::Nikoneer

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This is the third year our now-ten-year-old granddaughter, "B", has paddled her own kayak, but this year she handled it with a lot more confidence and curiosity. I've noticed that she is also developing a healthy interest in independence and solitude, something very apparent today in paddling the larger, more intimidating portion of Sweetbriar Lake, here in North Dakota, a part of the lake in which she's never been before (and certainly not under the windy conditions that showed up unexpectedly). Here she's enjoying her "alone time" out in her boat, as her grandparents get her sister's boat and theirs ready to launch. She was my close buddy the first two years of her life and it feels a little weird to watch her slowly becoming a young lady. I know it's taboo to post a personal "snapshot", but this scene has such tranquility and, for me, beauty, I couldn't resist. Also, it's not mine but rather my wife's smartphone photo.