an accidental little gathering of friends at the little beach. drawn out by the distinct rumble in the sky of the snowbirds overhead. we sit at the beach and talk about life and love. we laugh and watch the powerful jets dancing and dipping above the lake and the giant wind turbines. the swoop of their 9 part formation over the prison and it's labyrinth of stone walls is my favorite part. the light is perfect. there are baby ducks swimming up to us. boats are finally out on the lake. neighborhood dogs lead their owners along the walkway. and then we wander home to barbecue dinner and set up meagan's new tent in the side yard while naomi begs to be pushed on the tire swing.

the lake churned and shook and rolled like the ocean today. the winds were wild, but it was on the water that it was so clearly more than simply windy. the movement changed the color of the lake. seething from far below the surface. we walked along the edge feeling the spray. energized and excited by it. i was busy with my camera. and looking through the photos just now, it was hard to choose one to post here. each one is minutely different and yet each one shows a different piece of this foaming beastly lake that is so hard to recognize in this form. my placid companion in disguise.

we live in a large town, not a large city. but a large town. we have a university. we have a military base and a military university. we have a community college. and several prisons. we have teaching hospitals and a thriving tourist industry. and we have a wind farm. massive wind turbines that change with the light. i call them 'the angels'. they stand just across the lake from us on wolfe island, looking out over the lake at us, at times glowing with their mammoth wings moving in the wind. they harness the energy that the wind generates off the lake and filters that to our power grid. a sustainable power source. i am pleased that we can offer clean and sustainable alternatives. and i'm equally glad that i'm not living directly beneath them. it was difficult for me to watch during the construction phase, as the pristine vista of lake and island that feels like part of my home, was changed forever. there are 86 turbines, each of them 400 feet high, which is a dramatic change.
however, now that we have lived with them for over a year, they have re-created the vista and have become the view i now embrace. finding a way to function in a sustainable way comes in all shapes and sizes and is a lengthy process. so, we try in our home to make changes that make a difference. we are minimizing disposable paper products in our home. we use cloth napkins. and cotton cloths for cleaning in the kitchen. and lots of tea towels. i started making tom hankies a couple of years ago and he always has one in his pocket. i make them to be fun and functional. stylish and re-usable. we are all able to make our own homes function with just a little less waste. it gets simpler and simpler. and that, i suppose is my point. living simply.