Lake Minnetonka Journal

It’s been a few weeks since I last posted. The Lake starts to become property of the boaters, skiers, swimmers and other rec/party people which makes it more difficult to get near the details. Today, in a long-overdue drive around, I discovered a spectacular piece of property with views overlooking a portion of the Lake.

I needed to get back near the water with my camera, and this was today’s picture.

Halstead’s Bay

Al and Alma’s beautiful boat the Bella Vista, pulls to dock last night. Their season starts now, more than 5 weeks earlier than last season.

Lake Minnetonka

The Lake is officially ice free, which is about a month earlier than usual! The last time the Lake was free of ice this early in the season was 2000. The quick change in temps, leaving the water still quite cold, makes for morning fog banks that cling to the shoreline.

Minnetrista

Exposed at the roots.

Mound, MN

Try as I might to ignore the obvious, sunsets against water, thin ice and organic shapes, I find them compelling for the camera. Too easy? Perhaps, but they evoke a kind of emotional response. Something ordinary and beautiful, simple and available.

The water is so clear underneath what is left of the ice, and the whole scene is unusually calm. 

Mound

The migration of northern water fowl is full flap. The Canadian Geese have already begun scooping out nest spots, Red Winged Blackbirds have arrived already started their mating rituals, and Robin’s are yanking worms from an already thawed landscape.

Minnetrista & Excelsior

The Lake is melting far ahead of recent years, with the shoreline now revealing nearly 6 feet from shore to ice. With 80 degrees on tap for today, it won’t be long before any shot taken of lake will include some kind of water craft.

Mound beach.

carrhagerman:

Pause More  -  Act Less

Last night I partook in another conversation that is honing my skills of listening and patience. As I look back at my life, I see so many places where a mess was made not because of something someone said, but my reaction to the thing said.  It’s taken me so many years to recognize my tendency to make meaning out of things, when in fact, reality is neutral, ambivalent and quite different than what goes on in my busy little head.

A few months ago I had an argument with a friend of mine that resulted in loud voices and provocative language, and a breakdown in trust and connection.  As I think back on this I realize that much of what causes me to jump around when I get hooked into a conversation is that I leap to action, demand to be understood, decry the outrage, or point out my rightness. I don’t take time, I don’t give myself over to a pause, to take an extra 3 seconds to think about it,and give my brain the option to choose a different path and to let my better judgement catch up. Thoughtfulness makes a better connection.

In both cases of meaning making and acting fast, there is an an enlightened choice I can make about what kind of world I want to create. I can ask myself “Will what I’m about to say make my/our world better?” or, “Does this action taking closer to a world I want to live in?”.

When it comes to love, the pause is essential.  If my goal is to love then so much of what I do to defend and protest what’s going on around me, to make my point and win the match, is useless and counter productive.  Better that I pause more often, and act less, and instead invest in the listening necessary to make a world where love, kindness and patience is more prevalent. More importantly, pausing gives those around me a chance to be heard and that, it seems to me, is the better path to a happier world. 

Just pause….

The boats, stacked and wrapped and as temps rose into the lower 50s, the snow melts and drips away. In the dripping moisture the boats look as if they’re about to burst out of their containment, bounding towards Spring, and the soon-to-come open waters of the nearby Lake.

Wayzata, MN