The Five on the Fourth

This year’s Independence Day was spent at Lake Vermilion with Lanny, Mary, Lana & DeeAnn – and Kooper, Rainie, Keltie, Holly & Helen!  A one-on-one ratio of people to dogs made for a full deck and a busy beach.

All the dogs were busy exploring the cabin and Lanny’s new landscaping, except Helen who was on leash to keep her from jumping in the lake.   After lunch was lake time.  Dogs suited up in life jackets,  people armed with floaty toys and Helen on leash – we all make our way down to the shoreline for a swim party.  As it goes with parties, there was an assortment of activity.  There was Rainie focussed on retrieving her frisbee and only her frisbee; Holly who will swim after anything that appears to have been thrown but only if she doesn’t have to go too far away from the action on shore; Keltie who waits for Holly to come back with a toy so she can take it away and be the one to bring it back to DeeAnn; Kooper who is perfectly content standing on the hillside hoping a chipmunk may run through the woods; and Helen who swims, swims, swims with no other objective other than to swim, swim, swim.  Despite having five dogs, we still needed to rely on Lana to go into the water to retrieve stray and ignored toys left alone to float.  

For the dogs, the day was about the lake; for me, the day was about family.   July 4th is a date connected with many memories.  Strawberry picking, carnivals, Moose Lake fireworks, parades, firecrackers, picnics, fishing, Mitchell’s birthday parties, baseball games, Duluth fireworks from Gen’s roof, pontoon rides and cabin visits.  The common thread through it all is family and friends.   So grateful, and becoming all the more aware of another deep gratitude I have because of this day – freedom.