Surprise...Wet, Overcast, And Foggy

6:18

6:53

I was up for some reason way too early,  5:40, just enough light in our bedroom to keep me up.  It looks miserable outside though it's not cold, 64º, just rainy, windy, and foggy, not enough, however, to discourage the bass boats, which are up and out early as well.  A huge heron just flew by, paused, as if fighting against the wind, then alighted on our dock,  The wind is strong enough to churn up the lake, making it tough to fish.

Three Families

Yesterday was a day from hell, at least for me, just another episode in life with an aging automobile.  I made an appointment in Erie for my Pilot, as I mentioned, to have it checked over before we go to North Carolina.  I thought I would make a fun day of it, drive to Presque Isle,  about 20 minutes from the dealer, and go for a bike ride.  Of course, when I got to the park, it was raining, so I drove around a bit, hoping the rain would stop and miraculously, just after I parked, it did.  The park has a great paved ten mile trail which follows, for the most part, the shoreline of the peninsula.  It's usually busy with skaters, bikers, hikers and families but because of the weather, it was not very crowded.  I rode for about an hour and a half, out to the Oliver Hazard Perry Monument and back, exploring some of the off road trails.  Just as I was putting my bike in my car, it started to rain again, so my timing was perfect. The gods are with me, I thought.

Then, the agony of waiting began.  I dropped my car off at 1:30, was told I needed the wheels aligned at 2:00, then a new ball joint at 3:00.  The ball joint would take another hour and a half if I wanted to wait.  At 5:00, I was told they needed another part, and it was on its way but the car would not be ready till 7:00 or later.  So they lent me a car, and I drove off to TGIF for a beer and a burger.  They called me at 7:00, to say the car was finished.  I drove the loaner back, paid my bill, a couple hundred less than I expected, did not ask questions, and drove home.  So my ten hour day to get my car fixed finally ended.

Nuthatch

Evie had a similar day, also making the wrong decision, to work in the yard in the morning, shop in the afternoon.  It rained in the morning, of course, and cleared up in the afternoon.  And shopping ending up being a joke, as she had an appointment to get her hair trimmed, but when she got there, they could not take her for an hour and a half.  Not sure what an appointment means anymore.  So, she wasted much of her day, just like me.

We commiserated when I got home at 7:45, were able to laugh about our day, and watched some Jon Stewart and Rita, which lightened up our evening.  I was really tired from sitting around in a dealers' waiting room, so I went up to bed to read early.  Maybe that's why I woke at 5:45.