Back To Normal: Gray and Overcast

A Late Afternoon Hike And A Great Dinner

7:47

It's a dreary morning here, not a hint of sunlight, just a blanket of gray.  It's 41º at the moment but the temperature will drop during the day with the possibility of snow.  I doubt it but you can never tell: the weatherman might be right. Because of the wind and drizzle, I am staying inside, bagging kayaking for the day.

I did get in a paddle yesterday morning to start the day but skipped yoga because my back is hurting and I decided to lay off yoga for a few days.  It does not seem right to sit around all morning as I obviously miss my routine of yoga.  So about 10:30, I drove over to Smith Library in the Chautauqua Institution and picked up a couple of books, then stopped at their coffee shop.  It's above the bookstore and opens year-round although when I got there, it was empty, not a good sign.  I relaxed with a cup of coffee until our friend Linda walked in so we sat around talking for twenty minutes.  She had just come from yoga and was having lunch, a cup of chili.

Home

I was home by 12:30 and had leftover naan pizza and a salad for lunch and watched my show.  We were leaving at 2:45 for our friends so Evie showered and I took a quick nap.  We were going to Julie and Tom's, former Woodlawn/Victoria residents, who own 60 acres of woods in Mayville.  We went early so we could walk their woods in daylight.

A Pond, Barn, And Home

They have a lovely southern style home set in the edge of the woods, just above a pond and are isolated from their neighbors by the woods.  We hiked through their woods for a good hour, on multiple trails, enjoying the crunch of the leaves and the outdoors.

The End Of The Woods

Tom is an avid hunter, has four different deer stands, and has already bagged a deer with his bow and arrow, dressed it, and froze it for the winter.  He loves the outdoors, ice fishes in the winter, and fishes for walleye the rest of the year.  His wife, Julie, loves the setting, living in the woods and spends many of her days practicing and teaching yoga.

Loving Life In The Woods

After our hike, we enjoyed a glass of wine and appetizers and talked about their decision to buy these acreages in 2005 and build their home in 2010, living in a heated barn for a good ten months as their house was being built.  It's a large barn!  As we talked, the house was warmed by a wood stove, the air filled with the aroma of pork and sauerkraut cooking.  Dinner was great, pork and homemade sauerkraut (made by Tom each fall--400 lbs. of cabbage!), German potato salad, pumpernickel bread and relish, a specialty of Julie's family.  Everything was delicious and the dinner ended with a bang, a homemade blueberry pie from their blueberries, with ice cream.  We were happy.  We ended the visit looking at the Shutterfly photo album of their most recent trip, this time to Glacier National Park and Banff, Lake Lousie, Jasper, and the thrill of walking on a glacier.

We were home around 8:15, pleasantly full and happy but tired from our day.  We watched some TV but went up to bed early.  What a good day.