23º In April

6:01

6:19

6:30

6:41

8:54

It's bizarre to be sitting here in my living room, in mid-April, looking out at a snow-covered yard, having returned from a 50-minute paddle in 23º weather. Before heading out, I put on four layers and a life jacket so I was fine except for my hands.  I put away my insulated Carhartt mittens, thinking I would not need them anymore so I might have to get them out. The lake was calm, ideal for paddling, as I chased hundreds of buffleheads and was able to photograph another osprey.  It's a good way to start a morning, get up at 6:00, go for a paddle around 7:00, begin the blog just after 8:00

Four Layers, Life Jacket, Cap, And Sun Glasses

Snow Covered Kayaks

Kayak Morning

Buffleheads

Osprey

Our days rarely change these days, true for most people.  The options of what's available are limited so we try to make the best of it.  I do it by kayaking early, as I did yesterday, another amazing day on the lake.  Because it was sunny, with blue skies, we were determined to get outside and go for a hike.  So around 11:00, we drove over to Long Point, our closest place for a walk in the woods, and spent forty-five minutes on snow-covered trails.  It was a good decision, the sky remained blue and we felt good after our walk.

Hiking The Woods At Long Point

Snowy Trails

A Trail Often Taken

I was famished when we returned, so Evie made me a Turkish omelet, eggs, feta cheese, tomatoes and Turkish spices along with toast.   I was happy and I started an old film, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, made in the 1960s in black and white with Richard Burton.  It's slow but interesting to see Burton.  After lunch, our afternoon flew by, as we did little other than our usual afternoons, of books, TV, Words With Friends (Evie), and an occasional nap (me).  We also took some time to make up a thorough shopping list because we are going to the grocery store today, our first time in two weeks.  It will be interesting to see what shelves at Wegman's are empty.  

We were looking forward to dinner, a lamb curry we have been making since our years in Istanbul in the 1970s. It's a French recipe from our favorite cookbook when we lived in Turkey, Craig Claiborne's International Cookbook.  It's made with apples, bananas, and cream and we have always loved it.  So while that was sauteing, we enjoyed our usual libation, with pretzels and dip until the lamb and rice were ready.  We watched the Reality Show, then a couple of Colbert's before getting back to our new series, Cheers.  We watched the second and third episodes from Season 1.  We will stick with it.