Prior to work I drove my mom to the bus station for her return to Schenectady but not before getting a photo of us together. She remains as spry as ever and was a huge help with the graduation party. Having just returned from an extended vacation in Spain with her brother and sister she looked both relaxed and energized. We were all very thankful that our children’s only remaining grandparent was able to participate in our celebration.

After work today I loaded my kayak on Jeanine’s car (I need to make some adaptations to my roof rack before I can use the Audi) and took it out for the first paddle of the season. We are so fortunate to live within 1 mile of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers and only 3 miles from the Concord River. I was able to get about an hour on the water before darkness set in and with the water still relatively high was able to gunkhole in several areas I have never explored before. I nearly had a heart attack when I startled a beaver (hidden to me) and it made a spectacular dive into the water inches from my kayak. I was able to glide up on a Blue Heron and got a rather nice photo with my pocket camera. Fortunately I found the paddling motion did not bother my shoulder and is probably very therapeutic. Looking forward to getting back on the water soon with either Jeanine or one of the kids.