Paddling In The Rain

Kayaking Home In The Rain

6:20

It's a cloudy, freshly washed overcast morning, after an inch of rain overnight.  The birds, however, are still chirping, the purple martins house building, an occasional breeze to keep it cool.  It's warming up some, already at 65º and will get up into the mid 70's later in the day.  There's something childlike and enjoyable about paddling in the rain, especially if it's not too cold.  Although it rained the entire time I was on the lake, I was in no hurry to get back.

Yesterday was a day devoted entirely to working outside although it seems as though we have been working outside for the past month.  I did get in a worthwhile paddle, getting a couple of good bird photographs.  First, I dragged all of our outdoor furniture out of storage, washed it down, making sure it was clean and still useable, especially the plastic chairs which seem to crack after a year or two of use.  So we now have a lawn ready for a crowd, peppered with lounges, chairs, and tables, all which needed to be moved when Evie mows. Around 10:30, Evie started mowing both yards, taking her time.  I helped some by firing up the other mower and getting the edges, the tough to get spots.  That took us through lunch, even into the afternoon because Evie cut it twice.  Yep, the lawn girl is back.

For lunch, I warmed up the leftover ratatouille, still good and had a bowl of cauliflower soup.  I watched another episode of Babylon Berlin and did some reading before taking another too short of a nap.  We both continued with work in the yard, as I scratched and filled brown areas with grass seed and topsoil, then watered it.  We also finally took down our porch curtain, a sure sign that summer is coming.  It only takes about ten minutes but is always an onerous task.  Around 4:30, Evie went for a swim and I put the cover back on the boat because we knew rain was coming during the night.

We decided to go out to eat because we had spent most of the day outside and Evie had not prepped anything for dinner.  We also knew it was steak night at Steeners Pub, two Delmonico's and fries for twenty bucks.  So off we went, wondering if the steaks would be as good as last time.  They were, in my mind, even better.  And they had 16 oz Labatt's Light or Labatt's grapefruit for $2.50 a can.  The outdoors was packed with a volleyball game going on, the bar half empty.  We did strike up conversations with a couple of interesting people, one a guy from Bemus who came in on his Harley for an order of wings to go.  He's from Boulder, Colorado, but when it turned too yuppie and crowded, he settled in Bemus.

We didn't get home until 8:00, in time to watch some TV and enjoy Nutty Buddies, which we bought at the store next to Steeners, at Evie's request.  She's an avid nutty buddy fan.  We both were tired, either from the day or a couple of beers because we ended up going to bed early for us, around 10:00.