After A Stormy Night, A Wood Duck Morning

5:48

6:15

It's 6:20 and I have been up for an hour, surprised by the sunrise after a rainy night. It rained off and on starting about 7:00 and we ended up with one and a half inches, perfect for the garden and recently mowed lawn. It's 8:50 as I finish this, after another 90-minute paddle to Tom's Point and home. I just missed shots of an eagle and osprey but made up for it with amazing photos of wood ducks.

Kayak Morning

Bridge Over Chautauqua Lake

A Wood Duck Couple

A Bachelor? 

Yesterday was close to being unbearable as neither of us are fans of heat. A morning paddle of over an hour was fine because it was only in the 70s.  But by the time I started cutting our neighbor's lawn, after getting the house ready for the cleaning lady and the trip to the Transfer Station, it was in the mid-80s, not an ideal time to mow.  I did it in sections, taking water breaks so that I did not overdo it. I finished just as our friend arrived and because I was still so hot, I put on my bathing suit and went for my first swim of the year. I cannot say it was enjoyable as the water was as cold as I can remember for late May and I did not linger although did swim underwater for a few seconds. Usually, it feels great after getting used to it but I guess I did not stay in long enough because all I wanted to do was get out and sunbathe on the dock. 

Polar Swim In May

When I dried off, I did a few things in the yard, weed whacking around the water's edge and trees while Evie made my lunch, tomato, and cheese sandwiches. It was just enough lunch for a hot day and I watched my shows, and some basketball then returned to my Dismas Hardy novel and napped upstairs in a recently cleaned bedroom. Meanwhile, Evie was busy with her garden but by 1:00, she decided to mow the lawn again because she knew it would be wet for the next three or four days, at least that was the forecast. When she finished, after taking numerous breaks, her blouse was soaked with sweat although both lawns looked like a golf course green. Our cleaning lady was on her way home by 3:00 and was quick and efficient, cleaning both bathrooms and four bedrooms, getting them ready for our kids, the first, our granddaughter Marisa arrives on Thursday. 

In the Woods

About To Take Flight

We had it by 5:00 and I closed up the garage just as it started to rain. We sat on the front porch a good hour, watching boats and people scramble to get out of the rain, and enjoyed a lemonade with spicy cashews. We had a great dinner, one of Evie's best ever, hot dogs on white bread with beans. Yum.  What could be better? We started an Israeli series, The Beauty Queen Of Jerusalem but it got to be silly so we changed to Showtimes First Ladies. It's a look at the lives of three First Ladies, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama, all three pioneers of women's rights, It's well done, interesting, and worth watching and the three actresses are perfect.