Another Spring Morning, Bright Sun, Blue Skies

7:35

Paddling Home

Reeds Poking Through Winter Waters

Up at 7:15, to a orange sky and lots of wildlife action on the lake, especially the sounds of various ducks, geese, birds and boats.  There are lots of buffleheads or mergansers , a kind of duck, in front of our house. as it's hard to tell this early in the morning.  Both are common on the lake at this time.  It's supposed to be a sunny day, so we hope to get a nice hike in.  Linda and Ron are also arriving today; we will be going out for chicken wings or to the Seezurh, depending on our whim.  By the way, Hayden wrote me yesterday to tell me it was 85 degrees in Bristow, VA, how awful to have weather that warm and it's still late winter.  It got into the 60's yesterday at the lake, but it was 30 degrees this morning when I got up, not too bad.


We did go kayaking yesterday morning, as the sun would hide then peak out, as we headed up towards Wells Bay.  Unfortunately, the wind picked up as we kayaked, so we headed home as we didn't want to get caught up in the bay, fighting our way home.  We did see reeds, which grow down in front of Gizarizzo's beginning to poke their heads up through the water.

Woodlawn/Victoria

Yesterday was another car day, as I took my Honda in for an oil change, and while it was being done, I went for a bike ride around the Jamestown area, including the Lake View cemetery, which is about a mile from the Honda dealer.  It was a great day to ride and I also rode through some pretty shabby looking neighborhoods, with lots of unfortunate looking Mom's sitting outside, sunning or waiting for their kids to come home from school, lots of men, too.  A number of homes in this area have been abandoned or condemned, so this is a neighborhood where many of the poor live.  We certainly feel insulated from them down here on the lake. Like most Americans, we don't really know the 'underclass' exists unless we wander into the urban scene.   It's hard to believe families live like this, depending no doubt on welfare and food stamps, enough to survive I suppose.  I really feel sorry for their children as their home life cannot be very good.

I got another long email from my friend David Johnson, who taught with me in Turkey, now living in Switzerland.  He sent me his novel, anxious, I think, to have me read it.  I hope it's readable.  He also mentioned that his other buddy,  Tom Hanrahan, who also taught for a year at RC, is a famous outdoor guide in Maine, and he has written a couple of books on his experiences.  I looked him up on Amazon and he's got two books out, seems to be a real Grizzily Adams, living alone in the Maine north woods  for a good part of the year.  Interesting careers for both of these young interns, now in their mid fifties, one heading towards business, living in Geneva, the other basically dropping out and living the rural life, though keeping up his interest in writing by putting down his experiences in a book.