Cold And More Snow

An Early Spring Morning On Chautauqua Lake

6:34

6:47

6:56

6:56

7:40

It's 7:30 and I have been up for over an hour.  I woke to a snow covered car when I walked out to get the newspaper.  It's 25º and we had a brief sunrise, as it was able to peak out between the cloud cover for about five minutes.  The lake is mostly frozen although ducks are still able to float by our wall and about ten yards of open water.

A Morning Duck

Yesterday was cold, with snow flurries on and off during the day although nothing stuck for long.  I went to a good Yin Yoga class and because our teacher, Danielle is back from vacation, it was a crowded class of over twenty of us.  I'm beginning to get my yoga groove back.  I stopped for coffee and it was nice to see our barista's Mom is back after radiation treatment.

For some reason, I fantasized about a braunschweiger or goose liver sandwich during yoga (yep, I am at the age where I fantasize about goose liver).  So I stopped at Save A Lot and picked up a roll.  When I got home, my wife was excited because a goose liver sandwich with pickle and lettuce and Fritos is her favorite.  I forgot about the Fritos.  Lunch, then was a goose liver and pickle sandwich and a bowl of homemade soup.  Yum.  I cannot wait until noon for another sandwich.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

I have another episode or two to finish Borderliner so I will be looking for another series to watch during my lunch.  I have started a new series I read about in the New York Times book review this Sunday, about a female detective named Maggie Dobbs, written by Jacqueline Windspear.  I think there are fourteen novels in the series, set in Great Britain in the 1920's, after 'the war to end all wars.'  So far, I really like it.  After reading and a nap, I decided to brave the cold and the ice and go for my first paddle this Spring.  I bundled up, put on my gloves, and went out and pulled the kayak into the cold lake, the water almost rising above my boots.

Breaking Ice

And I paddled out, not realizing there was a thin skin of ice about 20 yards from the shoreline, which kept me from venturing out too far as well as north and south.  So I paddled along Woodlawn and Victoria for 15 minutes, blocked at both ends by ice.  I felt like the ducks, able to only paddle in the open water.

Cocktail Time

It was good to get in a toasty house.  Evie got out some appetizers, a special cheddar from Trader Joe's called 'Unexpected cheddar,' which we really like.  And because we were having leftovers and all we needed to do was heat it up, we decided to break the rules and have a Manhattan during the week.  It snowed on and off during our cocktail hour, reminding us of the first snow of fall.  Our dinner was easy and tasty, the leftover shrimp, asparagus, and pasta.  We watched Real Time with Bill Maher and the next episode of Homeland before going upstairs to read before falling asleep.