Cats on the lake, and a joyous birthday event

Dwight Peck's personal website

Summer 2023

A photographic record of whatever leapt out at us

You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a
good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

Cats on the lake (and a joyous birthday event)

Early June 2023, Melvin the Doge and little Choupette resume their customary insect researches on the lake shore in northern Wisconsin.

They cooperate marvelously for the first few days, hunting bugs & taking long naps.

In recent summers, however, Melvin loses interest in tormenting bugs and paces about listlessly, seeking a comfy site to take a long nap, whilst Choupette goes off after cute little chipmunks instead, which is disgusting, and reprehensible (in humans, anyway, but she's powered by evolutionary instinct).

Cats on the pontoon boat (the aging Grumman FunShip)

Preparing to welcome fellow passengers as they arrive

No cats allowed outside until 9 a.m. (by which time the night-hunting wildlife have packed it in), but it's tricky trying explain the rationale to cats.

Same for having to come in at 5 p.m. Not much for them to do but curl up for another nap.

'Sweetheart', aka 'Pinkie', is not a 'bad cat', properly speaking, but rather rough, and unwelcome on this end of the property.

Melvin is padding quietly up from behind and will see Pinkie off in a hissy flash.

A first hydrobike ride of the season, past the point just south of our mini-colony on Mussent Point

It looks a shamble -- it is a shamble -- but when summer residents begin arriving round the lake in a few weeks, there's likely to be two orange lawn chairs on the dock and a little speedboat tied up alongside.

The beautiful little point onto the main lake -- we call it 'Pradt's' after the family that owns it, but there's no official name.

Melvin, no longer so enthusiastic about batting his paws at silly bugs, prefers nowadays to shade himself under the lawn-reading chair, alongside it, or, worse, on the reader's lap.

The dock at Mussent Point will not be crowded until later in the season, and Choupie can quietly enjoy Kristin's company.

And respond to any passing hydrobikes

But she will definitely not come on board for a ride.

An early bike ride, tied up on Cousin Rob's dock to see whether anyone's home. Disappointed and returning again soon, probably.

A quick solo hydrobike jaunt 3km to the south to photograph traffic over the highway bridge. Fun!

Sorry little Chase Island just onto the main lake from the bridge

It's been rather an awkward winter up here. Lotta snow.

The Mussent Point thoroughfare, seen from the central carpark, part of which is named 'Morris Lake' because the contractor who paved the thing insisted that rainwater would never collect over one quarter of it.

In the absence of chipmunk prey . . .

Veni. Vidi. Vici!

The family garden -- a little sparse at the moment, early in the season

They've never learnt how to use the telly command and just have to wait in bitter impatience.

Cousin Rob's birthday

Vast crowds anticipated (13 June 2023) -- Kristin's prosciutto e melone for the amuse bouche.

Now we're just awaiting the advent of the mob.

IPhones at the ready, everyone!

A brief delay, the guest of honor has nodded off. (Oh, sorry, he's just pretending.)

Kristin's probably the only one without an iPhone camera. Hates them.

The daunting birthday cake has arrived.

-- Make a wish!

Gracefully done, and almost successfully.

Waiting to hear what the obligatory wish was. No luck.

Cake's all gone. Nothing left but conversations.

A partial team photo

Spotted -- danger approaching!

Pinkie (Sweetheart) slinks off ignominiously.

That's not Melvin. Neither Choupette. It's one of Choupette's half-siblings, called Pugsley, who with his sister Wednesday is also visiting for the summer with their minders.

The bedroom and study poking out from Kristin's cottage, obviously a late add-on. Like the second bathroom next to the huge red truck.

A solo cruise (awaiting our regular hydrobike fellow-pedalers) along the southern shore of the northern half of the lake.

Arboreal Intimacy

There's an odd attraction to some of the strange configurations of exhausted trees around the shorelines.

A zombie tree, riddled with woodpecker devastations, but with some greenery still up top

The tiny island called 'Baby Leigh', state property now because of unpaid taxes way back in the day.

With not much imagination (luckily), it can look like an 18th century pirate ship. A small, green one.

'Found Art' . . .

. . . and quite different from another angle.

Choupette and her friend have the dock to themselves again.

So is she sleeping? Thinking? Remembering? Plotting? Just digesting?

The vestigial steps down from Kristin's cottage to a boat dock that's joined the others long ago in Dock Heaven.

Melvin stepping in for a kibble snack

The study (more or less), with its presently dysfunctional a/c machine, and the master bedroom plastered on the the end.

Next up: Late June photos from the lake (miscellaneous)