......

SO THERE WE ARE (well, there we were, but let's just pretend, Reader Dear, we're still there)...eatin' chicken off the grill, takin' boat rides, playin' outdoor games, and watchin' the tide roll in (or out, as the case may be). We genetically-linked folks are relishing the sunny weather and pondering the poor soul (or souls) who squatted in the empty house of our deceased parents (or grandparents, or even great-grandparents, as the case may be) and went so far as to steal the copper pipes from the basement  furnace room [cut them right down from the ceiling, they did!] They left an empty vodka bottle and cigarette butts; they ransacked the place!)

Not all descendants are concerned. In particular, the little ones care not at all. And the ones who are upset try not to be.



We all stay away from the house as much as possible, lounging by the river, sitting around the tiki torches in the evening, hearing tales from the pilot of the boat (and his wife--these neighbors who have lived nearly all of their eighty-six years [or eighty-seven, as the case may be] near this river!) Ernie tells us how he ran out of fuel for his boat a few months ago and drifted until long after sundown. Ruth Ann tells us how she sent out the rescue squads. And then we all tell tales of olden days.



It's such a lovely evening, even if biting bugs give a few of us red welts.
......
Inevitably, though, the tide and time wait for no one. The weekend ebbs and it's dismantling time!




We hug our dear ones goodbye.
We hope to do this again at least one more time before the home place sells and the squatter must find another spot to drink his vodka.
......

......

IT WAS FIRST THINGS FIRST at this Family Reunion.
And erecting the tent came first!
















Once that was done, we could jump right in. (Right into Ernie's boat, Reader Dear!) This genetic bunch had a neighbor man while growing up who is still the neighbor man! He has a boat and a generous urge to give rides!








Well, then there was fishing!


And that most universal of activities--eating!




My goodness, Reader Dear, as if riding the boat were not enough, we all got a chance to ride the train, as well! That well-known celebrity (my Little Actor himself) was acting as engineer! My Small Actor, too, was in attendance! His entertainment was of the Throw-the-Pinecone-to-the-Ground-and-All-Applaud sort, and it was quite a hit!



Of course, the tiny stars were mostly taking a break from acting. They were on vacation, after all! The Small Actor took time to kick back and enjoy nature; the Little Actor relished being on the near side of the camera for once!


There's more.
The tide keeps on rolling...

(to be cont'd., Dear Reader-slash-Viewer!)

...

......


AH, DEAR READER, that whole fantastic group with whom I spent the weekend--they're the ones most closely linked to me by genes. We met beside that river we all know and love.



Several times the tide came in. And just as often, the tide went out. But I'll have to tell you more another day, when I'm no longer listening to the lapping at the shore.
......

......
SUNDAY SUMMER CONCERTS! Yesterday evening's was the first of the season, and my Little Actor was game to go!



......

......

THE TREES, he says....



they are centenarians!!
Ensuring that there is no doubt, we hear the
message twice!!



They were planted in the nineteen-twenties or thirties.
They were planted, both men tell us, as mature
trees.





The yard man shrugs. I smirk.
But neither one of us believes those trees were planted as mature trees (However could that be?! We were told when we planted our prized Copper Beech that it would grow slowly; approximately fifty years would get it to maturity. Already at its relatively young age of twenty-eight, it stretches credulity to believe it could be snatched out of the ground and re-planted elsewhere!) So we shake our heads and continue along the garden boulevard,




spying many other old and (very) mature trees.
......