Overcast and Quiet on the Lake

7:19

Dinner at Ken and Marjorie Scholtz's with Charlie Tea

Pat and Joyce, enjoying the afternoon

Petunias Still Going Strong

Ready to Hike the  Mt Pleasant section

Up around 7:20. to a lake like a glass plate, not a ripple, the sky overcast, only the sound of crows mars the morning as a few sea gulls flutter off in the distance.  It's 57 degrees, much warmer than the past couple of days though that's supposed to change tomorrow, when the highs for the next few days will be in the sixties, as fall is here.  Today is the last day of summer, so we better enjoy it.

Yesterday morning, chilly and sunny, we got in a nice walk on the Westside Overland trail.  We drove off towards Sherman, jumped on the trail at the Mt. Pleasant access point and walked to the Lean To, just over a mile and back, through woods mostly, still thick with leaves, just over an hour. The leaves are just beginning to change, especially the maples, the result of less daylight, not the cool weather, the belief most people embrace.  In fact, an early frost lessens rather than increases the colors. It was a good morning for a walk, a slight chill, lots of sun, a fun way to start the day.  We have walked this path numerous times, in all kinds of weather, so it's fun to see how it changes with the seasons. We did see a huge logger truck dragging logs out of the forest, one ironically had a State Forest sign affixed to it.  The rest of the day was relaxing, lots of reading, inside or out, despite the wind, and later in the afternoon, Evie deep fried some eggplant, an appetizer for our dinner at the Scholtz's that night.

We went over to Ken and Marjorie's about 6:30, four houses down from ours, and we had a delightful evening, with their good friend Charlie Tea, a retired music teacher from Hampton, a school district outside of Pittsburgh, near Fox Chapel.  Ken enjoys cooking, especially Thai food, so he made up a great chicken and vegetable curry, served over rice.  With a salad, Evie's eggplant as an appetizer, and cherry pie and ice cream for dessert, we were happy. The Scholtz's are going to Peru in a couple of weeks, so we talked about their itinerary since I had been to Peru probably ten years ago.  Their friend Charlie lives on the lake just north of the CI and he's quite a character, plays in four or five different musical groups in the CI during the summer, a focal point for him both  here and back in Pittsburgh.  It must be nice to have talent like that, in his case a trumpet, and it opens all kinds of doors for him, like basketball did for me earlier in my life.