James Wm. Frank

Kids; this is the story about the best summer of my life. Think about how you would define the best summer of your life.  What would you want be doing? Where would you want to be? How would you life look if you could design the best summer ever?\r\n\r\nThe summer of 2014 is that for me, and much more.\r\n\r\nIt began when I moved my RV from Youngsville, NC to HYCO Lake, NC, outside of Roxboro.  It was the beginning of March 2014 when Mary Mount invited me to move into the Temboli Manor. I had no idea how my life would change.\r\n\r\nIt had not taken long for my affection for Mary Mount to thicken, like melted milk chocolate that turns to creamery delight as it cools. I found myself wobbling back and forth between pinching myself to make sure it was reality, and losing myself in the delirium of happiness. To say I was scared, is an understatement.  To say I was grateful is also an understatement. I felt like Peter Pan returning to Never, never land – not wanting to wake up and definitely not wanting to return to grownup world.\r\n\r\nI love the sunrises over Hyco Lake. The stillness of the water as the sky turns pink and mirrors the exact same colour on the surface of the lake. It often reminds me of a puzzle with the reflection off the water of the sky and trees around the scene.\r\n\r\nThe birds are an amazing cacophony of sounds in the morning. I have identified about 15 different species. It has been such a learning experience to watch the ecology change over the summer months. I watched Mallard Ducks mate and have their young. Unfortunately, I have witnessed the natural ebb and flow of life as young ducks disappear. From Hummingbirds, Carolina Wren, Cowbirds, Finches, to Osprey, Hawks, and Great Herons. It has been a joy to experience nature so closely, so intimately as never before.\r\n\r\nSome of the things that have made it so wonderful: sleeping out on the veranda and listening to the lake and forest go to sleep and wake up again, see the sunrises and sunsets, watching the space station pass overhead multiple times, all the flowers and vegetables grown this summer, all the photos of so many things, kayaking around the lake, gardening, lying in the sun, trimming the trees and bushes, writing in my blog, playing music, drawing, writing songs, developing CML, and most importantly, spending time with probably the most amazing lady I have ever met – Mary Mount.\r\n\r\n