Contemplating the Duck

When my stress level hits Defcon 1 and I think I'm going to pop a blood vessel, nothing mellows me out like contemplating the duck.

I sit and watch his random journey around the pool; sometimes he zooms along, propelled by the filter jets, and other times he moves at a more leisurely pace, slowly spinning and rocking as he reaches the outer limits of the current, only to be scooped up by the next jet and sent rocketing away again.

Will he spin left or right when he gets caught in the next eddy?

Will the siren song of the skimmer call him to its bosom, or will he zoom past on another lap?

It’s all so arbitrary, and yet so familiar and calming.

The smell of the yard and gardens mingling with the faint odor of chlorine, the trees rustling on a gentle breeze, the duck spinning and drifting. Is that the cardinals I hear?

My mind spins and drifts with the duck, and the stress of the day drops from my shoulders with each passing moment.

Spinning

Drifting

Decompressing

berryjooks: Just Snoozeling By The Pool.

The link below is to a post I did a few years ago on the subject of the Labor Day Weekend. There's not much I could add about this wonderful but bittersweet holiday, so in the time honored tradition of summer network television, I give you a repeat:


berryjooks: Just Snoozeling By The Pool.

Just Snoozeling By The Pool.

It’s been a fast and crazy summer. A good one, but fast and crazy nonetheless, and I just haven’t had much time for my favorite summer activity; sitting in the backyard.

For all the fun and exciting things we do, there’s nothing that compares to reclining on a comfortable chair in the shade, the pool gurgling in the background, the Sox on the radio, and the trees swaying gently on a late summer breeze.

We spend so much time and effort on the yard that it’s great to finally just sit back and enjoy it, and we decided to stay close to home this Labor Day weekend to do just that.

We’re attending the usual family backyard barbecues, and taking the almost obligatory trip to Essex for clams, but the rest of the weekend is being spent in the reclining position. No sandy rides home, no guests to feed or clean up after, just sweet and blissful solitude. The knowledge that our beautiful surroundings are due to our own hard work, and for right now, that no one is expecting anything of us, makes it even sweeter.

Just snoozeling by the pool. Heaven.

Take some time out for yourself this holiday weekend. Retreat to your own little slice of heaven, wherever it may be, and just relax. You won’t regret it.