An Early Morning Pink Sky

6:44

6:47

7:16

7:17

I was up unfortunately at 5:30 but was able to watch the darkness slowly turn to orange, then pink, then gray clouds contrasted with the pink sky.  It's 6:50 as I start this and the sunrise is still 25 minutes away.  It's a warm 64º and should get into the '80s later in the day.  I am listening to The Rewatchablesk podcast discuss the classic film, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (the first buddy movie, the first film to use pop music) with Bill Simmons and Aaron Sorkin.  Interesting.  I was out for a paddle on a partly cloudy morning, over to Long Point and back, about forty-five minutes on a smooth lake but no heron in sight, just lots of boring mallards.

Kayak Morning

Yesterday was another Indian summer day, highs in the '80s, an occasional light wind, and lots of sunshine.  It began as a usual Saturday, with kayaking, the blog, breakfast, and gathering of the trash, cleaning out the refrigerator and a trip to the Transfer Station.  When I returned home, however, Evie was ready to go for a hike so we drove off to Panama, New York that is, to walk the Westside Trail.

Our Church

The trailhead is just west of Panama Village and we have walked it before.  We were surprised at how warm it was when we started out even in the shade of trees.  Our other surprise was the trail, filled with tree roots, perhaps the result of the heavy rains.  Walking the trail was like an obstacle course and we rarely could look up as we had to keep our eyes on the tree roots.  We walked only a couple of miles because of the heat.  Still, it felt good to get out and walk in the woods.

Looking Skyward

We were home by 1:00 and time for lunch.  Evie microwaved three ears of corn and made a tomato and feta cheese salad, perfect for a warm afternoon.  I watched my show and Evie enjoyed her lunch on the porch before heading out on the dock.  I finished my show and read some, took a brief nap and then joined Evie on the dock for an hour.  It felt strange to be so warm, with the lake so calm, on a late September day.

Friends

We showered and got ready to drive to Linda and Ron's at 5:00 because we were going for a cruise before dinner.  It was fun to see a different part of the lake on our cruise, from Lighthouse Point to the Chautauqua Institution and back. When we returned, Ron fired up the grill, roasted some corn and grilled four Delmonico steaks while Linda made the salad.  Dinner was great, the corn still sweet, and all four of us love Delmonico steaks.  For dessert, we had a couple of cheeses and fruit along with a glass of ice wine, amazingly refreshing and sweet, a perfect after-dinner drink.  Linda also had a few birthday presents for Evie to her surprise, a fun way to end our evening.  We didn't get home until 10:00, late for us, and we watched a bit of TV before bed.  What a good day, hikes, sunshine, boat ride and a steak dinner with good friends.