Queries from an afternoon on the lake

Q: Why are the reeds bending fiercely in the photo below? Why is the water so rippled?
A: (Yes there is such a thing as a stupid Q.) It was windy, damn it, windy on the lake!

the winds against the water lilly... can she survive their fierce strength? 

Q: Must have been wonderful to go sailing, therefore?
A: Yes. Sailing would have been two thumbs up! Paddle boating? Well, that proved to be a bit difficult. And especially so if you thoughtlessly went with the wind for the first leg of the journey, then turned around only to realize that paddling furiously against the wind just kept you virtually standing still.

Q: What would you do if you were stuck in some marshes, battling the wind, far, far away from where you wanted to be?
A: Cry? I don’t know. We* made it back. Hours later, but we made it back. [Pictured below: my last few pushes before the ultimate collapse.]

* Three women, one boat, 6 tired legs.

are we really standing still? worse, going backwards?? 

This one’s for YOU!

Today is the birthday of the following people:

Herman Melville (he wrote: “friendship at first sight, like love at first sight, is said to be the only truth…”)
Yves Saint Laurent (arguably the greatest fashion designer of all time, he made women’s pants popular…)
Dom Deluise (he acts, directs, sings, cooks as a chef, writes books…)
Lionel Bart (when he was 6 his teachers told his parents he was a musical genius…)
my daughter (too long! The list of accolades is too long!)

Happy Birthday, S.C.!!