A River of Bliss

If someone asked me to write a script for a movie about one perfect family day, I would not have to think too much about the storyline but, rather, I would simply base it on that which I experienced today. It had all of the elements of a Sunday of family bliss. The sun rose well before us and we followed its path with a leisurely pace. Of course there was a breakfast of summer fruits and breads and jams. Then I piled the girls into the old but still very functional pick up truck that was left to me by my Dad. We ran our errands quite efficiently as one can only do whilst in a small town. And, as usual, the girls were most giddy when we visited the farm store that I consider the perfect antidote for the ubiquitous malls of today.

But the true splendor of the day was our extended adventure up the Mississippi River by pontoon boat. The sun was brilliant and warm but our skin was still comfortable, cooled by a wind that felt as though September would be here all too soon. There were Bald Eagles and mallards and loons and hawks and one incredibly funny blue heron. I dubbed him Harry the Hilarious and he teased us with his playful peek-a-boo from the long summer grasses along side the river's edge. In fact he was so good at his game that he never cam the opportunity to capture a decent blip. And when I was more focused on blipping and my children than the course of our boat, I soon found myself parked at the shoreline, cleaning weeds from our prop while the girls grasped at the lily flowers and hoped to kiss the one frog that is destined to be prince.

After the long run home, the night literally ended with a bang as the flooded water levels finally receded to the point that Fourth of July fireworks were finally lit. When they burst up on in the dim light of the night, their brilliant flashes of luminous light produced even brighter eyes and smiles on the faces of those along the beach.

These are the delightful days I remember as a child. And, as much as I thought they could never get better, I guess I had not seen them through the eyes of my Dad.

I finally made it on to blip after 9 hours away and I am, once again, so thankful to you all. It seems that I have received much but had little time to give in return.

I caught this image with the long lens while under nearly full power in the boat. After he lifted off of the water he followed us for a mile or so and offered us a bit of an AIRSHOW. There were many blips to choose from today but this is the rom the last of the images I captured on our perfect boat ride. Once again and for the third night in a row, I had a devil of a time uploading it but I have emailed blip central to see if the problem may be the settings on my recently received Mac.