An Afternoon, Two Men, The River and Some Birds

There's a river not far from here called the Little Red River. Our friend Larry's son has a cabin on the river and once in a while, Larry gives us a call and asks if we'd like to go there and spend a little time. We'd always like to go, but often, have other things going on. Wednesday he called and invited us, once again, to drive up to the river and spend some time. As you already have read, if you are a frequent reader of this blog, I am preparing for a quilt retreat next week and there is still lots to be done.....but, Larry caught me needing a little R & R, so we accepted his invitation to visit the river.

We left around 1:00 in the afternoon. It's a pleasant drive up there....and with two men in the car...well, you know there was lots of talking going on. Yes, me and two men in my little PT Cruiser off to see the river. (I decided to drive....mostly because Larry took his car last time and to be fair, it was our turn. Then too, the guys would probably have a beverage or two, so as the designated driver, I'd rather drive my own car.)

Now these two guys are just great! They can be very entertaining seeing as how they both like to recall stories about work, family, etc. They are both former Entergy employees and have other friends in common. They are never at a loss of subject matter and it's quite fun. Also, always under discussion is how to solve all the problems of the world...you know how that goes. I enjoy it, though, and I think they do too.

So, we drove to the cabin, which is right on the river...a beautiful spot! An avid reader, Larry took a book. Not likely to work out that he would be able to read with us along...but you never know...we might fall asleep or something. Richard took a fishing rod. Not likely to catch a fish either, but again, you never know! I took my camera.

The last time we went to the river, it was way up from all the rain in the late winter/early spring, so the walkway down to the dock was level all the way down. This time, the river is pretty normal, so the walkway was nearly vertical, a hard thing to walk down when you are short and out of shape!!! But, I got down there. Now coming back up was really difficult, but not to be shown up by two guys....I eventually made it to the top.

The river was flowing slowly, as rivers sometimes do, and that alone calms a person. The view was just beautiful. Take a look at these photos....the dock next door is really neat and I love the way the flag reflects in the water. Look down river...isn't it pretty?

It turns out both men took a turn at fishing...remember, we have ONE fishing rod between the three of us. No luck, but we didn't really care...it was just nice to sit there and look and listen.

There were lots of geese across the way and down river too. It was fun to watch them as they went through their daily activities. They didn't get too close to us, so my photos of them aren't that good.....but, my memory is pretty good, so I'll just remember what all we witnessed. (One of my favorite quotes, although right this minute, I can't recall who said it: "God gave us memories so we could have roses in winter.") We also saw a hawk and a couple of herons. I'm not really quick on the camera "trigger" so just couldn't get the camera aimed and ready fast enough to take any photos of them.

We left around 5:00 p.m. Even the drive home was pleasant. A lovely afternoon on a peaceful river, with great company....R & R, indeed! Thanks, Larry and Richard, for letting "an old quilting lady" tag along!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Take care, pat

PS. Larry is the one who gave me the poem, framed, about a quiltmaker. You may go back and read it in my archives...."The Quiltmaker" posted on Tuesday, August 5, 2008. You may also click on the word "writing" on my labels list, then scroll down. Enjoy!