Sipping the Sunset

Today it was 1/2 an hour earlier than yesterday when the dogs and I made our journey,  too early for the sun to stream down through the trees. It was damp. The cold night had coaxed droplets of water from the air, covering everything in a thick dew. The first part of our trip took us down the same roads as yesterday morning, ending up at the shore of the lake. The water was still, with slight ripples in the silken surface. I fumbled with my camera, dogs leashes looped over a picnic table bench, and played with taking photos into the sun.  The occasional water bird caught my attention.

We meandered down the shore a bit, enjoying the peace of the liquid prairie, before turning back. Instead of retracing our steps, we kept to the lighthouse road. As we passed through a natural meadow, 2 deer stared at us, before bounding into the woods. We kept to the road, but stepped into that same wood - deep and dark with barely a sunbeam to brighten it. Tall trees and a thick carpet of needles deadened any sound.

We kept to our route and came out of the woods at the entrance to the marsh viewing platform. From there we could see a wide expanse of marsh leading out into Presqu'ile Bay. It was pretty, but if I'd been there an hour earlier the sun would have been coming up over the misty view.

The start to the day couldn't have been much nicer. Which bookends nicely with the end of yesterday.

We'd been cooling a bottle of bubbles in the fridge for the last new days, waiting for the perfect time to open it. The end of a wonderful summery day seemed to be a fitting time. It was also nice enough to eat outside - a rarity this summer. We balanced plates overflowing with pasta and vegetables, sliced cucumber, glasses right out of the freezer, and the icy bottle out to the picnic table. We dined overlooking the lake, with its edges gradually turning to a pale pink and then darker blue. The chilled glasses of pink champagne looked like we had captured the sunset with our glasses and were drinking down the rest of the day. We pulled our chairs around to the edge of the bluff and sat, sipping our sunsets until it was nearly dark.

Then of course, reality kicked in and we had to wash dishes (and break one), clean Grace's cage, and other mundane chores that sort of broke the spell.

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