A Wood Duck Morning

Loving Couple

Preening

A Difference Of Opinions

6:04

I woke at 6:00, to a cloudy sky although now, at 6:40, the sun has peaked through the clouds.  It's 55º and so far, a fairly quiet Memorial Day weekend on the lake.  The wind is beginning to pick up, rustling the trees, ruffling the lake.  I was able to paddle for a good hour, running into our neighbors also out for a paddle with their grandson.  And I came as close as I ever have to a pair of wood ducks.

Kayak Morning

Family Paddling 

Yesterday was a strange day because it started to rain a couple of times but not enough to wet the walk.  It was windy, as I struggled kayaking with the waves.  I went to yoga, for the fifth time this week, no days off for me.  I stopped for coffee, sat and talked with Dave and Bob, the bookstore owner for 15 minutes, mostly about exotic foods we have eaten.  Dave wins the prize for having eaten monkey when he was in Vietnam.  

The afternoon went quickly after a lunch of two Sahlen hot dogs with Stadium Mustard and I am close to finishing Season Four of Bosch.  I finished my book, THE OTHER IMMIGRANTS,  and liked it quite a bit.  I thought it might be a tomb on racism but it was much less a part of the novel than I thought.  I napped briefly before deciding to finish up the brick walk and then clean and wash the car, filthy from my trips to the gravel pit, picking up not only gravel but topsoil.  While I worked Evie ended up walking close to six miles as she cut both our lawn and our neighbors, loving it.  She was exhausted when it was time to shower and get ready for dinner but it felt good.

We were going to the Bark Grill in Westfield with our friends, Linda and Ron, a restaurant that seems to open and close over the years.  We have been there a couple of times but the last time was probably ten years ago.  We had reservations, fortunately, as it was quite busy.  It used to be, maybe thirty years ago, one of the go-to restaurants in the area and I think they are having a come back.  The menu was interesting.  We ordered a calamari basket for an appetizer, then the fish fry, either haddock or cod.  Everyone really enjoyed theirs and the coleslaw was top notch.  The inside has not changed much and the dining room is quite dark but we were lucky to get a table near the window.  And, as often happens when we go out together, our checks are never correct.  She even asked us who had what before making the check.  We figured out what would be fair and just paid the checks without having her redo it.  

We were home just as it was getting dark, at 8:45, in time for Jeopardy and Stephen Colbert before going up to bed to read.  It was fun to rediscover a new old restaurant.