Water, Hair, and Autumn Fun

I'm quite sure I blogged this story almost 5 years when it happened - when Livi was about the age the twins are now. I came into the living room to find a pile of pretty blonde hair behind the big chair. Hayley did her thing on Livi's beautiful hair.




It took a long long time for the hair to grow back to any kind of length, by the time all of the pieces were evened out.

Take a good look --

Last night at the dinner table, Dwight had the strangest look on his face. When I zeroed in on what he was staring at, I saw this --



I asked her where her missing hair was, and Emma led me right to the study/playroom closet floor. Later, Katie took credit for the new 'do. When we went to the hair salon, Emma asked Katie as we were going in the door, "Are you going to get your hair fixed, too?" Katie answered, "My hair isn't broken!" As it turned out, she ended up getting hers to match her sissy's. I think they look adorable, and not one bit like a boy (which Grandpa said they do!)




A few weeks ago I wrote a post called When a Lake Isn't a Lake. I told you I'd be back to update you when the beauty came back. If you want the whole story, feel free to go back and see what it looked like when the crops over by Greeley needed the water more than we needed the beauty - and/or the geese, ducks, and pelicans needed a place to paddle around instead of hanging out on sand bars. It's back! Not as high as it was this summer, but beautifully sparkling in the autumn sun, and reflecting the autumn leaves.








On the way home from school today, after I took the pictures of the re-filled lake, we decided to spend a few minutes at the park. I told the girls that I would like to sit in the shade and read while they entertained each other. They had a great time.

Hayley was chillin out in the great new swings.



Livi was a great helper, swinging Katie. For some reason, Emma decided to be afraid of the swings - strange after all these months of loving to swing very high.







Emma finally warmed up to the swing, as long as she was snuggling with Hayley.




The slide kept them going for quite awhile - and I managed to get them to pose.

I have much I want to share about Women of Faith last week-end, but it is hard to put the feelings into words.

When a Lake Isn't a Lake

I live in a beautiful town. It's a town that people drive through on their way to the mountains by the thousands, especially in the summertime. The lake on Highway 34, leading to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park, is one of the most intriguing sights in our town. People come out on vacation, drive by the lake, see the amazing view of the Rockies, go home, quit their jobs, and move here. The view from there is amazing, and different every season.





When I first moved here (and I know it's the same with everyone else who has moved here), I was astounded to find out that the beautiful body of water is really owned by a ditch company in the town 30 miles east of us. What is a ditch company, you ask? It's a company which provides irrigation water for the farmers. At some point each summer, the lake goes down a bit as the ditch company diverts the water to the farmers' fields.

This spring, we had such a huge run-off from the massive amounts of snow in the mountains last winter that the lake was filled to the brim all summer long. I just loved driving by it several times a day and enjoying the abundance of water. The little beach area was seething with hot humanity trying to cool off all summer long. Unfortunately, the only people who can use the lake for boating and jet-skiing are those who live directly on the shore of the lake, who have been given special rights to use it.

Be we have a dirty little secret around here - well, really, a sandy little secret. Suddenly, about two weeks ago, the water began to disappear at an alarming rate of speed - more water gone more quickly than I can remember (except for the summer a few years ago when they drained the whole thing to work on the pipes that transport the water to the east).

On top of it all, because of the high water all summer long, the intense heat we had, a great amount of algae formed, which then dried on the sand, and creating an incredibly putrid odor, permeating the north end of town, and causing the "lucky" residents on the shore to keep their windows closed.

It has been very sad to drive by the lake on my many trips from north to south and back each day. I keep hoping soon the lake will fill up again. The poor birds and geese seem so bewildered as they stand on the sand bars, wondering what happened to their wonderful spot.


















Not very romantic, is it?? I thought of the stark difference between man-made things and the creations of God. Man can try to emulate God's beauty, but we never do it as well, do we? I'll keep you posted!