Trifecta: Kayaking, Yoga, and Hiking

6:40

6:50

6:50

7:09

7:10

It's 6:50 and the sun is trying to break through a vast curtain of gray clouds just above Bemus Bay.  Occasionally, a disk will show through, then disappear.  I was up at 6:30 to a surprisingly chilly 35º morning.  As I opened the front door, I could hear purple martins songs for the first time this Spring.  They are back but not, alas, at our house yet.  I did get a half hour paddle in before driving over to Bemus for breakfast with the guys.  I noticed my least favorite birds for the first time, turkey vultures, seven or eight of them, perched in the trees above the reeds.

Kayak Morning

Blue Skies North

A Trio Of Uglies (Turkey Vultures)

Yesterday was obviously a good day as I was able to get in lots of activity, starting with a tough morning paddle on a choppy lake.  Afterward, I went to a yoga class which, at times, seemed like a boot camp as we switched back and forth between a plank and downward facing dog for what seemed like an eternity. I then drove to Lakewood, to do a quick run through Aldi's, however, many of their sale items had not yet arrived.  I should put my shopping off until Thursday, a day after the ads come out.

A Morning Muskrat Ramble

When I walked in the house, Evie and our neighbor, Maryanne, were immersed in playing Bananagrams.  I could hear them moaning about getting bad letters but they were having fun.  I heated up both soup and the leftover quesadilla for my lunch, then watched some basketball and BOSCH, before taking a good nap because I was up way too early at 5:00.  Maryanne left around 1:00 and we both then relaxed until 3:30 when we decided to go for a hike around Long Point State Park, fifteen minutes away.

Walking Back From Long Point

It was a perfect temperature for a hike, 50º, and for the first time, we saw signs of spring, as green was beginning to appear in the woods, not just the brown.  Small wildflowers were popping up among the eight-inch high shoots of skunk cabbage.  On our drive to the park, bright yellow forsythia was in full bloom as were a few cherry trees.  Ah Spring!  We sat out on the benches at the end of Long Point, gathering our mojo for the walk back, a pleasant respite.  We walked just under three miles and were out for an hour and fifteen minutes.  We saw one mom and her kids during our walk but talked with a young girl, a dog walker, for ten minutes.  She lives at the V of Lakeside Drive and #430 and we remember her playing on swings years ago.  She was cute.

We were home in time to enjoy a glass of wine, only after Evie had prepped our dinner, cutting up a rotisserie chicken, making a salad, and a pasta dish called burro russo.  Once we had enough wine and lake views, we put together our dinner plates and watched TV, a couple episodes of RAKE, then Jeopardy, and finally some NBA.  It was a very good day.