Ahhhhhhhhhhh

There are a few places in the world that just fill me with peace.
The ocean.
My farm early in the morning (if the kids are still asleep--once they are up, "peace" isn't always possible).
The mountains, especially if we have been camping and I get to wake up early in the morning.

And my in-laws farm, right on a river. I was able to spend a wonderful two days there, and snuck out to take pictures a couple times.

Catching the last of the evening light. I should have gone out a few minutes earlier, but I was caught up in wonderful conversations with my father in law and mother in law. Staying at their home is wonderful, peaceful, and full of laughter and deeply intellectual conversations. I would say it is pretty close to perfection!

Their home is right on a bend in the river, so the view stretches much further than these photos capture.

The view just as you come out their back door in the morning.

This farm has been in the family for two generations now. Chris' grandparents bought it, and now it belongs to his parents. I love hearing how things have changed, and how things have stayed the same, through the generations. It is neat seeing my kids enjoy activities that my husband loved as a kid--like going out in the boat, or catching crabs off the dock with a string and a piece of chicken.


The sandbar that stretches out just in front of their home. Last summer it was much wider and we went walking out there with the kids, but there have been other years that the water is high enough to completely cover it.
Year to year, tide to tide, this shoreline is never quite the same.


There is something about the way dewdrops capture the sun. It seems cheerful and full of hope and renewal.


The remains of a giant tree that used to stand along the water line--a hurricane blew it down a few years ago. My handsome husband used to swing off a rope swing into the water from this tree as a kid and it was a bit sad to see the grand old tree go.
In the backdrop, you can see their boat dock, which stretches out into a inlet that runs to the side of their property, rather into the main part of the river.

If you look near the opposite shore, you can see the high school crew team going past. I am pretty sure these kids saw hours of the day that most teenagers don't even know exist.

As the crew team passed, a blue heron flew by. I think I was standing where he wanted to land and he yelled at me rather loudly. For being such beautiful birds, they sure have an ugly voice.

The sandbar--which this year is really more of a peninsula.

After gazing down the river for a while, I decided to walk over to their dock. The fiddler crabs were all scurrying back into the marsh grass to hide from my intrusion. (If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see their disproportionately large claws.)

Standing on the dock, looking over part of the small inlet back towards one of their pastures.

The home. Where at that moment there was coffee brewing, bacon frying, and buckwheat pancakes on the griddle.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for such a wonderful couple of days!