97/365 A pond in the summer time

The week of lilies continues with a serene reflection.

This pond has hosted a lot of great memories for me. While I no longer swim in it (ick), it used to be a great site for playing.

When we were younger, Chase and I each had a small, two-person inflatable rubber raft. It had two plastic paddles attached to the side for rowing. Put those elements together, and you have prime racing opportunity.

We raced up and down the length of the pond countless times. And we wore those rafts ragged, until they weakened with a tear in the side or the paddles gave out. I knew I was getting a little too big for racing when the force of my pull caused one of my paddles to split in half and sink to the bottom.

And let me tell you, it's hard to get back to shore with one good paddle in a little rubber raft. It's much easier to spin in circles.

But I'd take another raft (with stronger paddles) any day.

Camera: Canon 40D, 1/500s, f/4.5 at ISO 100 at about 7:00 p.m.