Walking on water

Walking on water, originally uploaded by jo(e).

All winter, the river was frozen, with some creatures snuggled down into the mud and other creatures leaving tracks across the snowy surface, but now the ice has melted. The river water will be cold, cold enough to make every nerve ending tingle, and the breezes off the river will be tinged with that icy coolness. The water will be temptingly clear -- the thick weeds will come later -- and the cattails will be just beginning to grow. In May, the river rises up over the docks, which means the marsh will be filled with little creeks, just right for exploring by canoe. When the sun comes out, everyone in the family, young and old, will strip down to bathing suits to feel the sun on their winter white skin and to play in the chilly water.

While I am grading papers, writing an annual report, and cleaning my office, it is hard not think about camp. My parents will go up next week, but most of us will have to wait until Memorial Day Weekend. This photo is from three years ago -- two of the kids in the family, cousins of course, playing on the submerged dock. These kids are teenagers now, but they will still be excited to be at camp, to sleep in the tent with their cousins, to tell stories around the campfire, to canoe or sail, or to just hang out in the sun. And another set of younger cousins will discover the fun of dancing on a wet dock.