What doesn't kill you . . .

. . . can sure hurt a lot!  Pickle ball is a court version of ping pong and the girls don't take playing any sport seriously.  There is more laughing and trash talk than anything; oh, and a lot of running after the ball.  But it's my fault that the game fell completely apart.  Jade hit one in my direction and I was going to hit it HARD back to her and ended up smacking myself in the face with the paddle.  At first they didn't know if I was laughing or crying - Jade showed some compassion, Mya just laughed at me.  All three of us were rolling on the ground - those two laughing and me laughing/crying and holding my forehead.  It resulted in a quarter size egg on my forehead and a headache.  What a dope! It still hurts this morning.  Thank goodness I didn't break my glasses.  They probably saved me from having an even bigger lump!

A small Gar.  I'm not eating it!

We think this is a White Bass.  

Jeff is getting good at catching all kinds of fish.  We have heard varying stories about how much you can eat.  I didn't realize how all our man-made pollution affects the fish population.  Some of the information I was reading said that you shouldn't even try to eat black bass because of the high mercury content.  White Bass and Crappie (pronounced croppy!) are edible but not a lot of them.  Jeff is going to do some more investigating so maybe we can eat what he catches without glowing in the dark.  Apparently, Gar are edible too but yew!

I think I could have gone a little farther but . . . there was
that banjo music playing in my head.

I went for a two hour kayak trip this morning. Gray and overcast but warm and calm. There are so many little coves and tributaries it would be very easy to get lost. It's so peaceful though and I can get back where the motorized boats can't go.  All you can hear are the birds and the bugs.  Saw two deer, does I think. On my return trip, one of the does had two little babies with her, all spotted like Bambie.  I must have seen at least 10 Great Blue Herons. They are not as happy to see me as I am them and as beautiful as they are, they make an awful sound.  They sounded like they were telling me off for disturbing their tranquility.  So do I have any pictures of these.  NO!  We got new phones and I didn't know how to zoom in.  But next time . . . It's a little eerie going back so far alone.  There is literally no one around - at least that I can see.  The theme music from Deliverance kept popping into my head.  It is Arkansas after all - lol!

There were some pretty flowers on this ridge.  Next time
I'll know how to use the zoom.

Jade's artwork - so cute.

Timed it just right.  As I type this the clouds have burst and it's pouring rain.  Too cozy though in our little home on wheels.  Great weather for reading or coloring our mandalas.  Found a great coloring book full of beautifully designed mandalas.  Mya has been working on one but is not quite finished. Today might just be right to start one myself. Jade spends a lot of time drawing and does the most darling animals. So talented.

Time for lunch.

Love having these on this lake.