Fog Rising On A 34º Morning

7:31

7:32

7:49

7:50

It was 6:00 when I rose, came downstairs in the darkened kitchen, turned on the coffee and walked outside to see the sky, a few stars, a crescent moon, and a chilly morning.  Right now, it's 7:55, the sun rose about five minutes ago, highlighting the lake and fog with its rays.  A mostly clear sky, a cloud or two, a good start to our day.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was a mostly lost day for both of us.  I did start the day with yoga, which was fine and I came straight home, no coffee or shopping because I had to drive to Erie for a car appointment at 1:00.  So I literally ran in the house, changed, grabbed my computer and Kindle and drove to Erie, about a 45 minute drive.  I stopped on Peach Street, to get some gas, then sat down at Chick Fil A for lunch.  I figured I had about 25 minutes to enjoy my lunch before driving to the Honda dealer.  I timed it well as I arrived there at 1:00, then sat in their lounge, reading or surfing the net on my computer until 2:20.  Whatever they did, the seat belt/air bag warning light went off so I was good to go.

Nuthatch Up Close

While I was gone, Evie spent part of her morning putting together our dinner of chicken parmesan and getting ready for a trip to the dentist (a filling needed to be replaced) and a major shopping at Wegman's.  So I knew that when I got home, she would be either at the dentist or shopping.  Thus, I was in no hurry to get home, so I took the slow, interesting ride home, taking RT 5, along Lake Erie from the NY line to Barcelona, which skirts the lake and fields of vineyards.  A number of huge trucks were parked along the now mostly brown fields of grapes, waiting to take the grapes to the Westfield.  It's always a scenic drive, glimpses of the lake between an occasional beach front home and vineyards on both sides of the road.  I stopped at Barcelona Beach, at the parking lot, where they working on improving the parking area, perhaps adding a pavilion of sorts.  I spent about 15 minutes scouring the beach for flat rocks for a new cairn I plan on building on the edge of our property.

I then drove home, hoping to stop in Westfield to pick up a pie at Portage Pie which, unfortunately, was closed.  I then drove to the Westfield Nursery, then the ice cream parlor, and both were closed for the winter, alas.  Finally, I checked out the building which Portage Pie bought  on Main Street in Westfield and it looks like they are in the process of renovating it, and it will be a coffee and pie place.  I ended my drive in Westfield by seeing if I  could find a once famous restaurant, the Bark Inn, which is open only on Wednesday through Saturdays, like many of the restaurants in Chautauqua County.  I would like to go back some Friday and try it because its been years since we have been there.

Monday Afternoon Sky

I finally arrived home around 3:30, tired of driving and not sure what to do.  So I turned on Julie Mason on POTUS, did some reading, and enjoyed the afternoon sky, filled with puffy clouds and blue skies.  Evie finally got home after 6:00, tired from her excursion, ready to relax and fortunately, dinner was done.  So she popped the chicken parm in the oven (which worked long enough to heat up our dinner), put away all the goodies, and I went outside and did a quick mulching of our front yard, filled with leaves once again.  It took me only 20 minutes, and when I came in, I had enough time before dinner to enjoy a glass of rose before dinner was ready.  We had a dilemma as to what to watch, the Cavs or the Indians, so we switched back and forth, timing it perfectly as we watched the Indians get a 2-0 lead, then a 3-0 lead by a home run.  I have to admit we both soon got bored with both, so we watched some of FOX and MSNBC before watching another episode of THIS IS US.  We went to bed with the Indians still ahead, the Cavs having won, so it looked like a great evening in Cleveland.

Today we are going to hike the Zoar Valley, supposedly one of the most spectacular hikes in Cattaraugus County, with ancient trees, a Gorge and the Cattaraugus River. It's about an hour drive to Gowanda, the nearest village.