Spring May Be Finally Springing - Pine Junction, Sherman, NY

Halle and Jill After 1st Place Volleyball Finish

6:00

6:24

Kayaking Towards Long Point

Preening Mallard

Sandpiper?

 A bright sunny morning, so bright that it's difficult to take an interesting photograph.  It's still surprisingly chilly out, 31º, although it will warm up to the 50's later in the day.  The lake is like glass, reflecting the shorelines, making me want to rise up off my couch and go kayaking.  It's 7:00, Evie's still sleeping, and I am going to kayak.  It's too beautiful on the lake to sit here listening to Morning Joe.  It' 8:15 and I am back.  Evie's still sleeping in, lucky gal.  I had a glorious morning paddle, across to Long Point, the sun blinding making if difficult to make my way.  Then across to Sandy Bottom and home, just missing the morning great blue heron, alas.  I am a fortunate guy to be able to enjoy a morning paddle.

Up, Up, And Away

Buffleheads

Common Merganser

Identity?

Sunday was another day of leisure, as it should be I guess.  It was still cold out and the morning was overcast, with a bit of drizzle, even a few minutes of snow over at Bemus Point.  So instead of our usual walk around the Chautauqua Institution, we stayed in waiting for the week to begin, with the forecast of warm weather.

Victoria/Woodlawn

 Yesterday, I had four things to look forward to, a big breakfast around 12:30 and Evie certainly cooperated by getting the bacon out to thaw early, finding leftover potatoes in the refrigerator, and frying up some eggs along with the bacon and potatoes for a great breakfast, and we watched CBS Sunday Morning.

Secondly, I wanted to watch game seven of the Cavs and Pacers series.  I saved it so that I could take a nap, then watch the game, fast-forwarding through the commercials.  So around 2:30, I did just that.  And despite the fact that I agreed with the pundits, that the Pacers were the better team, they did not have Lebron so the Cavs survived for another day.

Loving Pine Junction

Thirdly, we both were looking forward to going out to dinner with our friends, Linda and Ron.  Around 5:30, we drove fifteen miles, through green, sun-kissed farmlands to Pine Junction, set in the middle of nowhere.  It's one of our favorite places to eat and we were lucky to find a place at the bar for the four of us.  It was not particularly crowded which was nice.  So we felt right at home, having two appetizers, onion rings and fried pickles, with our beers, then burgers, salads, or flatbread pizzas, all quite good. We lingered at the bar after eating, in no hurry to get home.  We left in daylight, so our ride home was pleasant, as the sun hid behind the farmlands around 8:20.  And as we were driving home, we were surprised to see a huge, white full moon, hanging just above the horizon in the eastern sky.

Fourthly, once we were home, we looked forward to the final episode of Homeland, wondering once again how the series would end, would Carrie survive for another year.?  It was perhaps the best episode of the year, lots of tension and fairly realistic except for the ending where the President resigns, hoping this resignation will end the division in Congress.  I assume this is wishful thinking on the writers' part.

A New Think:

"It was no accident that the Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year in 2016 was “post-truth,” a condition where facts are less influential in shaping opinion than emotion and personal belief. To adopt post-truth thinking is to depart from Enlightenment ideas, dominant in the West since the 17th century, that value experience and expertise, the centrality of fact, humility in the face of complexity, the need for study and a respect for ideas."  Michael Hayden, Former Director of the CIA and NSA.