We Live In Florida Now

Purple Haze

7:03

8:44

It's a threatening morning off to the north, some light and open skies to the south as if the weather gods cannot make up their minds.  It's 67º and close, lots of humidity, with a quiet lake except this one darn duck that 'keeps on quacking.' It's 9:05, raining of course but I did get in a paddle shortened by the thunder and lightning.

Kayak Morning

Heron Sunday

The reason for my title is a result of two-plus inches of rain we received in the last 24 hours, reminding me of what it is like to live in Florida during the summer where it would rain practically every day.  It didn't start until the afternoon, so we were able to have our usual Saturday morning, of kayaking, writing the blog and then gathering the trash so I could take it to the Transfer Station.  Once that was done, I settled down with my new book, Attica Locke's thriller, BLUEBIRD, BLUEBIRD.  I also read one of her earlier books, BLACK WATER RISING which also impressed me.  Evie took advantage of the blue sky morning to work in the garden, getting at the weeds that have taken advantage of all the rain we have had over the past couple of weeks.  She only stopped to come in and make my lunch, a fried chicken sandwich with coleslaw, yum.  I watched my show, did more reading, napped then thought about joining Evie on the dock.  She was in the water, swimming, talking to our neighbor's granddaughter, an eight-year-old, who was kayaking by our dock.  By the time I started to get my suit on, it was pouring rain and Evie was walking in off the dock, getting pelted by rain.  We got a good inch before it stopped. and the sun came out for a while.

Afternoon Showers

We were supposed to meet a couple of my students from the class of 1980 in Bemus.  They were going to boat down from the Chautauqua Institution to Bemus.  Unfortunately, it began to rain again at 4:30, canceling their boat ride and our meeting them.  So we decided to enjoy the late afternoon with Evie's favorite appetizer, chips, and dip, my favorite libation, a manhattan, a good way to enjoy a wet afternoon.

For dinner, Evie had baked some red potatoes during our happy hour, adding Trader Joe's ready to eat ribs the last half hour so we had a tasty dinner, ribs, potatoes, and coleslaw, just like Jack Stack's Barbecue in Kansas City...not quite but it was good.  And we watched our usual Saturday night fare, Real Time With Bill Maher, some Colbert before going up to read.

A Bit Of Nostalgia:  A poem reminding me of my Parents

It’s the Fifties by Anita Pulier At about six pm my father exits the F train, walks four long blocks home. Arrives smiling, weary. Removes his rumpled suit, crooked tie. Mom in an apron, gently shoos us away, while two martinis on a tray slosh from kitchen to porch. Before dinner, before questions about homework and tests, two martinis (each with an olive) create a filigreed space on a louvered porch in Queens defining so much more than evening.