Thunder, Lightning, And Peepers...Spring

From Our Bedroom Window at 7:23

6:52

7:09

7:20 Looking North

7:20

7:26

Up at 6:45 to a threatening sky, with a slash of orange just above the horizon.  I went out to get the paper and to my surprise, I heard peepers, thunder, then saw lightning. Wow...what a way to wake up. It's now 8:00 and the thunderstorms have passed us by, the sky is mostly cloudy, with a tinge of light, with rain forecast on and off during the day except from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm when it's supposed to be clear. Wow again...the weather man certainly is precise with his predictions.  Sorry, meant weather person.  But that brief interlude is perfect because we are going to grill steaks out tonight.  And just as I was finishing my blog, Evie noticed two wood ducks, floating by, suddenly fly up into the branches of the tree in our front yard.  We have never seen this happen before.

Male Wood Duck

Female Wood Duck

Yesterday was a strange day for me, stranded at home because Evie needed the car early, for a class at the YMCA, then a dentist appointment and my second car was in the emergency room at my mechanics.  My tumbler, where the key goes, is giving me trouble so that I often can not get the car started. Yuk...more car bills.  Anyways, I was stranded on the island of our home, with a windy, wet, and unattractive day, so no kayaking or walking.  So I did a lot of reading, and I am heavy into my book, COBRA, by South African writer, Deon Meyer.  When Evie headed off, she left me with two tasks, make ice cubes and scrub the cherry cupboards in our kitchen with Murphy's Oil Soap.  It took me awhile but they now shine, like new.  But I forgot to make the ice cubes, a typical husband who doesn't listen carefully to his wife.

Common Mergansers

A Raft Of Mergansers

Lunch was great, vegetable soup and the leftover eggplant/cheese/tomato sandwich.  Nothing like breaded and fried eggplant for a good sandwich.  I started at new series from Norway which I really liked called OCCUPIED.  It's on Netflix, set in the near future, where Norway has decided to forgo fossil fuels and closes down all their oil fields despite the protestations of Russian and the EU.  When their Prime Minister announces this plan, he is kidnapped, then released and forced to publicly relent on his plans, allowing Russians into Norway to take over the oil fields.  It's gripping and well acted. Ten episodes.

Crocuses...More Signs of Spring

Evie spent a long day in Lakewood and Jamestown, an early workout, then teeth cleaning in Jamestown, then shopping at both Sam's and Wegman's.  Surprisingly, she hardly needed help unloading the car.  Around 5:30, we decided to drive over to Bemus, order a pizza from Coppola's, then walk while we wait for it.  As luck would have it, Coppola's was closed for the week, so we took a short walk, then ordered a pizza from the Ashville General Store.  We picked it up a half hour later, then drove home around 6:30.  Evie made a salad and the pizza was really quite good, better than we remembered, despite the heavy cheese.  We watched BETTER CALL SAUL before turning back to the pundits, waiting with bated breathe for the polling booths to close in Florida, the Ohio, then Missouri. How exciting...not.  And this may go on till June when California finally has its primaries. The only excitement of the night was Kasich's win in Ohio, fairly predictable and he remains a long, long, long shot.  It was a relief to go up to bed to read and get lost in the gangsters of Cape Town.