It’s a stunningly beautiful summer night on the Townsend Flowage. The lake is smooth as glass, a mirror reflecting the full moon lording it over an inky sky. I can hear music from across the lake. I sure wish it was coming from Little Tipsy.

Father’s Day was really special this year because our daughter treated us to a weekend in Madison. Isn’t it wonderful when your kids do things like that? We wouldn’t have missed this for the world, though getting there and back was an adventure.

As is the case with many of us lucky enough to be retired up north, I’ve become an early riser. My reward is seeing glorious sunrises and enjoying the company of critters that visit at daylight. I savor the solitude. It’s a perfect time to write, prepare for events on my calendar and catch up on paperwork.

I joined the American Legion Auxiliary in 2004. Jon had joined the Legion, and I’d just published “My Mother Kept a Scrapbook: The True Story of a WWII POW” by Gerhard Johnson. Lifelong fishing buddies, Jon and Gerhard were both born and raised in Elderon.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin is home to more than 300 species of birds.

When my granddaughter was in elementary school, I took her outside during a visit on one cold, clear Christmas night. Mother Nature was really strutting her stuff. The moon was full, the firmament ablaze with stars that peppered the inky sky. Mars and Venus were clearly visible to the naked eye.