Last swim of the season

Although nights were cold in the mountain, the daytime sunshine made it feel almost like summer. Since we all live in Snowstorm Region, we were eager to make the most of these last bits of sunwarmth. We stripped off layers of clothing whenever we could and spent as much time as possible outside, searching out spots in the sun. In the late afternoon, the group of us who were lounging on a blanket, eating snacks and talking, made sure we kept moving the blanket down as the cold shade crept near us.

The clear water of the lake lured several of us to take a swim, accompanied by shrill screams and laughter as skin met icy coldness. We weren't, it turns out, the only ones tempted by the way the lake sparkled in the sun. On a morning walk, I came around a bend to see two teenagers, dressed in t-shirts and shorts, splashing in the water, screaming and laughing as they plunged into their bodies into the coldness. On a warm fall day, there is just something about a mountain lake that is hard to resist.