under the magnolia tree

We just spent an entire week on the island.  It was perfect.  The weather was great.  We got everything done and then some.  As you may know,  this is the first summer we are opening our house to renters.  Our agent predicted we'd book six weeks at most.  We figured we'd just come up any open weekends. We are now booked eleven weeks!  We may not be back until September!  We had Nani with us the entire time and she was an enormous help.  We couldn't have done it without her!

 campfire on the shore

 wine on the shore

 so many birds to see on the shore

 park on the lake

 friday night fish fry at the marina

 to be on the island one will lose track of showers taken and clothes matching....

 mama goose and her goslings.

 saying hello to the island horses.

 back to the park on the lake.

 art lessons from nani

oh, the danish mill.  you treated us very fine during our week stay.  everything is homemade. the desserts are fabulous; the cream puffs, the napoleans, the almond tart, the rhubarb pie, the orange, cardamon, anise, rye bread.  we ate here daily.  we are seriously addicted.

 while i waited with the outside kids outside one day, i photographed the cute little inn next door that also rents bicycles.

 nani built a lot of forts for the kids.

 we did a scavenger hunt of things found in nature.

 the bunkhouse got some repair.  george power washed the deck and repainted the trim.

 george built a horseshoe pit

 with a lovely space for spectators

nani brought a sky lantern.  a paper lantern that you light from the inside.  the heat from the flame fills the balloon and when it's ready, you release it into the sky.

 

we chose a beautiful night to do this.  

 it was really very pretty

 the handrail we brought up to install on the stairs was too short.  nani and george came up with this solution, a beautiful birch branch.

 george and george work on a car building kit

 george chats with nani through the kitchen window

 magnolia and george show me the woodpecker hole they found.   one day as we sat on the deck and pileated woodpecker flew right overhead!

 nani and george build a log house out of twigs.

 we lay out the dock pieces 

 we spend a lot of time on the shore

 exploring

 and exploring

 and exploring

 we see tiny spruce trees pop up between the rocks on the shore

 i freshen up the sandbox with new sand

 george takes his play saw out to the woods to do some lumbering

 i give the kids each a ball of yarn 

 i cleaned out the inside of the bunkhouse

 we had a toad visit our outdoor shower for a day or two

 this will be the last time these two fit in the tub together!

 magnolia paints rocks

We all decided that despite all of the work, it was possibly the most relaxing vacation ever.  It's the kind of place you can go and don't have to see another soul, if you choose. There are no bright lights, no billboards, no big box.  It seems like a place lost in time.  A place you can hardly believe is so close to the real world.  We saw so much wildlife and had so much peace and quiet.  We worked hard, we ate like kings, and slept like logs.  It really was perfect and we all miss it terribly.