Down By the River (Elk Neck, that is)

So, we rented this house for the Summer on the Elk River. I had never heard of the Elk River, in North East Maryland, but it turns out to be a wonderful body of water. Our place perches on a precipice at least a hundred feet up, so the views from the edge are panoramic. Lots of water-skiers, and great views of soaring birds; an occasional Bald Eagle, plenty of Osprey, Double-crested Cormorants of course, and plenty of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, drawn, in part, by the action of the butterflies and the nectar station in close proximity. We keep the boats at the water's edge in a jumble of water-craft, to make it easy to get up and go. I am sure there will be a time when my yellow lab will insist on getting in the boat, which is fine, except for the likely capsize when the beast spots something irresistible.

No worries. It is remarkable to me to see how strong the Lab really is. We did at least a mile on our (his) first swim, and I got the feeling that he could have gone all day. The little dog (terrier) likes to ride along in the boat. For now, there is plenty more exploring to be done.

ALZ and ADD (attn deficit disorder)

Masquerading as normal people out for a little diversion on a Summer's eve, our intrepid ALZ Support group made fast work last evening, during the first Duck Pin Classic, at the Stoneleigh Lanes venue, known for its cranky machinery and occasional random releases of bowling balls brought on by ghosts, apparently, and sugar highs for me, as the Skittle monster. Believe it or not, the accuracy and finesse was of an extremely high quality, and I for one, began to see a compelling vision of the future. I am ready to propose the idea to Akron, the home of the big balls, and I have contacted several Cartoon mascot treatments that could catapult us to an entirely new sport, by injecting such innovations as "who knows the score," and "Where is the pizza," and Why can't I keep myself from eating Skittles@, and whose turn is it, anyway! TV rights can't be far behind, and I think we might want to start laying the groundwork for the ALZ bowl in 2011. For now, I was so happy that we did this--it was fun, , and the reason it was fun is that we are fun people, positive people, and know how to share the good times. I hope we can continue this kind of thing. We have a very special bond and a good thing going. Love to all.