It's A Beautiful Morning

6:38

9:12

It's 8:55 and I just returned from a 40-minute paddle, my usual, down Woodlawn, across to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom, and home. Just as I was thinking how boring paddling gets when I don't see any interesting birds, I spotted a heron, sitting on a branch behind the reeds and was able to get close enough to take his photo. It made my morning.

Kayak Morning

A Great Blue Heron

Friday was a good day because Evie was feeling better and worked outside on and off most of the day. My usual day was kayaking early, having breakfast and finishing the blog. Once that was done, we both worked in the garden, pulling weeds, making sure the plants were covered, protecting them from animals. Once we were done, I connected the hose to the sump pump in the lake and Evie watered her plants. 

That took up most of the morning, just before it started to get uncomfortably warm. I heated up the leftover ribs in the air fryer for lunch and watched a new series but I can't remember its name. I then read some from my new novel, Frozen River, and even got in a pretty good.. Evie relaxed much of the afternoon, having gotten most of her gardening down in the morning. We sat in chaise lounges, in the side yard, in the shade of our tulip tree, moving as the shade moved. It was a good way to spend a warm afternoon. 

By 5:30, we were sitting on our front porch for over an hour, with a glass of wine and Evie's spicy cashews. The wind was beginning to settle, the lake calm as the shadows from our house filled our front yard. Earlier, Evie had seared some mushrooms and meatballs out of the freezer, added pasta sauce, and we had dinner. For some reason, spaghetti, meatballs, and mushrooms tasted unusually good along with a salad. We watched a film from 2019 called Driveways about a mother and son cleaning out the mom's sister's home after her death. The young boy develops a relationship with their next-door neighbor, a retired veteran. Nothing much happens, as the relationship develops and by the end, things change for both the family and the vet. Evie really enjoyed it. I then watched the first half of the Dallas/Boston game and by halftime, Dallas was ahead by 26 points and the game was basically over. I skipped the second half and was happy to get back to my book before bed. 

Our New Neighbors Enjoying Their Morning Coffee