Another Brilliant Sunny Morning

6:44

6:54

7:19

Up at 6:45 to a quacking duck, annoying and loud because of our open bedroom window.  Male or female?  I won't comment.  Dawn was amazing again, just a hint of pink, then a bright orange, then as the sun rises, the sky turns white, with hints of blue; the lake is calm and shimmery.  It's 47 degrees and looks to be another great day, to work outside or take a walk or hike.

Yesterday was restorative yoga, thank goodness, as my back and sciatic was acting up.  My teacher was able to gear the exercises to the areas effected, so that by the end of class, I was feeling much better with no pain.  I am beginning to sense which exercises will help with the pain, how to stretch and hold various poses so that I feel better.  I know the cobra really helps and I try to do it a couple of times a day.

When I returned home, I worked out in the yard, getting my purple martin house up in the water, at least three weeks earlier than usual.  I usually put it up on April 15, the date given for the return of martins.  I would assume they will be back earlier though I have yet to see one. As I write, a couple of birds seem to be exploring the house but I don't think they are martins. Let's hope they are not starlings, as I will have to take the house down to get rid of them, so the martins can return.   I also finished some of my work on the dock horses, having brushed off the rust at the various joints and put a rust inhibitor on each joint.  Next week, we may work on the entire piece but for now, this will have to do.  Evie took it easy most of the day, for once, and just enjoyed sitting in the yard, playing Words with Friends, and relaxing.  It felt like an early June afternoon except for the lack of green on the trees and bushes.

For dinner, Evie made a dish I found in The Guardian, I think.  The chef talked about how he thinks meatballs are much more delicious than a steak or chop.  I tend to agree.  The dish included spiced meatballs (bread crumbs, parsley, all spice, and egg), in a sauce of thin sticks of celeriac root with lemon juice, turmeric, fennel seeds, paprika and chicken stock.  We served it over Turkish bulgar with Greek yogurt.  It was really delicious, just what I wanted.  We watched a movie, Mao's Last Dancer, recommended to us by our neighbors, the Jones, who are good friends with the immigration lawyer in the film.  It's about a Chinese ballet dancer who comes to the Houston ballet to train and ends up refusing to return to China.  He ends up starring in the Houston ballet, creating a huge political problem, but because China is beginning to ease it relations with the West, he's able to return home, visit to his family and repair the relationship with the authorities.  A true story, it's well worth watching.