Wet And Windy

The Easter Bunny

7:36

7:40

 It's a gray, wet and gusty morning, the bird feeders hitting against the house, tree branches waving.  It's 37º and we are both up at 7:45, thinking about what today will bring.  Weather wise, we will have a wintry mix this morning, rain the rest of the day. 

Monday was a classic early spring day, lots of sunshine, occasional wind, the temperature in the 40's, perfect for a walk outdoors.  I was up and out of the house by 7:30 because I had an appointment for a test in Westfield.  It took me longer to check in then to take the test!  Afterwards, since I was in Westfield, I drove down to the Barcelona beach and had breakfast at an empty Jack's Barcelona Drive-In. 

Painted Rocks At Jack's

Three or four locals walked in while I was eating and sat at what seemed like the local roundtable.  They all seemed to know each other.  I had a couple of eggs, my favorite, hash browns not home fries, and toast with homemade jam.  A good way to start my morning.  Earlier, I noticed that Jack's was advertising a local artist who painted Lake Erie rocks.  I was struck by their colors and originality enough to buy a bunch for presents and to act as examples for our families rock painting each summer. 

Fly Fishing For Steelheads

Chautauqua Creek

The Mouth Of Chautauqua Creek

When I walked outside, the sun was bright, the lake still frozen, a striking white with blue out beyond the ice.  I decided to park next to the  RT. 5 bridge over Chautauqua Creek, and take the quarter mile walk down to the beach, along the creek.  A fly fisherman was near the bridge when I started out, fishing for steelheads but did not seem to have much luck.  The beach was littered with an amazing amount of driftwood, some logs forty feet long, a result of the power of a winter storm.  And the beach, usually sand, was mostly stone and rocks of all sizes.  My daughter Beth would have loved walking it with me, looking for the perfect rock to paint. 

Driftwood On The Beach

 Frozen Lake Erie Ice Volcanoes

A Beach Of Stones

After my walk, I wondered if any waterfowl, perhaps swans, were in Barcelona Harbor.  I found a still frozen harbor, however, with guys out fishing on the frozen water of Lake Erie.

Barcelona Lighthouse

Fishing In Barcelona Harbor

Finished For The Morning

I drove home, hoping Portage Pie would be open in Westfield but it was closed.  I stopped, then, at the Westfield Library, to inquire about rock painting classes and found out there would be a class on April 4th.  I didn't get home until after 12:00, to a wife in a happy mood, full of ideas of things to do this spring around the house and yard, things to buy that we did not need but might like.  I just nodded my head and hoped she would forget about it all.  Fat chance. Lunch was more beans, my Turkish fasulye and the second episode of the French La Mante.

After lunch, Evie put together a boiled dinner of corned beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and cabbage and put it in the slow cooker for the afternoon.  And dinner was done.  I read, napped and mid-afternoon, drove back to Westfield to pick up a few more painted rocks for Easter presents.  While I was gone, Evie was tres busy in the kitchen, making Easter cookies for our granddaughters and the kitchen showed it, a mess that took me a half hour to clean up.  But she was able to get them all made and packed, ready to mail by 7:00.  What a girl. 

We were both happy to sit down to our corned beef dinner and watch TV, and Evie was ready to relax.  It seems like a luxury, to just sit down to a dinner and TV.  We watched the first episode of a new series on HBO called BARRY, then watched BILLIONS, but its hard to remember what happened a year ago.  We finished the night with OCCUPIED, Season two's opening episode. And I am almost done with my book, THE WIFE BETWEEN US.