Carnegie Lake

One of the many assets of my dentist is his multi-talentedness: not only is he a superlative dentist - the only one whom I've ever allowed near my mouth without tensing up like a fishing line with a salmon at the far end - but he's multi-talented in other ways.   He's an excellent photographer, watercolorist, hillbilly musician (to be honest, I've not heard him perform, but I'd take his excellence for granted, since he's so good at everything else).   Today I was inverted in a room that had a large photograph of his on the wall representing Carnegie lake at sunset - I think more or less from this angle, but minus the ubiquitous New Jersey geese (unfortunately a huge grey heron flew off just as I parked the car).   Admittedly, this would have been a far more interesting image if I'd waited another two and a half hours till sunset, too, but that wasn't on the cards.   Carnegie Lake was built around 1905-6 by Andrew Carnegie, so that Princeton rowers could have somewhere to practice: before then, they'd shared the Delaware and Raritan Canal with commercial traffic, which must have been a little cramped.   It looks very tranquil, always - and exceptionally beautiful when it's frozen, or it's misty - but one would be ill advised to swallow it (or even its fish), because of mercury levels, and pollution from oil and gas and fertilizers and pesticides and - yes - goose droppings.   So even if it looks like a truly idyllic corner of New Jersey, it's true NJ in other ways.

Whilst lying back in the chair this afternoon and thinking of - well, anything other than sharp things being stuck into my mouth, I remembered with a (metaphoric) start that in my haste to get the house ready for another Showing this afternoon, I'd in my haste brushed off a stray cat turd from the living room balcony onto the sitting room floor.   I'd intended, of course, to remove it instantly.   "Intended" was the operative word.   I hope that didn't cost us a sale ...