A Spectacular Morning Sunrise

8:15

It's 8:20, and I've been up since 7:00 — out paddling by 7:20 for 45 minutes on a placid, empty lake, save for the ducks and geese. I was excited to hear the cry of a solitary loon, a first this spring. 

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising At 7:23

Looking South Towards Sandy Bottom

North Towards Woodlawn

Turkey Vultures Are Back

Wow

Common Mergansers

Wednesday was another pickleball day. I was up around 7:30, read, wrote the blog, and had breakfast before heading out by 9:15. I'm never quite certain I'll go until the last minute, and then finally think, why not. I played a bit better, though I had some spectacular whiffs. I also realized that the real trick to winning is having a good partner — one who covers for your mistakes. It was nice to linger afterward and talk with a number of the players; a good group, and getting to know them better was a bonus.

I was home by 11:30, earlier than usual. Evie was having a leisurely morning — much needed after a day of kindergarten. I made an easy lunch of the leftover eggplant pasta and watched another episode of my Romanian thriller. I'm also into my new book, The Terminal List, despite having seen the film. After a decent nap, I came down to read for a while, noticed the lake had settled, and headed out for an afternoon paddle despite the overcast sky — down to Sandy Bottom and back.

Kayak Afternoon

Buffleheads

I returned in time for happy hour, and while I'd been out on the lake enjoying myself, Evie had been in the kitchen putting together dinner: chicken with mushrooms and artichokes. It's one of our favorites — a dish we started making back in Honolulu in the 1960s. We enjoyed it over rice and watched a couple of episodes of Landman, which we're warming up to, especially the episode set around a funeral in the Panhandle. After Evie went to bed, I caught an episode of my show, watched some basketball, then headed up early to read and sleep.

 “They say if you use the word war, that’s maybe not a good thing to do. They don’t like the word war because you’re supposed to get approval. So I’ll use the word military operation, which is really what it is. It’s called a military decimation.” DJT