And The Sun Also Rises On A Kayak Morning

7:45

Kayak Morning

I thought I would start the day with a fun poem from yesterday's Writer's Almanac...for anyone who, like me, has taken a yoga class!

First Yoga Lesson

from Mary Oliver's new book Blue Horses

"Be a lotus in the pond," she said, "opening
slowly, no single energy tugging
against another but peacefully,
all together."

I couldn't even touch my toes.
"Feel your quadriceps stretching?" she asked.
Well, something was certainly stretching.

Standing impressively upright, she
raised one leg and placed it against
the other, then lifted her arms and
shook her hands like leaves. "Be a tree," she said.

I lay on the floor, exhausted.
But to be a lotus in the pond
opening slowly, and very slowly rising--
that I could do.

Up at 6:15, a cloudless sky, a few ripples on the lake, an occasional raft of ducks, a single muskrat paddling by our bank, leaving a small wake, like a miniature speed boat.  The sun finally peaked over the horizon at 6:27, ten minutes later then weather channel's actual time for this area.  I assume if we were at sea level, it would rise at 6:17 but here, at 1306 feet above sea level, we don't observe the rise until ten minutes later, at least that's my assumption.  It's 36º out, warmer today, a high of 58º, and it will be partly cloudy.

Bald Eagle

Yesterday was like too many days lately, a good start with yoga, lots of ladies, then home for lunch, but then another trip to the dentist, something that has seemingly become routine for us.  This time for a cleaning, but soon I will be back, as they always find something wrong, more drilling, more money.  Why didn't I pay more attention to my dentist's warnings when I was young. After the dentist, I did what most of us do when depressed...go shopping, this time at Sam's, where I picked up a pot roast because I have been hankering for pot roast tacos for some reason.  I resisted the urge to shop around, buying just what was on Evie's list but I did find a bargain, butter at $1.71 a pound. Then, I stopped at Wegmans to pick up the things that I could not get at Sam's.

Photo From A Rocky Kayak

When I got home, around 4:00, the kitchen was a mess.  Evie had spent the afternoon making cookies for our grandchildren and Dot, her step mother.  Lots of great shapes, hearts, feet, ice cream cones and they are now ready to be decorated.  When I told her about the butter from Sam's, she was ecstatic because so much is used when making cookies.  I helped clean up the kitchen,  then she prepped dinner, pounding out the pork tenderloin, then dipping it in egg and bread crumbs, ready for frying after we had a relaxing hour, sipping wine, enjoying some crackers and blue cheese.  It was not a very attractive dusk, mostly gray on gray, but it felt good to relax and enjoy the later afternoon.

The Estate, Early Morning

Dinner then was schnitzel, with potatoes and a salad and we watched Sunday night's episode of Mad Men.  Neither one of us are much taken with this season though it seems to get good reviews from the critics.  To us, it seems silly, like a final curtain call, bringing back various characters from the past episodes, none of which have much to do with the story line.  We also watched another Real Time with Bill Mather because there is not much on TV on Monday's unless you like Dancing with the Stars.  I don't!  We were both tired so we went to bed around 10:30, to read and then sleep, hopefully.

Sea Gull Island (Woodlawn Creek)

It's now 7:37 and I am finished writing my blog.  Evie is still asleep and I sit here bored, waiting to drive to yoga in an hour and a half.  I don't feel much like reading my book in the morning, so I guess I will peruse both the Washington Post and The New York Times, to see what will depress me, like the riots going on in Baltimore, reminding me of the 1960's Hough riots in Cleveland.  But, hey, racism is over according to the Supreme Court's decision to gut The Voters Rights Act.  I guess they don't read the newspapers.  

Well, I got bored with the papers, looked outside, saw the lake was inviting, so I put on my life jacket, grabbed my paddle, jumped in my kayak, and went out for a half hour paddle, down to Sandy Bottom and back, hoping to see a heron nest or bald eagle.  And, amazingly, I saw the bald eagle, perched up above the reeds at Victoria, on the tree top.  Although my kayaking was not steady because of the waves, I managed to get a couple of photographs.  What a great morning.  Now, it's time to head off to yoga.