Weather: Overcast and raining. It was 60 deg. this morning but is supposed to drop 20 deg. this afternoon as a cold front moves in.

Colonial Lake

Tab had a dentist appointment yesterday evening at 6:15. Stephen and Matthew are overdue for their first dental checkup; Tab and I decided to bring the boys and introduce the twins to Dr. Jones so they won't be afraid when the time comes for their first appointment. They were intrigued by the chair they will sit on and the headphones they can listen to. Then the boys and I left Tab and went for a walk around the neighborhood.

Our dentist is located in Colonial Lakelands, a neighborhood of Lawrence Township built around a man-made lake. A walking path, perhaps a mile and a half long, circles Colonial Lake. (In Maine there are bodies of water four miles long and more than a mile across that are called "ponds," but this relative puddle is a "lake" here in New Jersey.) In recent years, Colonial Lake had become silted up and algae-covered, a festering, reeking, pitiful eyesore. The township is currently at work restoring the lake to its original beauty, removing up to 60,000 cubic yards of silt and dredging the lake bottom to make it deeper. The lake is nearly completely drained now, with only shallow pits of water between channels of dirt.

There's enough water left to appeal to water fowl, however. We saw several dozen Canada geese on the banks and swimming in the water that remained. Then Daniel spotted ducks. At our approach, a male and female mallard shuffled away down the long, dredged-out banks toward the water. Ducks look so awkward on land, yet so graceful in water. Further on we saw three more mallards, all male this time. Bachelors?

The boys had fun trying to hurl stones into the lake, but their arms weren't strong enough to throw the stones all the way past the banks into what remained of the water. They also liked climbing the huge glacial rocks that are scattered about near the lake.

Half way around the lake we came to a small playground, and we stopped there so the boys could play. I sat at the picnic table and watched them running around and investigating the swings, sliding boards, and jungle gyms. Matthew, who used to be fearful of heights, followed Daniel and Stephen right up the highest sliding board without any hesitation.

Daniel was having a grand time traveling hand over hand on the rungs of the monkey bars. He is so agile and graceful, it is a joy to watch him. He made friends with a little girl who was there with her younger sister. The girl said she was 5, but she was bigger than Daniel. Daniel's favorite playground game is to pretend his brothers are chasing him and his friends. "Quick! Run away! Here come my brothers! Don't let them catch us!" Stephen and Matthew amiably play their assigned roles, laughing and chasing Daniel and the other kids.

I wasn't wearing a sweater, and it was becoming chilly sitting there with a breeze coming off the lake. The blossoms on a small cluster of cherry trees nearby were raining pale pink petals every time the wind blew through the branches. I studied the houses that surrounded the park. I like older, established neighborhoods. I wondered if there is anything for sale around here and what the going rate is. We're hoping to move to Lawrence Township soon.

I checked my watch and realized Tab's appointment was probably over, so I gathered up the boys and we started back the same way we came in. We met Tab on the way back, and the boys told him all about the ducks and geese and the playground. I'm going to come back here some time with the twins, take a picnic lunch to the playground, and perhaps drive around and see if there are any houses for sale.

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