A Great Blue Heron Morning

Great Blue Heron Along Shore

A Great Blue Heron Perched High Above The Lake

5:22

It's just after 8:00 as I start this blog on a cool, sunny morning.  The heat disappeared finally, a result of three and a half inches of rain on Saturday morning and early afternoon.  We loved it, Evie's garden loved it, a steady downpour for hours. I was out on the lake before 7:00, quiet and empty until just after 7:00 when the bass boats starting appearing from the north, having started their tournament at Prendergast Point.  I was just telling Evie how few herons I have seen on my kayaking; well, today made up for it as I at least five of them at various parts of the lake, some on the shoreline, others perched high up in a tree.

Kayak Morning

Knee Deep

Fishing

Gulp

Saturday presented us with the dilemma of what to do on a rainy day.  Enjoy it yes but what else.  First, we did the obvious, gathered trash and took it to the Transfer Station.  After that, Evie worked on a few spots on our new carpet, then vacuumed some upstairs as well as down, taking advantage of the need to stay inside.  I thought about helping and came up with the idea for dinner, a bolognese sauce made in an instant pot, a recipe our daughter Beth likes.  We decided to hold off making it till the afternoon, so I had a free morning, to read my book and both the NYTimes and Washington Post.  It took me much of the morning, all the way to lunch, the leftover sub.  I  watched my show, read on the couch, and fell asleep listening to the rain on the roof.

Pacific Ocean Dahlia

We started the bolognese sauce around 4:00, just as the sky was clearing.  Basically, we sauteed carrots, onions, garlic, and celery, then added pancetta, tomatoes, Italian parsley, red wine, and water and simmered that four-five minutes before adding a pound and a half of ground turkey.  We were supposed to use ground chuck and pork but we decided to try turkey since I bought four pounds on Friday.

A Northern Flicker 

We then put the pressure cooker on high for 20 minutes, took the top off, simmered it for ten minutes, added heavy cream and dinner was ready for whenever we wanted to eat. Around 5;30, we settled down on the front porch with appetizers and a Manhattan, just as the sun came out, the lake turned blue.  There was a nice breeze and except for the colors, it could have been a fall day.  We had our dinner around 8:00, the sauce was a bit bland as if it needed something, maybe the pork and ground chuck.  Still, we liked it enough to make it again and we have enough left for a couple of dinners. We watched a couple of shows before ending the evening with two more episodes of Money Heist.  We were looking forward to bed, to a cool evening.