Swans A Swimming

Waterfowl

Dunking For Breakfast

Three Juvenile Swans and Mom

Mom And Kids

It's 7:20 and the water in front of our house is filled with waterfowl, hundreds of them, mergansers, mallards, coots, geese, seagulls, buffleheads and even swans.  It's amazing and puzzling.  Two days ago I kayaked and never saw anything.  Yesterday, after the first heavy snow of the fall, waterfowl began to appear.  The lake's like a mirror, and it's a chilly 28º, the ground is still snow covered. 

7:00

Yesterday we woke to a white surprise, five or six inches of snow, covering the cars, roofs, yards, and trees.  We love winter but this seems a bit early even for us.  We had a long coffee hour, watching the waterfowl cruise by and the bird feeders, as both were busy with woodpeckers, finches, sparrows, cardinals, and juncos.  It's a good thing I filled the feeder on Friday after mulching the leaves.  Around 10:00, Evie started prepping our pot roast dinner; we were having Linda and Ron over, our first dinner party in close to a month.  So while I gathered the trash, Evie seared the pot roast, roasted the veggies, and put them into a large pan and baked them at low heat well into the afternoon, turning the roasts over every hour or so, filling the house with heavenly aromas.

Cardinal In The Snow

Red And White And Branches

I spent a good half hour cleaning off the cars, clearing our parking area and walkway from a wet snow.  I was careful to push the snow, not shovel it, hoping to avoid any back problems. Once everything was cleared, I gathered the trash and drove off to the Transfer Station, which was not very busy on a cold Saturday morning. 

Chunky Junco

I had the last of the cauliflower soup for lunch, a couple of schnitzel sandwiches, with mayo and tomato and watched some Ohio State football.  I tried to nap but with little success so I just lay on the couch, hoping to finish my book, LETHAL WHITE.  Evie puttered around in the kitchen, making sure most of the dinner was prepped before taking it easy the rest of the afternoon, finding a junk movie she liked, the remake of The Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan.  It was a good way to pass the afternoon. 

Hairy Woodpecker

Hey

Finch

Linda and Ron arrived around 6:00, bearing gifts, a bottle of Bogle wine, Evie's favorite and a jar of Linda's homemade jam.  We sat in front of the fireplace with our beers, caught up on all the news since we really haven't seen each other much since Evie's operation.  Dinner was just what the doctor ordered on a cold and snowy Saturday evening, pot roast with lots of veggies, carrots, parsnips, onions, and potatoes.  And in Ron's honor, a salad with homemade blue cheese dressing.  We sat around talking, enjoying our dinners and wine until 9:00 when Linda and Ron decided Evie had enough for the night, and drove home. 

Saturday Night With Good Friends

It was a fun night, good to see them again.  We watched Real Time with Bill Maher, deciding to forget about the dishes until this morning.  A good idea last night, not so good this morning.  For Evie, it was her best day in a few weeks.