#ItWasn'tMe

I thought the answer was obvious, but your messages asked, "Why aren't there pictures of you water skiing in you blog?"

Al and I have been a couple for a really, really, really long time. Relationships survive decade after decade because of friendship, communication, commitment, discretion, lying, and deceit. Really. That established, I ask you, what man in his right mind would voluntarily point a camera at an older woman in spandex who is romping about without makeup and with hair plastered this way and that across her head?

Al is a wonderful photographer. His old Nikon with its collection of monster lenses is propped up as a decorative piece in our living room. He will take pictures with my camera if pushed, but, for the most part, he manages to avoid the activity. He understands that the sensible response to most relationship-challenging situations is "It wasn't me..."

That said, we are still water skiing. The lake is warm. It is still in the low 70s at dawn. Life, as they say, is good.

Click restart now...

The water is 87 degrees. The air temperature at dawn is in the 70s. I don't want summer to end. But fronts are beginning to drop into north Florida. They stall and dissipate, but in October they become more numerous. More telling, the summer pattern of warm moist winds from the south is weakening. Sixty percent of our annual rainfall comes in June, July and August. October is a transition month into Florida's dry season.

We still head out at dawn if there is even the faintest chance of skiing. But we are spending more time biking now. (Our first bike event is next weekend, a metric century in Inverness, Florida.) It has been a great summer for us for water skiing. Al is pleased with his improvements. I'm very happy with mine. (My speed across the wakes  is approaching Al's.) There are so many more things I want to work on.

Can I click restart and reboot summer?