A Great Blue Heron Morning

6:50

It’s 6:58, and I’ve been up since 6:20, ogling the morning sky as it lightens. The sun won’t rise for another half hour, so I’ll wait until then to go kayaking. It’s 43º at the moment, and the high will be in the low 60s. I usually keep my kayak on a launch in front of our house, but since they took out the dock yesterday, I’m storing it against my neighbor’s dock and launching from a rubber mat. It works, and I have no trouble getting in and out of the water.

Ready To Launch

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising at 7:31

Into The Sun

Yep

It’s 8:46. As I paddled in from a 50-minute outing, a big dump truck pulled into our driveway, and the guys have been putting down a couple of layers of asphalt. They’ll finish today, and then we’ll have to wait four days before using it. It’s going to make shoveling this winter much easier.

Adding First Layer, An Aggregate

Rolling And Compacting

Too Bad Rhys Is Not Here To See The Dump Truck

Thursday was typical, with both of us up early, me for an 8:00 breakfast and Evie for kindergarten. I usually paddle before breakfast, but since the sun rises later each day, I’ve been putting it off until afterward. So I drove to the Lake Life Cafe, met my friends, and we stayed until after 9:00. When I got home, I kayaked briefly for 25 minutes, then finished up the blog as Evie left for school.

I had no plans for the morning until the guys arrived to take out my neighbor’s dock and mine. Since they store the sections on the lawn next to our privets, I raked the leaves in that area and then decided to mow the front yard. So while the crew waded in the water pulling out our dock, I mowed for 20 minutes, clearing the fallen leaves for maybe a day. In the old days, when the dock was smaller, I’d get a friend to help me pull it out. No more. It took four of them close to an hour to finish, and now our view of the lake has changed. All we need is for our neighbor’s dock to come out, and we’ll have an unobstructed view of the lake.

Pulling Out Our Dock

Pulling And Stacking

After the busy morning, I had chicken pot pie and corn for lunch and started a new series called Mayor of Kingstown. It’s fairly violent, so I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. After lunch, I napped, and when I woke, Evie was back from school, and it was another great day with her kids. What a wonderful way to spend five hours with five-year-olds.

Clouds At Happy Hour

We spent much of the afternoon reading, walking around the neighborhood, or watching TV. We’re both usually tired in the afternoons after a busy, productive morning, and we look forward to 5:00 because it means a glass of wine and dinner on the way. Evie had made what is becoming our favorite dinner, a simple eggplant pasta. It’s quick, easy, and delicious, so much so that we have hardly any left. We watched the usual until 8:00, when I turned on Thursday Night Football for 15 minutes, then switched back to The Mayor of Kingstown.