Wind, Rain, And 44º

8:03

8:23

8:23

A miserable morning greets us at the lake—windows streaked with rain, snow melted away, everything draped in gray. Our front yard shows patches of green where the snow has retreated, and the forecast promises more rain or sleet over the next few days.

Yesterday stood in stark contrast: abundant sunshine, blue skies, a spectacular winter day here in Chautauqua County. Waking to such brightness and driving across the bridge to Bemus for breakfast in the sun felt almost miraculous. After breakfast, I finished the blog while Evie left for school at 9:30 in our Outback. Around 10:00, I dropped off my Kia Sportage at the dealer to have the air flaps repaired and picked up a loaner—though unfortunately not the Four Wheel Drive I need, so I'll have to return today to get a Four Wheel Drive Sportage.

Noon Blue

With such beautiful weather beckoning, I decided on a hike around the Chautauqua Institution, figuring the usual woodland trails would be waterlogged. I was wrong about the roads being clear, though, and spent much of my forty-five-minute walk navigating slush. On my way back, I stopped at Common Grounds for coffee, where locals gather daily. I chatted with Linda, who volunteers on Thursdays, and met a fisherman who pursues steelhead trout in the local streams and was hoping to get out later that day.

Thunder Bridge

Brick Walk

Walk At Bestor Plaza

Thunder Bridge

I was home by 12:30, heated up Evie's leftover Reuben from Wednesday night, and started rewatching The Fall—a series I first saw at least ten years ago. Gillian Anderson plays the lead detective hunting Jamie Dornan's serial killer, and it remains both compelling and terrifying. We follow Jamie as a devoted husband and father of two whose secret life involves stalking and killing, while we also follow Gillian's relentless pursuit of him. I also started a new book, Train Dreams by Denis Johnson, and queued up a film on Netflix.

Evie arrived home around 2:15, and we spent the rest of the afternoon indoors, savoring the unusual blue skies and sunshine.

For dinner, we were having tilapia. Evie prepped the fish while I made tartar sauce, and we had our wine while listening to CNN and Jake Tapper discuss the latest tragedy: an ICE agent's shooting of a mother in Minneapolis. Democrats say it was an illegal use of force, especially three shots; Republicans argue it was justified. And so it goes. We ate around 6:30—the tilapia baked in the air fryer alongside baked potatoes and coleslaw—while watching our series. Evie went to bed at her usual, and I watched another episode of The Fall before heading upstairs to read and sleep.

Quote Of The Day: "Trump has the terrible strength peculiar to people who are incapable of embarrassment and cannot fathom that they look ridiculous." George Will

I used AI Claude today, and the blog doesn't sound like me, does it? Too flowery.