The Quietness Of A Sunday Morning

Fall Kayaking

7:20

I was up at 6:45, 26º outside, snow covered yards, a placid lake, gray sky,  an occasional flutter of our flag.  I have been searching Sirius Radio on our Sonos system for interesting radio stations, the number of options so vast that I hardly know where to begin.  Almost anything, any station, TV or radio, is available, from 60 Minutes, to radio stations from any country, to news, culture, and current event stations, as well as podcasts.   I listened to philosopher Daniel Dennett for awhile on the Seventh Avenue Project, then to Terry Gross interviewing Jon Stewart, to Slate Radio, and now to good old Weekend Edition on NPR.

Invasion of Buffleheads

Sea Gulls and Buffleheads 

I just ran outside as hundreds of buffleheads landed in front of our house, as well as thirty or forty seagulls, screaming and diving into the water.  I am not sure what attracted either bird but it's an amazing sight, difficult to capture on camera because there are so many but I tried.

Yesterday was a bit different, at least in the morning, as I skipped yoga because, like last week, it was Power Yoga, not my cup of tea.  So instead, Evie and I relaxed, reading the paper, enjoying a couple of cups of coffee, in no hurry to do anything.  Finally, the lure of the calm waters of Chautauqua Lake became too much, so we got dressed, put on our fleeces, boots, and life jackets, grabbed our paddles, put our kayaks into the water, and happily paddled off on an gray windless morning, or so we thought.  Evie wanted to paddle across to Long Point, thinking it might be our last chance of the year but by the time we arrived, the wind, as usual picked up, so we headed back towards Wells Bay, where the waters are always calmer, as in our area of Victoria and Woodlawn.

Lost In The Gray Of A November Morning

As always, it was inspiring to be out on the water at this time of the year, literally the only boat on the lake, a crispness in the air, as we glided along the water, like a mirror.  We were startled by gun shots nearby, just north of Woodlawn, so we paddled down to find a duck blind, in full camouflage, lots of dock decoys in the lake.  As we got near, they waved us off, so we turned around and paddled back towards Victoria, not wanting to ruin the hunters day.  We have run into duck hunters the last couple of falls, but this is not the the same boat.  We were back within the hour, our hands and feet beginning to feel the cold.

Duck Hunter's Blind

For lunch, I finished up the tilapia and home fries as Evie got things ready for my trip to the Transfer Station.  Lots of action there, as car after car pulled in, emptying their trash from the week, with some help from the guys.  When I got home, Evie was talking with her sister Claire, who lives in Arizona, and her other sister Elaine called from Chicago, so I talked with her, a busy day for the Petkovsek sisters.

We did not do much the rest of the day though we had hoped to go for a walk around 4:00 but neither one of us was up for it unfortunately.  It was too comfortable in our cosy house, fire going, reading or watching TV.  And I wanted to watch some of the Ohio State football game, still a Buckeye I guess.

Around 6:00, we got out the cheese and crackers, some wine, and listened to Garrison Keeler's Prairie Home Companion for an hour, until dinner was ready, our leftover Santa Fe chicken, even better than the day we made it, like many leftovers.  They are better the next day.  We caught up on some of the TV shows we missed from Thursday and Friday, then went to bed early, around 10:30 to read, eventually sleep.