Snow Falling On A Monday Morning

7:38

8:34

As I look out our front window at 8:30, I can hardly make out Long Point because of the falling snow. At the moment it's 29°, but by tomorrow morning the temperature will be back in the single digits. Winter is back!

Sunday was a typical Sunday, except there was no football to watch, which certainly opened up the day. We had our usual Sunday morning coffee and relaxation — not much different from any other day of the week when you're retired. By 9:30, the blog was published, breakfast was eaten, and I was beginning to get bored, so I texted Jim, my neighbor, wondering if he was up for a hike. He was, so by 10:15, we were driving off in his truck with his dog Ripley to walk a section of the Fred Cusimano Westside Overland Trail outside of Panama, New York, that is. Evie and I have walked it many times over the last 15 years and love it because of the hemlocks. 

Ripley Leads

An Easy Trail To Follow

We Rarely See Birds

We parked the truck, let Ripley out, and off he went, following the trail north. It's well marked, unlike our last hike at the Bentley Nature Preserve a couple of weeks ago. We walked out for half an hour, crossing a couple of creeks, then turned back along a bumpy, uneven trail that was hard on our feet. I was glad I had my poles and crampons. Ripley is good at returning to Jim when he whistles, except when he sees or scents a deer — then he's off. Fortunately, Ripley wears a device on his collar that Jim can use to alert him, and he returns.

Into The Hemlocks

Love The Verticals Along The Path

We were home around noon, and I quickly shoveled a couple of inches of snow off the driveway before heading into the warm house, ready for lunch. I heated up some lentil soup in the microwave and made toast with peanut butter and jelly. I watched my show, then read for a while before taking a short nap. We both lazed away the rest of the afternoon reading and watching TV — after all, it was Sunday.

Snowless And Green At 4:15

By 6:00, we were showered and ready to drive to Linda and Ron's for dinner. We arrived bearing gifts, a bottle of wine and a pack of Slovenian sausages. As always, our evening began with delicious breaded artichoke with mayo. A wonderful soup with gnocchi, followed by homemade bread. Dessert was fruit dipped in chocolate. The highlight of the evening, however, was Ron gleefully recounting what happened after we left our five-course Italian dinner at Adriaccio's restaurant last week. We had left at the end of the meal, and they stayed to pay for Ron's beer and an extra glass of wine, not included in the meal. Instead of a check for maybe twenty or thirty dollars, the bill came to two hundred and forty. The forty dollars we had paid online was merely to hold the reservation — dinner was actually ninety dollars a person, plus tip. 

Ron, of course, demanded we pay immediately, but Linda interceded and is allowing us to pay in installments, so I gave Linda a twenty and will pay the rest over the next few months. Needless to say, we all had a good laugh. We were home by 9:00, passing only one car on the ride home. Evie went up to bed, and I watched some TV before growing anxious to get to bed and read my book, Paper Girl.

Another Sunday Dinner