Steam Rising on a Chautauqua Lake Morning

It's 7:15, I've been up since 6:00 and the sun has just risen over Tom' Point, blinding me as I sit writing.  The morning is clear, with the exception of steam/fog rising from the warm lake. It rises maybe 20 feet above the lake and appears to be moving slowly, from right to left, then disappearing as it slides towards Long Point.  I ought to kayak now, but I'm to comfortable here, with NPR, my coffee and my MacAir.  Today is supposed to be another beautiful day, the kind I expected in October, sunny and warm, almost like summer.  High's will be in the 50's, so we will be spending the day outside. The lake is so blinding at the moment that I have to move to another chair...the entire surface towards Tom's point looks like an enormous light bulb when you look at it closely.  Never have I seen the lake so blinding., a result perhaps of a brilliant clear sky, a placid lake surface, and rising sun.  Today, I hope to organize the garage, so I can park my car in it for the winter.  Lots of stuff will have to be thrown out or put up in the attic.  Why is it so difficult to throw out something or give it away.  We have  a push mower in the garage that we have never used but I am sure Evie won't let me throw it away because she might want to use it sometime next summer.  That's the story we tell ourselves, that keeps us from getting rid of stuff.  I have an entire closet full of sport coats and dress shirts that I should get rid of but...I might need them some day! Simplifying one's life is more difficult then it seems.  We just have to get over the idea of our desire to  have 'things,' whatever they are.  We don't need much but life (advertising) tells us we need everything...like a MacAir.  What we need, individually and as a nation is a new meme (mind set), one of simplicity, happiness with what we have, an aversion to want or accumulation.  It might not be good for the economy, but it will be good for the world, the environment, the diversity of life.

Today has been a spectacular day, just a hint of cool in the air, a great day for working in the yard (Evie did cut Leonard's grass), and getting everything organized in the garage for winter.  It took me most of the day, taking everything out, sweeping it out, deciding what could  be thrown away, what could be put in the attic, what could  be left outside under a tarp, and then putting everything back.  In the late afternoon, as the sun was beginning to set, the lake was a slight pink, tinged with blue, absolutely calm, hardly a ripple, as it had been all day.  It's very unusual to have little if any wind, especially the entire day, but today was one of those rare days  When it got dark, we came in, organized dinner, and I cooked lamb chops outside, to go with roasted potatoes and cauliflower, a great dinner.  We watched a couple shows of  The Good Life, then back to Jack Reacher, in my Lee Childs novel.  A great day.