That Morning Sky

7:05

7:06

7:10

7:11

7:12

7:16

7:17

7:44

I was up just after 6:00, total darkness until I walked outside and saw a starry morning sky.  By 7:00, however, the sky came alive with some color, mostly orange, which spread from south to north, eventually from Wells Bay to Long Point.  Now, at 7:30, the blue sky is apparent, with some cream colored clouds.  It looks like we have at least three more sunny days before the rain arrives on Monday.  And as you can see, we could not make up our mind what sunrise photos to include so we just added them all.

Victoria/Woodlawn

I just got back from a great morning kayak; I have rarely seen the lake so smooth, not a whisper of a wind, with a few sightings of mallards but that's it.

Sandy Bottom

Mallards

Yesterday morning was busy, starting with breakfast in Bemus, five of us, which is fun but it gets in the way of my morning paddle. C'est la vie.  I knew there were some things I wanted to get done, most importantly, drop my extra bike off at Hollyloft Bike Shop, a donation since I have never used it and I need more room in the garage.  So I drove into Lakewood, got a coffee, a couple dozen eggs and went to Hollyloft who seemed happy to get my donation.  They donate the proceeds to an animal shelter so it goes to a good cause.  I then stopped at Sam's, got an estimate on new tires for my car to compare with the dealer's price but only if I need them.  I then stopped at Wegman's and did a quick run through the store, picking up whatever I thought we might need since I did not have a list.  I only forgot one thing, some bread, but I did get six bagels which should suffice.

When I got home, Evie was into deep cleaning, both our porch and living room.  And she realized that our couch, twenty-two years old, has probably seen its last days. Yuk.  After putting things away, I drove to Mayville, to the Marina on Sea Lion Drive, to check out my boat and make sure we could get the seats out of the boat to get them redone.  I will pick them up once Chris gets them out and take them to Millers, an Amish guy near the PA state line.  I stopped at the Lighthouse for a sub, strangely quiet at lunchtime and came home.  Evie was almost finished with the living room so she was able to get outside and enjoy some of the sunshine in the early afternoon.  I had my sub and watched the first episode of Season 3 of Narcos.  I then tried to take a nap without much success.  So I read and took it easy although I should have gone for a paddle but was too lazy, neither paddling, biking, or walking, a lazy day.

We both took showers and got cleaned up around 3:30 and picked our neighbors, Ken and Marjorie up at 4:30 because we were driving to the Allegheny National Forest, to enjoy the new boardwalk and see the leaves before going out to dinner at the Horseshoe Inn.  It's a good 45-minute drive but pleasant because of the hills, the leaves, and the still muted colors.

Allegehney Forest With Marjorie And Ken

We enjoyed the stop at the new boardwalk over a pond and wetlands but we did not see any waterfowl.  We then drove to the Art Roscoe Ski Center where all the hiking and cross-country ski trails begin before getting back on #86 and getting off at the Steamburg exit to drive another 8 miles to the Horseshoe.

Boardwalk At Allegheny State Forest

It was a good choice, as Ken and Marjorie loved the ambiance, a couple of hundred rifles from the past century covering the walls.  And Jamie, the owner, and our waitress recognized Evie and me from our previous visits and told us about the history of the restaurant, how she ended up with a gun filled restaurant.  We got beers, burgers, and fries, all good and pie a la mode for dessert.  It was a good choice.  We only wish it was closer.

Wetlands At 5:30

Allegheny Forest

We didn't get home until after 9:00, in time to watch some Vice News and listen to CNN talk about the latest Trump gaff and Fox talk about the Obama/Hillary uranium scandal, not so new news.  It was a pleasure to get back to Richard Russo's EMPIRE FALLS.