Last Swim (dip really) Of The Year

Evie Of The Lake

The Old Man 

6:41

6:45

There's an orange glow along the eastern horizon as the morning begins to wake.  The lake is ruffled as the wind plays with its surface.  And it's another warm morning for Oct 18th, already 63º and will get into the mid 70's later in the day.  I woke up to a moonlit yard, an absolutely clear, cloudless morning sky.

Yesterday I returned to yoga, to my routine, with class at 9:30 with all the ladies and two guys.  It's been a month and a half since I was in class, so it felt really good to be back on the mat, paying attention to my breath, to my body, especially my back and always tight hamstrings.  In just a few weeks, I had forgotten some of the names of the people in the group, so I have to go back to my list of participants so I don't feel like a fool.  The memory ain't what it used to be!  Afterwards, I drove by Ryder's Cup which was closed for a day or two for renovations, alas, then on to Wegman's, a quiet Monday, as the lines were small, the customers sparse, a good day to shop.  I also stopped at a farm just up the street from us that offers grass fed, antibiotic free beef and I bought three pounds of ground beef, thinking it makes sense to support the local farmers (and we like the beef).  It's a bit more than Wegman's but not much.

Long Point Again

Our afternoon was the usual, Evie on the dock reading Ann Patchett's novel, COMMONWEALTH, me in the house, having lunch, more lentil soup and a bagel, watching Longmire, reading and napping until around 2:30.  The afternoon was sunny and unseasonably warm, so I put on my life jacket and went for a long paddle along Woodlawn, across to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom and home.  Again, I felt like I was the only boat on the lake until a power boat raced by, terrorizing the quiet of an empty lake.

Fall Colors Surrounding Our House And Neighborhood

When I returned, Evie's kayak was gone, so she, too, was tempted by the afternoon and was out paddling and relaxing on the lake, on a warm October afternoon.  We both then did some reading on our chaise lounges on the dock.  When the sun peaked out from behind the clouds, I knew it was time to swim, so I hesitantly climbed down the ladder, into the cold, let it slowly cool my body, then dove under, the cold shocking my body but in a good way, like I was suddenly more alive.  I did not linger, however, and climbed out to a surprisingly warm afternoon.  And as I got out, Evie jumped in and unlike her usual self, she did not linger either.  I am not sure how cold the lake was, most likely somewhere in the mid 60's but this was the latest we have ever been in the lake.  We then dried off, enjoying the last of the remaining sun until it fell behind the trees.

We took quick showers and I poured each of us a glass of wine as Evie began to make dinner, garlic spinach, rice and broiled salmon.  It took about forty five minutes to get everything prepped, the rice cooked, the salmon done, so we were ready to eat by 6:45.  We continue to be glued to all the election stories even though they rarely change.  And we watched a new show our niece Kathryn mentioned, called This Is Us and we actually liked it.   At least the first episode was excellent, not overdone, no gratuitous sex or violence, with some real emotions.  We also watched the new PBS series The Durrells on Corfu which we enjoyed.  When we lived in Istanbul, both Evie and I read and loved Gerald Durrells MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS, the story of his life growing up on Corfu in 1937, and the series is based on his memoir.  We also visited Corfu in the summer of 1977, on our way home to the States.  Corfu is perhaps the most beautiful of the Greek Islands because of the influence of Italy on its architecture.   By the way, I have yet to finish THE NIX, with 1% to go according to my Kindle.