light, lake, lilypads

we celebrate midsummer here in denmark on june 23 - sankt hans aften - i'm not sure why we don't celebrate on the actual solstice, but hey, i'm up for any opportunity to celebrate the light. and celebrate we did this evening. our neighbors had saved loads of sticks and old hay and had a most spectacular bonfire, which is a traditional element of sankt hans. traditionally, a witch is burned on the fire, but we skipped that bit (and i kept myself at a safe distance, just to be sure no one gave me a little push).

afterwards, we headed down for a little sail on our lake. this time, we found pink waterlilies. and although i just shared waterlilies yesterday, i had to share them again. making hay while the sun shines, as it were. or lilypads while it's light, perhaps?

thank you all for sharing the places where you get away from the world on my previous water lily post. i love how many of us are drawn to water and nature in general. having grown up on the prairie, i'm also drawn to wide-open spaces where i can see forever. and speaking of that, i'll be headed there on saturday! i'm looking forward to watching a good thunderstorm or two come rolling over the prairie. and of course, to seeing my family. that bit goes without saying. but i'll admit i'm starting to wish they'd just come here and hang out with us and the lilypads.

waterlilies as coping mechanism

in the midst of all of the ratrace of life - running the child to school, picking her up, going to work, running to meetings, learning resisting how things are done in a new company, a new town, a new house, finding a vet for the horse's vaccinations, keeping the horse in carrots and horse treats (who knew they had to have treats?), trying to convince the cat to venture outside, weeding the garden, hoping the elderflowers hurry up before we leave, using up what's in the refrigerator, packing, last minute sewing, running to the post office - i am very happy to have moments of serenity on our new property. the house may be falling down, but the location itself is absolute heaven. who wouldn't feel calm and peaceful with waterlilies like these?

where do you go to find a bit of shelter from the cruel world?