Darkness In The Morning

7:15

It's 6:30 and I have been sitting in my living room in darkness for over an hour, waiting for a sign of light.  When I walked outside to check the rain gauge (an inch ), the crescent moon was hanging in the sky, surrounded by stars. the only light of the morning so far.  It's 7:15 as I finish this and I want to get out on the water but should wait until the sun begins to rise at 7:45. It's 8:30 on a beautiful fall morning and I am back from a paddle, turned home once again by duck hunters.

Kayak Morning

Paddling Towards Woodlawn

Victoria Autumn 

Yesterday started out as a bore, ended up as a good day.  We were both up at 7:00 because I had a dermatologist appointment at 8:15 and was then to pick up a friend from a procedure in Jamestown after my appointment.  So we drove together, then after the appointment, I drove my friend home and Evie followed.  We were home by 9:15 with a rain day ahead of us.

A Great Hiking Preserve

On The Way To Hike

Chautauqua Colors

I noticed on Facebook that a local group had hiked the Brown Creek Tributary Preserve this past Saturday and it looked cool.  I checked it out on Maps and it was 15 minutes away on Walker Road. So we donned our rain gear, grabbed our hiking poles and were off to the Preserve.  It was a good choice.

In The Woods

Across Bridges

We hiked through the woods, on paths of leaves for just under an hour, loving the coolness and the drizzle most of our walk.  The cloudy sky, the drizzle, the mute fall colors, the cool air all made it better.  I highly recommend hiking in the drizzle.

A Trail Of Not So Golden Rods

We were home by 1:00, excited and happy with our walk, and I was ready for lunch, the end of the paprikash chicken with noodles, still yummy.  I watched the end of Season Three of  Line Of Duty and was surprised and put off by the violent ending, rare in this series.  I had to laugh at the silliness.

We stayed inside until 4:00, either reading, napping, or watching the news.  At 4:00, we left to look at carpets, shop at Wegman's, then go out to dinner at The Rod And Gun Club.  Their special of the day was a meatloaf sandwich, with mashed potatoes and gravy for $6.99.  How could we pass it up?  We brought along the fabric we loved for our couch to the carpet store.  When we spread it out next to a carpet swatch, the salesmen laughed and said, "I love that fabric; in fact, I have two chairs covered in it."  Serendipity because John, our furniture guy, recommended this salesman and his carpet store.  We left for Wegman's with three or four samples and both of us feel we are getting close to ordering a carpet and a new couch and loveseat.  Scary.  Wegman's was crowded with not only retirees because of 5% Tuesday but with families, shopping after work and school.  We zipped through, found a quick checkout line despite the crowd.

We were sitting at the Rod and Gun bar by 6:00 and felt right at home with the rest of the over 70 Club.  I think all of us were drawn by the meatloaf sandwich.  Neither of us felt like we fit in until we realized we are as old or older than most.  After a couple of beers, we sat down and ordered our dinner, the meatloaf with mashed potatoes for me, with tater tots for Evie.  I felt like I was back in my Mom's independent living-dining room, surrounded by 'old people', not like us., a still hip, cool and groovy couple.  That's a joke.  The meatloaf was tasty, served on white bread, with a scoop of mashed potatoes, covered with gravy.  We loved it.

We were home in time to watch a Colbert, back from a vacation in New Zealand and we watched another episode of Succession but almost turned it off because of the gratuitous vulgarity, so unnecessary and disgusting. We are becoming prudes.  It felt good to get upstairs to clean sheets.

I enjoyed an article from the New York Times by Kevin Love, about his love of travel and new interest in photography, He summed up for me why I write about our life and also try to capture it with a camera.

“I think people have to walk that fine line of living in the moment and also capturing the moment as well. That’s what I hoped to gain out of it. Just documenting the happy times.” 
- Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball Player, Kevin Love