As I type this, I'm outside. It's October 7th and yet the weather in northern Michigan is quite warm (70 degres right now at 11:30pm). 

I'm not just outside though. I'm outside at the cottage at the lake.  Above me it is totally clear. I can see the milky way
(the literal cloud of stars) which I can't see from home due to light pollution. The waves are gently reaching shore about 10 meters in front of me. 

There's no bugs,it's just quite (other than the waves) and peaceful.  My only bummer is that my wife and kids have already gone back home. I stayed an extra day to get a little more work done and drive to work from here in the morning.

I came up here to get work done and that's what I did. I didn't get as much work done as I had hoped.  I worked pretty constantly while I was here but the occasional walk, visit with neighbors, and playing with the kids in the sand kept me from being quite as focused as I might have been had I stayed home. 

At home, I can and do work 12 hours straight getting up only to eat and for bathroom breaks. Not so here. I don't have a good chair for sitting in for long periods of time and once you're up stretching, it's hard to not walk on the beach a bit or take a stroll through the woods.

I feel very fortunate that to be able to do this. If I were religious, I would say that I am truly blessed. Either way, I am very thankful.

And now I'm going to turn off the laptop, look up at the stars and enjoy the view.