A Chilly Blue Heron Morning Paddle

 

Osprey

Our Son, Tom (screenshot)

9:15

It's 9:20 and both Evie and I are sitting here, listening to CNN and Michael Smerconish on a bright, sunny morning. I was up later than usual, 7:20 and was out on the lake by 7:30 for an hour. It was a good morning for a paddle, and I shot four different herons and an osprey, making my morning. We were just Facetiming with my son Tom from Kansas City, a fun way to start our day. All is well in Kansas City with our kids, grandkids, and great-grandson Rhys.

Kayak Morning

North

Great Blue Heron # 1

Heron # 2

Heron # 3

Heron # 4

Friday was let's get the yard and garden back in shape since there was no yoga. It was a chilly, 54º morning like today. I returned with a couple of photos of herons, then finished up the blog by 9:30. I had my usual breakfast and it was strange not to have a yoga class or a bike ride on my morning agenda. Instead, I went outside, grabbed various weeding tools, and set to work on the zinnia garden, overgrown and replete with weeds. Fortunately, because of Thursday's rain, it was easy to pull the weeds out by their roots and turn the soil. Once weeds are gone, there's always a good feeling because you can see you have made a difference. While I was working in the yard, Evie was creating her usual mess in the kitchen, cooking a few dishes. After I finished with the zinnia garden, I got out the weed wacker and went around all the bushes surrounding the house, as well as the garden and the walks, which took quite a while. I also weeded around our maple and tulip trees, then weed-wacked around them. By noon, I was ready to take a break, and Evie made me a couple of tomato sandwiches for my lunch. 

After lunch, I read and tried to nap to no avail. So, I went outside and trimmed our rhododendrons and Pieris japonica, as well as deadheaded numerous daisies. By 2:30, I had a pail overflowing with weeds and deadfall, so I took another trip up the road to the woodpile and disposed of the debris. It also feels good to empty to get rid of yard waste, similar to my weekly trip to the Transfer Station, a euphemism for a garbage truck. By 3:00, I had had enough and joined Evie, who was also tired from working in the kitchen. 

We had our usual glass of wine and sat inside because of the wind, which blew much of the day, cooling our living room, making it difficult to sit out on the porch. Dinner was easy:  leftover spaghetti and meatballs and a salad. We watched our show, three episodes before Evie went up to bed, and I cannot remember what I watched after she went up. I went upstairs to read at 10:00, but was tired, so I read only a couple of pages.