Around and around and around they go

My husband and the girls have joined a local running club, the kind of organization where some people are in there training for marathons and others are just out for some pleasant socialization as they trot along. The elite people in the group have names like Boston and New York tucked under the waistbands of their, er....very brief shorts and there's also a large crop of kids from the local high schools who run with the club in the off-season from track and field.

The group meets at a very beautiful park that is about six blocks from our house. This park is tree-filled and be-flowered, but its best feature is the running/walking path around the pretty little lake. Once around is three miles and from what I hear, this takes you past a great deal of central Indiana flora and fauna. Some of the fauna are very tame and like to come, in squirrel form, and sit on the paths waiting for a little tribute in the form of popcorn, bread or peanuts. If the treats aren't forthcoming, the runners are treated to a fervent cussing in Squirrelian.

This particular view of the little bridge and the rain-wet path and the green, green grass looked especially sumptuous to me today, the kind of view that might beckon a person into a secret garden or the land of the faerie - it looks so mysterious, doesn't it, making you wonder What could be around that bend?

As it happens, I can tell you. If you go around the bend and take the path a little farther on, maybe a quarter of a mile, you'll get to the marina, where you can rent a pontoon or a two-person paddle boat or a canoe. The comfy seat cushions double as flotation devices; life jackets are required for all boaters under the age of eighteen. You can rent a grill for an extra sum for the pontoon, but those aren't recommended for the paddle boats or the canoes. You'll just have to bring your own snacks. Unless, of course, you want to eat some meal worms from the bait shop next door. Don't go there.