Lake Martin

Aisle Six at Lake Martin: Conversations with a Mallard

April 10, 2026 by Sean Dietrich

I like ducks. I watch the same two mallards visit this area of Lake Martin. Almost every morning.

I don’t know if they’re married. Ducks are seasonally monogamous. So this could just be a one-season stand.

Still, they are my friends. I guess they’re here to find food. Sort of like going to Piggly Wiggly with your spouse, minus the buggy, and the rolling of your spouse’s eyes whenever one of you places six jars of something you don’t need into the basket because it’s BOGO.

The Swimmers of Lake Martin

July 3, 2025 by Sean Dietrich

Lake Martin shimmers beneath a heavy midday sun. I am sitting on a dock. There are distant sounds of splashing. Kids laughing. All the children are swimming. All their respective adults are sitting ashore, dry. As adults often are. There is nothing like July on the lake.