Monday Blahs, Overcast and Rain

6:50

A Plump Goldfinch

Woke around 6:45, no sun light, just gray, cloud and lake.  I have to a admit, however, it's pleasant to see the ripples on the water after months of looking out at the winter tundra, ice and snow.  It's 49º out but warming up during the day and week.  In the seventies by Wednesday, with little rain in sight over the next week.  We both think it's unusually dry here in Chautauqua, especially for spring time.

Purell House in CI

Yesterday started out wonderfully, sunny and crisp, but it soon clouded up, the wind picked up, and light rain came mid afternoon.  Evie did manage to get both Leonard's and our yards cut, even though there was a light rain.  Before cutting the lawn, we went to the Chautauqua Institution for a brisk walk, starting with jackets on, but taking them off as we warmed up.  Spring is slow every where as the only signs of burgeoning life were the daffodils and bright yellow clumps of forsythia, reminding me of Mediterranean broom, also yellow and growing on rocky hillsides. Even on Sunday in the CI, some of the newly constructed homes were being worked on, as the builders want things done by the opening of the CI, usually around June 20th.  The Purell House finally has some siding, a blue metal roof, but there's still lots of work to do and I don't imagine it will be lived in this summer.  The house is a oxymoron, a sustainable, green, 13,000 foot dwelling.

Goldfinches 

Enjoying the Black Sunflower Seeds

Most of the afternoon, after Evie cut the lawn, and I trimmed our front hedge of privets and took two more barrels of twigs up the hill, we relaxed, watched some TV, and I read OLEANDER GIRL,  liking it less and less as it devolved in to a soap opera, of spurned lovers. And, when bored, we enjoy watching the marauding goldfinches, flitting between our rhododendrons, privets, and the bird feeders.  They are a never ending source of delight and interest.

Earlier in the day, after our walk, we stopped at the Lighthouse to pick up some ground chuck, went to Topps as well, for veggies.  So, I cooked burgers outside around 6:00, in a light rain, and with a salad, with had a satisfying dinner.  For some reason, the burgers lately have been superb, perhaps because of the freshly ground chuck or because I have learned how to cook them, about four minutes on each side. They end up medium, not quite well done.  We finally got our Apple TV working; don't ask me why it suddenly decided to work and we bought the last two episodes of Mad Men, which we had missed.  Neither were up to snuff as far as we are concerned, as this season seems disperse, with no real sense of direction.  Lots of men having affairs, poor guys, unhappy with their wealthy lives and attractive wives, existential angst I suppose...liquor and women filling the void.  And we watched the last episode of The Good Wife, also quite silly, with idiotic judges, idiosyncratic lawyers, and twists, though we both loved the ending, the only redeeming element of the episode...completely surprising us and offering the possibility of a great season next year.  We will have to wait and see.