Kickin’ it poolside.
Month: June 2009
When I was a young’n, just about every weekend I would go with my Dad to my Grandma’s place in DeQueen, where I would be made to do all sorts of slave labor. One of the main things I would slave away at was mowing the vast lawns on her 3 acres during the summer. I actually kind of enjoyed the mowing. Grandma had a lawn tractor, so it wasn’t particularly strenuous, and I’d do a lot of good thinking while mowing. It sure beat the hell out of cutting firewood, the other main chore I was forced to participate in. You can’t think well and load firewood at the same time.
The best part of mowing, however, took place for only a few weeks during June when the wild plums were ripe. Grandma had a couple of wild-plum thickets on her place and few free-standing plum bushes. Every time I’d pass a thicket or a bush, I’d get a big handful of plums and eat them while I mowed. Grandma would also make jelly out of those plums. The best jelly I’ve ever had.
Gina wanted to get some pictures of Abby in honor of her reaching the milestone of becoming 3 years old, so we headed out to the little historic homesteader cabin at Burns Park with my picher takin stuff. This is some of what we came back with.
Abby and Gina fixed me breakfast in bed for Fathers Day. I’ve never had BIB before. It was nice. (Photo by Gina.)
Abby had her 3-year doctor’s visit on Thursday and she’s apparently healthy and everything. The nurse cruised through everything so fast I almost didn’t get any pictures. She put Abby on the scale and weighed her before I could get the camera and flash in position. She weights 32.5 lbs., which is in the 70th percentile. Next they went to measure her height. She is 38.5 inches tall, which is in the 80th percentile.
In the past I’ve been labeled a swimming poolophobe based mainly on my yearly pronouncements that swimming pools are really just big tanks of p*ss. I have a whole comedy routine about how everyone pees in the pool and those who say they don’t are liars. When our neighborhood pool closed in Johnson last summer due to high levels of pee byproducts, I was completely vindicated.
Despite all that, I really enjoy swimming. I do prefer to swim in a lake, river or the ocean. I realize natural water bodies are arguably just as contaminated as your average pool. Certainly some bodies of water are clearly unfit to swim in.
I had a great idea for photo of the rising full moon from the top of Pinnacle Mountain, so on Friday I set out to complete the first part of my idea, which was to get to the top of the mountain. The trail is only .75 of a mile long, but it’s uphill all the way. Pinnacle Mountain State Park is only a few miles west of Little Rock and it’s a very popular place. The trail traverses great expanses of huge rocks and so many people have been over the trail the rocks are worn slick in most places. Slick enough to slip on even when dry. The mountain is about 1,000 in elevation (the highest hill around) and provides a commanding view of the Arkansas River, Lake Maumelle and other lesser mountains to the south and west.
I got to the top about an hour before the moonrise and about two hours before sunset, so I had some time to kill. In wandering around the peak looking for something to shoot, I was drawn to the ubiquitous graffiti. I decided to make a little photographic study of the marred rocks.
We gathered at Funland in Burns Park to celebrate Abby’s 3rd birthday on Saturday. No drama like last year. Abby announced that there would be no traditional singing of Happy Birthday. I didn’t get very many decent pictures. I was too busy jacking around with the video camera and other tasks.