JourneysPhotograph

Early Summer Day by the Lake

·#summer#boating#lakeside#lake#gardening
An outdoor dining area with an orange umbrella and tiled table overlooks a lake with a wooden dock and distant green trees.

A whole day by the lake and almost no ground covered, which was the point. Coffee on the deck under the orange umbrella first, the planters along the rail already going with pansies and marigolds. Then down the steps through the garden, where a little stream runs over flat stones into a pond — lily pads, one white bloom open, yellow irises at the edge — and from there the lawn goes straight to the water.

The pontoon boat stayed on its lift with its blue covers on; it never went in. Most of the afternoon happened instead at the end of the dock, where a pergola strung with lights shades a bistro table and a couple of red wicker chairs, and the far shore is nothing but trees.

There's a realtor's sign standing in the water down the shoreline, a seven-digit phone number and no area code. Couldn't tell if it marks this lot or the next one over.

A multi-level house with a large wooden deck, outdoor furniture, colorful flowers, and lush green gardens under a blue sky.A boat on a lift next to a dock on a lake, with a tree and garden in the foreground and a wooded shoreline.A pontoon boat is docked at a pier on a lake with purple irises in the foreground and wooded hills behind.A lush garden with a rock-lined pond, stream, water lilies, green plants, and yellow flowers, with a lake in the background.A landscaped garden with a small pond and a weeping tree in the foreground, overlooking a lake with a pontoon boat.A wooden dock with a pergola extends over a lake, featuring red outdoor furniture and a potted plant.A wooden dock with a pergola, red outdoor furniture, and a potted plant overlooks a lake with distant trees.A wooden deck with patio furniture and a red umbrella is beside a garden, overlooking a lake under a clear sky.