July, She Will Fly...

(pic by Andrew Keeley Yonda)

Andrew and Jennifer's new basement floods in a huge Madison rain storm,

but Jennifer knows how to handle an emergency like this.

(pic by Andrew Keeley Yonda)

They leave the sodden Midwest for the East, more rainstorms making them

late, but giving them awesome views of the world above.

Is that an anvil-shaped cloud we're seeing?

(pic by Andrew Keeley Yonda) 

Once they're here, the fun begins.  But first, a healthy breakfast:

We walk to Trestle Gallery to see my show, and

on the way see the perfect size lawn, one you can mow with a scissors.

We also see this store on 5th Avenue where "dastardly plots will be foiled" and help for those with nemesis problems.  And more.  Good to know they're around.  Yet this store never seems to be open.

Are they too good at invisibility?

At Trestle, Andrew and Jennifer become one with the Solstice imagery.

On the subway, Andrew plays Yahtzee for the first time in years and immediately

scores a yahtzee in ones!  What are the chances?????

Must be something was emanating from the Superhero Supply store.

Speaking of surreal moments, this sign was in the subway:

(pic by Andrew Keeley Yonda)

The above duo were playing their hearts out in the subway heat.  Are they stone giants?

   The guy on the right, his shirt is not multi-colored, 

the dark area is wet from sweat.

These Karikatura guys keep a cooler profile.

At the Met, a roomful of Bodhisattva's makes me very happy.

You can't have too many Bodhisattvas, I believe.

Below, Andrew skips a nickel in the Dendur pool.

It bounces twice.  Not as amazing as five ones in Yahtzee, but not bad for a nickel.

Jennifer walks like an Egyptian;

years ago, Andrew and I walked like Assyrians.

Back in Brooklyn, we while away an hour or two in the Botanic Garden...

...gazing out over the Rose Garden.

We leave the city to go meet Frank in Providence,

where we visit the RISD Museum before heading to the lake.

I see a new (to me) Joan Mitchell painting that is a stunner.

Love it, could stare for hours.  Seems a little Frankenthaler-ish to me,

and the better for it.  A few breathing spaces in the energetic surface.

We admire the Ad Reinhardt painting -  he was Andrew's fave artist when he was nine.

(When Andrew was nine, not Ad.)

The cool go-to-the-museum idea is courtesy of Jennifer!

Brilliant!

At the lake, we chill, each in our own way.

Candlelight, cards and cookies, the latter compliments of Jennifer!

She is rockin' this trip!

Andrew and Jennifer look for Aaron, not realizing that he has materialized right beside them.

Signs of the times:

Finally, I have the newest iPhone, sleek and slim!

Andrew somehow manages to win all games, 

and Aaron shows off his drawing skills.

More fun is had with the fabulous miniature trebuchet, 

that medieval threat to castles everywhere.

Here it's just a threat to the odd window or eye.

And "Trebuchet:  The Movie"!

Warning, plot line is incredibly tense and suspenseful.

Not for the weak of heart!

We go for an evening walk to find fireflies, and

Jennifer casts spells in the twilight.

Later we play cards and I pause to admire an iridescent moth that lands on the table,

which becomes the subject of a strange video.

What happened to the moth?

Did they really take the bug, and kill it?

Or was it all a big misunderstanding????

You decide.

Candles by night, candles by day.

Aaron enjoys breakfast...

...while Andrew serenades Jennifer.

...before all heck breaks loose...

...at the Annual Lind Family Fourth of July Lake Fest!

Later that day:  MEAT!

Frank does his usual perfectly prepared roast beef.

Andrew practices, while mom Nicole shows off her expertise

with the adorable new baby, Marlie Anne...

It's an idyllic scene on the beach:

..which hides the nightmare lurking in the waters: 

a bladderwort infestation!

Bladderwort is a carnivorous plant species, making it even more attractive, as shown in this video

pic of it sucking up a tiny unsuspecting aquatic creature.
See it in action at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb_SLZFsMyQ

Huge mats of floating bladderwort roam around the lake
looking for prey.

Every morning we beat it back and shove it out of the way to swim.

We are too big for it to eat, fortunately.

Frank and I go to a meeting of the Wakefield Pond Association that

is dealing with fighting this lake-killing menace.

It will be an ongoing project, indeed, never-ending since the lake is

continually re-infected by boats that enter through the state boat landing,

and Rhode Island is notoriously lax about making boats 

clean their bottoms before entering.

There will be a raffle  - fifty bucks a ticket and you could win a thousand big ones!

Sound tempting?

Just think, you could win big, and worst case,

you help the lake keep looking like this

instead of a fetid swamp.

Alas, all good things must come to an end

and we wend our way back to Brooklyn
where Andrew documents yet another strange "anvil-shaped" cloud, (which, it turns out,
is an actual meteorological term)...

(pic by Andrew Keeley Yonda)

...and peers out at the usual suspects.