That Morning Sky

7:07

7:17

8:00

8:30

It's 8:00 and I have been up since before 6:00, Evie since 7:00.  The sky is filled with dark clouds, occasional breaks of light, some pink near the horizon.  In other words, another amazing morning sky.  I was just outside, picking up fallen twigs, waiting for the sunrise around 7:45 but the clouds are blocking its rise, just coloring the horizon at the moment.  It may break though later.  We have had no rain for a day so things are drying out, the leave are beginning to crisp and soon it will be 'lawn mower time,' mulching the leave.

Long Point State Park

Leaf Strewn Steps

Yesterday was overcast and windy much of the day, the sun not coming out until late afternoon.  We had a leisurely morning before doing more  downsizing, mostly of clothes we don't wear.  Ironically, Evie's favorite local writer,  Margaret Russell, started her essay with the line: "I started up into the attic the other day...armed with boxes and tape and heavy duty garbage bags," ready to get rid of all those things she never used.  Good luck.  After filling a couple of bags, making the tough choice of whether to keep that jacket or sweater you have always liked but have not worn in ten years, we decided a walk through Long Point State Park was a good idea, and we were tired of making choices.  So we nervously jumped into our old Honda, but it started right up so we drove over to the end of Lakeside Drive, parked our car, and spent the next hour and a half enjoying a walk on the leaf strewn trails of the park.  It was brisk out, maybe 50º, time for gloves and a stocking cap, and we loved it. Cold weather energizers both of us.  We were the only ones in the woods, on the trails, which was nice.

Loving The Brisk Morning

In The Woods

Afterwards, we stopped at the Bemus Point Market to pick up some carrots but ended up buying two stuffed pork chops because they looked so good.  We then drove to the Ashville General Store which was having an Autumn Energy Fair.  We were not sure what it meant, so we were somewhat surprised to find it was mostly about psychic readings, massages, and Tong Ren Healing , with a few potters and jewelry makers thrown in.  It was not of much interest to us.  I ordered my favorite sub, the Hijacker, much like a Cuban.  We then drove home, shared the Hijacker for lunch, and then spent the rest of the day doing little until it was around dinner time.

Late Afternoon Sky

About 5:00, Evie turned on our quirky oven (we may need a new one), which turns off for no reason. She was able, however, to make a pan of brownies, bake some potatoes, and cook our pork chops, though we had to check the oven every 15 minutes to make sure it did not turn off.  If it did, we just turned it on again, which seemed to work.  Once most of our dinner was prepped, I made us a Manhattan, Evie got out the brie with blue cheese, crackers and pistachios, and we listened to Prairie Home Companion, minus Garrison Keillor.  The new host, Chris Thile, a mandolinist,  was  pretty good but we miss the unique voice of Garrison.

Spotlight On Long Point at 5:30 PM

It was another enjoyable night, watching the sky get dark, listening to the radio, enjoying our drinks and appetizers.  Dinner was a bit of a disappointment, however, as the stuffed pork chops never seem to be as tasty as they look.  At least that's been my experience.  We watched a couple of Stephen Colbert and James Corden before going up to bed.  I finished my book, THE AIR WE BREATHE by Christa Parrish (decent not great) and started Ann Pachett's new one, COMMONWEALTH.   I think I am going to like it because I was drawn into the story and characters after a few pages.