A vacation day

This morning James suggested we take a little kayak trip up the river.  We put in at our place and began paddling against the current.  James took the south bank and I took the north.  It was nice floating alone looking at the colors of the rocks beneath the water and the gnarly tree roots grasping the bank at the river's edge.  Eventually I paddled to the left bank when I was ready to talk again.

When I was alone paddling I was thinking - where would I like to go?  I shared with James how I'd like to be in a little cabin on a lake where I could get up and have nothing to do but drink my cup of coffee.  He said, "you know you can do that here"  He said he'd milk the goats and I could do whatever I wanted.  I told him it wasn't the same when I'm at home, that I still feel obligations.

We paddled some more then stopped probably less than half a mile from our place and parked ourselves on our neighbors' gravel beach.  We sat in 6 inches of water and gathered little shells.  We talked and then we didn't.

Slowly any care I had drifted away like the dead crayfish I found who could no longer cling to the rocks.  Poetic, isn't it?  But seriously, my muscles relaxed as I shed my shell and I thought of nothing but our light conversation and how rocks and shells were prettier when they're wet.  Not much more than that.  After an hour or so we hopped back in our kayaks and headed back downstream, only paddling when we neared home and the water had slowed.  We looked to see if we had shells at our beach like they have at our neighbors and we don't.  I wonder why.

Back home, worn out by all our relaxing, I laid on our bed for 30 minutes not wanting to do any more than that.  When that got boring I went out to sit with Raisa, hoping she'd show some sign of labor.  Not today.  She was happy for my company and I was happy to oblige her demands for scratches.

Since I'd decided today was my day off I told myself folding laundry was fun and relaxing.  I think I faked myself out because it was.  I made a blueberry pie for dessert to go with our very easy crockpot dinner of goat shoulder and already made potato salad and cucumber/bean salad.  A very simple meal.

A perfect ending to a perfect day was first walking around the pasture in the dark with the dogs and goats looking for Raisa, followed by an evening dip in the river, which is really warm this time of year.

I doubt sitting on the dock of a lake by a secluded cabin with my coffee cup could have been any better than my little vacation today.