A big HI to Tonia! I look forward to reading your blog again and wish you well in your new home!

Another beautiful day here in vacationland-sunny and 80's. We need some rain!

We went swimming twice today. The first time, as we were getting ready to leave, the saplings spotted some small fish in the water. It is not unusual to see a few minnows along the edge of the water. I walked over to see, and we stood there amazed as an enormous school of fry moved into the little cove. There was at least one thousand. They were one inch long and had a green stripe along the spine. I figured there were twenty five in a six inch cube, and the school was at least ten feet long and three feet wide.

They moved in a huge counterclockwise circle, sometimes with swirls back into the middle as the little fish swam one way with their group, and then turned and came back the other way, the whole school slowly advancing to the left.

If something startled them, they would start to split, but then soon merge into their large group again.

We were mesmerized, and watched them until they moved out of sight.

They certainly acted like stocked fry, raised in captivityand released in large groups, since I can't imagine so many wild fry teeming up into one large school. I don't think one fish would hatch that many fry.

I also spotted the local Kingfisher fly across the pond twice. They dive and catch small fish so I guess he was having a good day! I didn't see him dive either time, though.

After lunch we made a hay run. We have to go up into the loft and drop it down, and the last visit we spotted a swing up in the loft, but there were hay bales in the way. Today the bales had been moved, and we could not resist each taking a couple swings facing out the huge gable window-a view that stretches forever-

It was nice and cool in the hay loft despite the heat of the day, as both east and west doors were open, and being high on the hill, the wind was sweeping the heat away.

Then I found a second swing, a round piece of wood with a single rope-a monkey swing.

The ropes were very stout natural fiber, but not coarse. They creaked and moaned as they stretched with the weight, and I was reminded of how the hemp ropes must have creaked on the old sailing vessels, in the dark on the open ocean.