The Most Spectacular Day Of The Year

Geese Rising

7:24

7:37

8:25

I am up later than usual, 7:30, to a gray sky with a slash of pink just above the horizon.  The sky slowly added more pink only to dissolve quickly to gray, like a switch was turned off.  And now it's just gray, with some gray/white clouds of in the distance.  We both were awakened by gun shots, louder than usual because we had our window open, duck hunters no doubt.  It's 45º, with rain forecast, not ruining our neighborhood clambake but pushing it inside for much of the afternoon.

Off To Bemus Bay

Kayaking Through The Boat Lifts

Yesterday was the perfect day, the best day of the year weather wise.  We were so taken with it that we kayaked twice, a long paddle in the morning to Whitney Bay, a shorter one in early afternoon. The sky was a cloudless dark blue, the lake placid, waveless because of the lack of wind.  And the leaves were at their peak, so that it felt like we were kayaking in a large, bejeweled bowl filled with water.  Every where we looked, we saw the cobalt blue lake, the browns, yellows, burnt red, and green of the treeline and the blue sky.  It reinforces my understanding and belief  in Oliver Sack's quotation from by blog: 'My religion is nature.  That's what arouses those feelings of wonder and mysticism and gratitude in me."  How could we not feel this as we sat out in the middle of the lake drinking in the wonder of the natural world, so wonderfully displayed all of yesterday.

Kayak Lady

Fall's Beauty And Wonder

After kayaking, I had to got into Jamestown, to pick up maps for our trip out West in three weeks, to Dallas and Kansas City, so I naturally had to stop at Brigiotti's for vegetables, Wegman's for groceries, and Mike's, to pick up some mulch for our new tree.  I wasted little time because I wanted to get home to enjoy the day.  When I drove in the yard, Evie was out mulching the leaves, a Sisyphean task, because they just fall down the next day.  Anyways, we both worked outside until lunch, trimming privets, raking leaves, cleaning up the yard.  When all was done, I had a quick lunch of bean soup and a hot dog, and Evie got out her chaise lounge and enjoyed the sun in our side yard.  After eating, it was just too nice to sit inside, so I went out, looked at the lake, an jumped in my kayak for another paddle, over to Long Point, to the Pavilion, and back home before joining Evie in the side yard to read and, of course, take a nap.  It was strange to wake and find myself in the yard, the sun starting to fade, the air beginning to gain a chill.  We both decided it was time to go in and turn on the fireplace.

Around 5:30, we sat down with a glass of wine and listened to NPR and read until dinner time.  Evie had pulled a chicken stew out of the freezer, warmed it up, braised some brusell sprouts and we had dinner.  We watched an older Tom Hanks movie, Road to Perdition, where Hanks plays an unfamiliar role, as a Irish mafia hit man.  A decent movie, not great.  We then listened to Rachel Maddow interview Hilary Clinton and whatever people think of her, she is, by far, the most experienced and knowledgeable candidate on either side of the aisle.  Unfortuantely, that usually makes no difference; we would rather vote for someone we would like to have a beer with rather than the most qualified to lead our country.  And by the way, I would not like to have a beer with either Ben Carson or Donald Trump...maybe Rubio or Kasich but defintely not the first two.  Sorry for the tub thumping.