary was very aggressive with a tree saw and machete, attacking a large, thorn infested bush in the backyard like a native Indian. I chopped all the brush up and pushed it into 10 huge industrial-sized bags. After spending nearly six hours in the mountain heat cutting brush, we rewarded ourselves by wondering down to a lakeside watering hole that Cavin helped us find ( say what you will about that boy, but he does have a knack for sniffing LOCAL drinking spots.) Anyway, we sat on the shore and let the small lake waves massage our tired toes. We sipped our ice cold Corona's as we stared out at the pine forests and water skiers. The sun was so warm and the weather so beautiful that we could have stayed there for days. But we went back to work...Later that night, Marina cooked some amazing kabobs with fish, chicken and steak and garnished the skewers with red peppers, sweet onions and pineapple. Wow!! We barbecued the feast on our deck as listened to the wind rushing through the trees. True, our hands and fingers were both tired and bleeding, but it is also true that the setting sun over the forest and the sound of jolly, laughing golfers seemed to anesthetize our pain. Mary picked up a new little trick. She would wave at each foursome on the golf course, and invariably, the golfers would return the wave. It kind of reminded me of me in the far back seat of our Plymouth Station Wagon as we drove across country. Jimmy and I would wave at a cars and were so thrilled when the courtesy was returned. Funny how things like that are universal.
I think the thing that made our trip so memorable was not the good deal of work we accomplished, nor was it the spectacular weather we encountered. Instead it was the site of a new flower which had obviously been in our yard for decades, but for us it was brand new: two gorgeous Lilac trees. I have never seen such large, hardy and sweet smelling plants in all my life. For me, it was the first time I had encountered the May blooms of the Lilac, but I will remember it forever! We cut two big bouquets of the flowers and put them in water. Do you know that throughout the entire long-weekend they never once lost a petal or wilted into a slunk. Strong, beautiful and full of more aroma than a pot of freshly brewed coffee is the way I'll remember those flowers. Alas, we found out that they only bloom for one month - May. So we don't expect to see them again ...this year.
We pulled out at 5 a.m. this morning into a beautiful mountain dawn. The lake was like a mirror; the surrounding forests were shaded from front-to-back with black, navy blue and purple; the crystal blue sky filled with the smell of open space and pine; every once in awhile we could catch a whiff of fireplace smoke. We drove down the mountain happy and energized, and as we submerged back into a thick, cloudy gloom, we both wished you had been with us. As the last patch of blue disappeared into the cotton blah, we promised ourselves we have to get you up to the mountains again soon!
