Today I arose early and found that the rains had abated. We sit amidst a low-pressure zone, which the weatherpeople tell us will remain stationary for days to come. Yet the morning dawned in perfect fishing harmony. By 8:15 a.m., my car was parked in the middle median zone on Highway 380 between Princeton (population: 5,500) and Farmersville (population: ~ 3,500). I was sitting on the rocks just below the highway, with a line cast out into the waters.
The morning was peaceful, with a light haze-fog mitigating the warmth of the air, and my bobber did bob a time or two due to a passing fish. But after half an hour, I wanted to leave this idyll and go to a place without nearby passing motorist noise. I drove to Farmersville's South Lake Park, where I shared the small lake with park muscovy ducks.
In relatively short order I caught, and released, six keeper-sized sunfish. Most were of the gorgeous pumpkin-seed coloration, as if dressed in party regalia. I enjoyed the solitude, and the sound of birds and cicada.
I stopped at Sister Grove Park to listen to more birdsong, and to see the many flowers still present in this surprisingly temperate and wet early Summer. Then I stopped by the farmers' market in Princeton to buy my wife some fresh tomatoes. I headed home, and we went to run some errands at the mall, picking up her new glasses, buying me this and that needful item, and then going to U-Haul to recharge our propane tank for our gas grill.
The first songfight contest in which I entered a song posted all the entries today,
and it's fun to hear what creative things people did with the song title "that's what she said". My own contribution is rather a modest track, but I will be interested to see what the critiques from the other users say. I began listening to the other tracks to write my own critiques, as this form of feedback appears to be part of the process.
The next song title is "Ottoman", and I believe that I will sing about a virtual couple called Ottoman and Emmeline. I was able to get my microphone pre-amp pressed into full service, thanks for guidance given by my sister-in-law and some new wires from Radio Shack. Now I can record things with proper microphone fidelity.
Today's holiday reminds me of this poem:
This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
---Lloyd Stone