Morning Sleet

7:46

9:19

It's 8:30 and still sleeting on a gray, foggy lake morning. I had hoped to paddle until I realized it was sleeting. We must have gotten another four or five inches of snow overnight, so I will be out shoveling for the third day in a row.

Jim And Ripley

Monday turned out to be a good day, although it was too windy to get in a morning paddle. So we had a relaxing morning, with no hurry to get anything done. I wanted to get in a hike and texted my neighbor, Jim, to see if he wanted to go. He is usually up for a hike to give his dog, Ripley, a good run. So around 10:00, we drove over to the end of Lakeside Drive, parked and spent close to an hour walking the snow-covered woods. Ripley loved it, running back and forth, as we tromped along virgin paths. We met only one hiker, a guy out also walking his dogs. We blazed a mile and a half trails on the untrodden paths before getting back to our car. It was a good way to spend a morning.

Which Way Ripley?

This Way

The Silence Of Woods In The Winter

When I got home, I did some shoveling for at least twenty minutes, clearing the car and driveway and leveling off the foot-high berms along my road, created by the plow. By the time I was done, it was lunchtime. Evie volunteered to make me lunch, but i was happy to heat up the pasta from Sunday night's dinner and make a bowl of ramen, not the healthiest of meals but tasty. I watched a series called SSGB. It imagines the Nazis won WWII and are occupying Great Britain, an interesting concept.  

Snow Covered Victoria

Kayak Afternoon

Victoria/Woodlawn

Around 3:30, I realized the wind had died down and the lake was calm. So I put on a couple of layers of clothes, grabbed my paddle, cleared the snow of my kayak, and paddled for 40 minutes, down to Sandy Bottom and back. It was an overcast afternoon, but I still enjoyed being out on the lake. I managed to scare off a gathering of either ducks or geese, hanging out along the bank of Woodlawn Creek.

Northern Sky

Victoria

In Flight

Late Afternoon Sky

When I returned, Evie had made a batch of cookies, and I cleaned up the kitchen before wine time. We listened to the news, and I read a depressing essay by Heather Cox Richardson. She analyzes the US/Russian negotiations concerning Ukraine. It seems to benefit American and Russian businesses,  billionaires, and Trump's family by investing in Russian minerals and developing Ukraine's war-ravaged cities. In other words, the plan's goal is to enrich the US, not support Ukraine. Disgusting.

Around 6:30, we had the leftover meatloaf with baked potatoes, topped with butter and sour cream, and watched three more episodes of All Saints. After Evie went to bed I watched some Monday night football and another episode of my series, SSGB, before going up to read and sleep. Evening doesn't change much.