These little paintings were inspired by my last trip to Truckee, California. My daughter was so excited to practice swimming but the water was so cold!
We put on our swimsuits and headed down to the lake, but then we heard thunder. There was a flash of lightning, and it started to hail or (snow?!). It was supposed to be summer! We ran for cover under the big pine trees and used our beach towels as umbrellas. I remembered a picnic area with a cover from last time we were there. We made a run for it! My husband, niece, daughter, and I were all flippy-flopping our way to the shelter. We were brightly colored terrycloth ghosts splashing through the mud and ice. Finally, we made it to the shelter, huddled together and listened to the hail hit the roof . We watched it make tiny circles on the surface of the lake. A spooky fog spread across the water and through the trees. The ground quickly turned white with patches of orange pine needles under the trees.
Then, it stopped. The sky turned blue and the fog evaporated. The ice meted and the sun came out. We found a nice little beach all to ourselves with a rope swing and a tiny island that we could swim to. The shallow water warmed slowly, and my daughter learned to swim.
