A Veneer Like Morning Fog

7:06

8:05

A light morning fog, as it appeared suddenly, partially obscuring the far shore, reminding me of a French Impressionist painting.  It's come and gone in a half hour, and at the moment, a splash of the light mars the grayness of morning.  Each mornings ever changing sky is difficult to capture, either in words or digitally, yet I try, with some success, mostly failure because nothing can take the place of the moment, or as the great photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson called it, 'the decisive moment.'

An Overcast Morning On The Lake

Parked Kayaks

We had hoped for another sunny, crisp fall day yesterday but got mostly clouds, overcast skies but that did not thwart our desire to do something physical.  So, we decided to both kayak and hike, and paddled over to Long Point State Park, where we parked our kayaks.  We then took an hour hike through the park, a different kind of  beauty from a sunlit day, yet in its own way, striking.  The leaves have just begun to lose their chlorophyll, so they have yet to turn into the reds and golds that we expect.

Trail Along Black Locust Trees

We were the only one's on the trail though the marina had quite a few fishing boats and interestingly, a van from New Jersey advertising fishing kayaks.  And when we hiked, we saw two of them out on the waters, each kayak outfitted with numerous rods, a tackle box conveniently placed and a flat bottom so they could stand up and cast.  Cool beans.  Evie looked them up on line and a fishing kayak, fully equipped goes for 2500 bucks.  I think I will stay with my Pongo, close to 20 years old and still chugging along.

Fisning Buddies in Painted Kayaks

Standing In A Flat Bottom Kayak

A Well Equipped Kayak

It was good to get out, and we missed it Monday.  Because the afternoon skies remained overcast, and Evie saw no possibility of enjoying a sunny day on the dock, she decided to drive to Lakewood, to return some items, hit the Dollar Store for Treasure chests items because we are going into my sister's this weekend for a clambake and  always take a traveling treasure chest for the cousins.  After she left, I had a great lunch, meat loaf sandwiches and bean soup and decided to get my New York license plates, something I have been putting off.  And I never fail to forget something when I go to register a car, boat or trailer.  This time I needed Evie's signature on a form, her driver's license number, so I called her on the phone and forged the signature. So, I went back in, started the process and found I had only a temporary insurance card.  Luckily, the gal was used to this, called my insurance agent in Clymer, and they faxed it over.  The only easy part was paying the 2500 bucks New York State  tax on my car, if you call that easy.

So, I was legal, sort of and when I got home, I read for awhile until Evie got home, helped with the groceries and went out to put the license plates on the car, easy right.  No, there is no place or holes to put the plate on in the front of the car!  I called the dealer but have yet to hear from them.  But the ultimate insanity is I have to get a safety check on my new car, just as if it were ten years old.  So I called the local Subaru dealer, made an appointment, asked about the license plate problem and he said they could put it on for thirty or forty bucks, just to screw a plate on the front bumper.  I will wait to see what my dealer in Erie has to say.  Anyways, it was a frustrating afternoon.

Late afternoon, we relaxed with a glass of wine and some cheese after Evie put together a quick pasta sauce with mushrooms and Italian sausage.  It was a gray, darkening evening for a sundowner (what South African's call their cocktail hour) and we had better get used to it.  Lots more to come over the next six months.  We watched three more episodes of Homeland from last year and are ready to watch the first episode of the new season either tonight or tomorrow.

We hope to drive to Ellicottville this afternoon, with the McClures, to visit the Griffis Sculpture Park eight miles north of the village, hike some, then have an early dinner at the Ellicottville Brew Pub, getting home in time for Ron to watch his Pirates play their playoff game at 8:10.  Sunny weather had been predicted until this morning, so it may be overcast, even rain for our trip. Amazing, the weather forecast was inaccurate.