It took nearly the entire day for the brisk breezes out of Canada to push out all that heat and humidity.  A short garden-soaking shower in the morning signaled the beginning of the end of the heat wave.  At breakfast this morning, I conducted a scientific study by asking boys if they had awakened during the night to pull up blankets and got 100% affirmations.

I was glad to see that Sara attended a few clinics in the morning as the counselors stayed on task of teaching new skills to the boys and letting them practice their discovered capabilities.  We’ve made several gentle reminders to staff to be a pro(“to the very end and then a wee bit longer,”as I like to say) without any evidence to the contrary, but merely as a precaution.

By the time the summer’s final slip ‘n slide convened at B Block, it had become a chilly afternoon.  Still, the event drew quite a few boys and Sara got her usual good photos of the action.

The wind and waves were picking up the pace when the B&A fishing derby set off after dinner.  Will Whipple caught the biggest fish, worth 75 points by Todd’s careful calculations, as every catch was worth something to the team standings.  The Arrows prevailed, I am informed, despite the whooper hauled in by Will, a Bow.  Really nice darkness-descending photos by Sara, eh?

I am looking forward to the noontime repast today, the annual “Mum Luncheon” in honor of the Neutral  staff who have the hapless chore of dining in the middle column of the dining room, Bows to one side of them and Arrows to the other.  Tradition has it that boys will scream as loud at they can until the second they cross the threshold of the room, whereupon silence will reign throughout the meal.

It will be fun to watch the pantomime gimmickry and other soundless nonsense.  I’ll do my part with my annual bit with Spanky:  After everyone is in place, we will approach the door where I will loudly proclaim, “Spanky, you are doing such a great job that I am going to give you a raise of…”