W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, July 10, 2024
It’s been thirty years this summer that the cottage my kids and I know has been here. For my wife and her siblings, it goes back to their childhoods.
When we were first married, I visited the ‘old cottage’ a few times. It was a cozy two-bedroom log cabin with an open kitchen, dining, and gathering area with a large window gazing upon the lake. in the summer of ’93 my wife’s parents made the difficult decision to re-build with an eye on the future and the cottage I know was constructed in 1993-94. Since my first trip to move in and setup in July ’94, I’ve been here countless times. First without kids then one, and the other. Our kids learned to fish and ski , both water and snow, and they’ve found lifelong friends and we’ve been here in every season: summer, fall, winter, and spring.
When I see the lilies blooming in summer, I think of my mother-in-law and her passion for the summer day lilies. We planted and gardened those first few summers planting day lilies along the front facing the lake. One spring, fifteen years ago, she arrived to discover the deer had dug up the lilies and eaten them. We spent the summer of 2009 replacing them. While the deer still roam when we aren’t here (and even when we are), the lilies have remained undisturbed since.
It’s astonishing how our brains are wired to recall past events and how seemingly disconnected things are connected. Today is going be a great day. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time making time, remembering how I got here.
What does a day lily, or any flower, remind you of?
Lovely memories of that cottage, and a great photo of the lily. Have a happy weekend!
Thank you! It was a great weekend. Glad to be back by the lake.
It sound idyllic. Enjoy yourselves!
My mom loved flowers too. I have tons here, but the deer DO eat most of the day lillies. Not the yellow ones, or the orange ditch lillies, but all the rest have been consumed. We’ve given up fighting it, just don’t plant those anymore! You are lucky the deer have left yours alone!
We are on the lakeshore and there is a forest on the backside of the house where deer and bear live…in the winter the deer venture close to the lake and even cross when it is frozen. When we have visited ‘off season’ he’ve found evidence of their visits. I love the summer flowers and I know my mother-in-law did, too. Thanks for stopping in.
That’s cool. I’m glad you replanted the lilies. What great memories you’ve created for your offspring as well. Hopefully one day they’ll appreciate the “cottage” as much as you have.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
They both do….it’s amazing. Our daughter goes to college about two hours south at MSU. Her first semester there she and a friend went ‘north’ for the weekend and she told my wife…”I now know why you love coming here.” She’s at summer school and heading up on Friday. I’ve been thinking about you and wondering how you and the Baer House are….