"Today at the Lake" Blog

Just Keep Trying

Posted on March 30, 2024March 30, 2024 by E.S.

March 29 Friday Wind:from NW 6.6 m/sec (15 mph); Air Temperature:1.3 °C (52 °F); Water Temperature:10.42 °C (51 °F) Today at the lake it was sunny, and I felt hopeful as I approached the beach because it seemed almost like a Spring day. I started off swimming south toward the boat launch. I tried swimming

Night Moves

Posted on February 27, 2024March 30, 2024 by E.S.

February 27, 2024 Wind: from S 4.0 m/sec (9 mph) Air Temperature: 6.8 °C (44 °F) Water Temperature: 7.45 °C (45 °F) Today at the lake it was dark, windy, and cold. I met my new swim buddy, S, at the other beach for a night swim. I usually find parking right near the beach,

Stayin’ Alive

Posted on February 26, 2024March 30, 2024 by E.S.

2/25/2024 Wind: from S 11.1 m/sec (25 mph). Air Temperature: 9.3 °C (49 °F). Water Temperature: 7.73 °C (46 °F). Today at the lake, it was clearly not a good day for swimming. The wind was fierce, and there were huge waves – whitecaps, even – crashing against and dispersing the pebbles on the beach.

Get In No Matter What

Posted on February 16, 2024March 30, 2024 by E.S.

Feb 16, 2024 Wind: from SE 6.1 m/sec (14 mph). Air Temperature: 9.1 °C (48 °F) Water Temperature: 7.55 °C (46 °F) Today at the lake it was sunny and blustery. The water was really choppy, but I was desperate to get in the lake after not exercising for five days. I’m not sure if

Following the Sand Ridges

Posted on January 25, 2024March 30, 2024 by E.S.

Jan 25, 2024 Wind: from S 2.5 m/sec (6 mph). Air Temperature:10.4 °C (51 °F). Water Temperature:7.67 °C (46 °F) Today at the lake it was much warmer outside, but the water was still cold. It’d been nine days since my last swim, and I was desperate to get in the water. I went to

When Motivation Gets Me To the Lake

Posted on January 14, 2024March 30, 2024 by E.S.

Wind: from N 4.4 m/sec (10 mph) | Air Temperature: -4.1 °C (25 °F) | Water Temperature: 8.03 °C (46 °) Today at the lake it was cold and clear, with snow-covered mountains in the distance. I met R, a young man I met a couple weeks ago on the beach. I would never have made

Sweden Highlights

Posted on January 10, 2024March 25, 2024 by E.S.

Almost all of the best swims of my life happened in Sweden, lake of 100,000 lakes.

When You NEED a Swim

Posted on January 10, 2024March 25, 2024 by E.S.

Does anyone else get ansty and start feeling like you’re in a funk if too many days go by between swims…..cause I really get desperate for the lake after a few days. This photo is in Solna, Stockholm. One of my favorite swim spots during my three months there. The water was clean and cool.

Colder

Posted on January 9, 2024March 25, 2024 by E.S.

Jan 7, 2024. Temp 40 F. Water temp 47 F. Today at the lake it was cold. Colder than usual. Still 40 F, but everything felt colder. I went with my neighbor, S, and we were both feeling cold as we assembled our gear on the beach. The hardest part of winter swims is getting

New Yorker: Sea Women in South Korea

Posted on January 8, 2024January 8, 2024 by E.S.

Check out this article in The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/sea-women-of-south-korea

The Guardian: Free Diving

Posted on January 8, 2024January 8, 2024 by E.S.

January 7, 2024 Interesting article from The Guardian about an Australian woman who has an incredible capacity for free diving. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/06/i-didnt-even-know-this-was-humanly-possible-the-woman-who-can-descend-into-the-sea-on-one-breath?CMP=share_btn_link

Moonlit Magic

Posted on December 23, 2023January 9, 2024 by E.S.

Dec 23, 2023. Cold. Amazing night swim last night. I was transformed.

BBC One Video: Autism and Nature

Posted on December 16, 2023January 8, 2024 by E.S.

December 16, 2023 I don’t have autism, but I can relate to this. I get overstimulated so easily, but nature soothes me.

Better With a Buddy

Posted on December 14, 2023March 30, 2024 by E.S.

Weather Data 12/17/2023 07:02 PM PST | Wind: from NW 2.8 m/sec (6 mph) | Air Temperature: 7.8 °C (46 °F) | Water Temperature: 9.25 °C (49 °F) (Lake Washington Buoy Data) Today at the lake it was sunny, and I felt hopeful. I was late meeting my swim buddy, K5, because I thought I

Friendly Peeps at the Park

Posted on December 14, 2023January 9, 2024 by E.S.

Wind: from NW 3.8 m/sec (9 mph) | Air Temperature: 8.2 °C (47 °F) | Water Temperature: 9.39 °C (49 °F) (Lake Washington Buoy Weather Data 12/14/2023 ) Today at the lake it was chilly but not cold, and the water was nice and flat. There weren’t many people in the park. I saw two

The Escape I Needed

Posted on December 11, 2023January 9, 2024 by E.S.

December 11, 2023 Today at the lake, the water was cool and cold and perfect. All my stress dissolved. In the water I can other have superficial thoughts because my brain empties. Or, more like my thoughts are surface, observational, fleeting. There’s some sand on the bottom. There’s some seaweedy thingies. There’s some wilting milfoil.

Stealth

Posted on December 8, 2023January 8, 2024 by E.S.

I look like a super hero, entering the water with grace and style.

Clarity

Posted on October 18, 2023October 18, 2023 by E.S.

18 Oct 2023 Weds, sunny, 57 F, water = cold Today at the sea, it was sunny, unseasonably warmish, and the water was super clear and flat. A big contrast to the huge waves from a few days ago. I had arranged to meet some Swedish swimmers/dippers via the local FB page, but I got

Malmö Rocks

Posted on October 16, 2023October 16, 2023 by E.S.

16 October 2023 Monday. Cold, windy, sunny. Today in Malmo, I rode my bike to the skateboard park, then I headed towards the beach. The first swimming place had a lovely wooden deck and little jetty/dock thingies you could walk out on, with ladders into the water. People were taking photos because nobody in their

Big Wind, Big Waves

Posted on October 7, 2023October 7, 2023 by E.S.

7 Oct 2023 Today at the lake it was crazy cold and windy. Like wind-chill cold. The temperature was 47 F, but it felt like 20 F. F!!! I arrived early so I could get my wetsuit on properly and be ready when my swim buddy arrived so she didn’t have to wait for me

No Pain in the Rain

Posted on October 3, 2023October 3, 2023 by E.S.

Tues, Oct 3, 2023. Stockholm. Today at the lake, it was pouring rain. I made plans to meet my new swim buddy, H, at her beach, but I was late getting up, so we pushed the time out a bit. Even with that, I was late because Google Maps said it would take me 13

Lake Connection, Robots, Flowers, Vikings

Posted on September 21, 2023September 21, 2023 by E.S.

Today at the sea the wind was whipping across the water, making it little furious waves that came at me too quickly. I was smart and swam with the wind, and I made it to the diving platform faster than I usually do. I swim to the ladder on that dock to remove the extra

Return to Odensvi

Posted on September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 by E.S.

Today ate the lake, the water was chilly and flat. My host took me to the same lake that her friend took me to last week. It’s a lovely setup, with a large playground for kids, lots of picnic tables and places to cook food, changing rooms, and a nice beach. The U-shaped dock is

The Swim I Needed

Posted on September 11, 2023September 21, 2023 by E.S.

Monday, September 11, 2023, 7:22pm Today at the sea, the water was choppy, the sun was shining, and the jellyfish were nowhere to be seen. Or so I thought. When I walked up to the dock I was excited to see a man swimming in the water. I shouted out to him and asked how

Cows, Sheep, Violets

Posted on September 9, 2023September 9, 2023 by E.S.

Sat sep 9 6:27pm Skaftekulla badplats Today at the lake I didn’t want to get out of the water. My host drove me to a remote lake next to a cow and sheep pasture. It was perfect. The water was cool and flat, and I could see little skirmishes on top of the water here

Storsjön

Posted on September 6, 2023September 8, 2023 by E.S.

Weds Sept 6, 7pm Today at the lake I took a bus 30 minutes away to try a new swimming spot in the tiny village of Edsbruk. I got off at the wrong stop, so I had to walk almost a mile, but I didn’t mind. Maybe it was only 1/2 a mile. There were

Danger! Jellyfish

Posted on September 4, 2023September 21, 2023 by E.S.

Today at the sea, there were so many jellyfish and new jellyfish. As I was walking to the dock there was a man taking a photo of the area. I asked if he was going to swim, and he said yes. So I said, “yea, I’ll swim with you.” He is visiting Sweden from the

Jellyfish, Ahoy

Posted on September 2, 2023September 21, 2023 by E.S.

Saturday, Sept 2 Today at the sea it was gloriously sunny, and the water was flat, calm. There were loads of jellyfish out, so I knew I was going to have a lot of company. I was the only person at the beach again. I didn’t see anyone on the campgrounds or near the cabins.

Swimming Wimmin in Sweden

Posted on September 1, 2023September 8, 2023 by E.S.

Friday Sept 1 grey and cold and rainy. Today at the lake, we cancelled because of rain. But by the end of the day I was having a fit over my lack of wifi options, and my host’s friend, Y, and I decided a swim was necessary. So glad that I was smart enough to

So Såduggen

Posted on August 29, 2023August 29, 2023 by E.S.

Monday August 28, 2023 Today at the lake, I swam in a beautiful, clean lake, Såduggen, surrounded by trees and blue sky. It was glorious. My host drove me to a lake about 10 miles away. There was nobody there, which seems bizarre to me because where I live there are always people around, even