It’s been forever since I posted something here on The Newsprint. To a degree, I apologize. But to the next degree, I have to admit to being too busy to care. My family and I have been attempting to soak every last bit of summer this year, and The Newsprint simply doesn’t take precedence over that.

Rest assured, the camera has had a very busy few months. From the middle of June through to the first week of September, we’ve ventured out to the beach, to the lake, to the campground, and to the cabin, and we’ve carved out very little sleep along the way.

Normally, I’d be extra happy with the achievement of being fairly active during the summer even with two little ones under three years of age.

But this year is different.

This year, winter feels like an honest boogie monster, waiting and lurking on the other side of the bush to rob us of the little bit of joy 2020 can bring. We suffered through one of the longest winters of my life last year — from mid-October 2019 through to mid-May 2020, we had more than a foot of snow on the ground. Though mild, last winter was awfully, awfully long.

And with recent temperatures dropping to freezing around here, it’s hard not to feel the pending doom of winter right now.

So, as an ode to the summer of 2020 that was, here are a few beach photos at the local watering hole in Plum Coulee. The beach is essentially man-made and is very small when compared to other beaches even in our province, but it’s a perfect spot for taking a few toddlers for the afternoon.

The water is clean. The sand is soft. What more could you ask for?