SLEEPING IN AND COOTS

8:00 and Gray

I actually didn't wake till 7:48, about as late as I have slept in three or four years.  Is this a new routine for me?  I hope not as I love getting up in the early morning, watching the black sky streak with light, the sun rise, the lake and sky change colors.  It's still a gray day, will be for the next few days, mild, about 38 but starting tomorrow, it sounds as if December weather is heading our way.  We head off to Darien tomorrow so I hope the weather doesn't change too dramatically; as of now, it looks like rain most of the way but not snow or ice.  Let's hope the weather man is right for once.

Yesterday was a blah day for both of us, as neither felt too energetic, no walks, just lying around watching TV, some reading, a short walk in the woods, a pizza for dinner.  Strange as ennui set in for both, unusual.  Today, we get organized for our trip east to see Beth and family, my Turkish friend Ates, in the city.  Evie's made the cookies, perhaps a few more today, so we are getting excited to see Tyler, Mitch and Marisa and of course, their parents!

The coots stayed around most of Monday, much of the time in front of our house, or huddled, as the picture shows, close to the Pine Hill Beach.  It's an amazing sight to see so many at once, to watch  them dip and dive, looking for, I assume some vegetation.  I wonder if  this is typical, migrating in huge groups because it doesn't seem to be so for mallards or buffleheads, the two most common ducks on the lake.  They seem to migrate mostly in families of ten or twelve.

This morning the coots returned, a trail of them 150 to 200 yards long in front of Woodlawn.  Their stop here on their way south must be attractive enough to stay a few days.

Coots at Pine Hill Beach

Coots in Flight

Coot Train

American coot