It ended up being much cooler than yesterday. I sat on a concrete wall on the shore and let the waves wash up on my feet. Started out with my shoes on, but they quickly came off. The lake water is warm now. After a couple of dips, the water felt warmer than the air.
It was a throwback method of dealing with the high temperatures. I turned on my air conditioning for the first time this year, and was disappointed to find it useless. As it ran for over an hour, the thermometer number only slowly increased. I shut it down and resorted to my grandparents' favored strategy for cooling down. A stiff wind barreled in from the northeast and made the water choppy. I looked at the ruffled surface and the impervious rocks and thought about how, in six months' time, it will all be encased in ice.
A raft of wood ducks fed in a stream that flowed from the lake. The water was dark and smelled brackish, but the ducks were really enjoying some kind of food in it, to the point where the feeding got competitive. For them it was a great day, with plenty to eat and no harsh weather to endure. Once again, I envied them their freedom.
