Three Swans A Swimmin

Swans

8:03

Woke up to a couple of inches of Spring snow, yep, winter is still hanging around. It's 25º, warming up, and the best part of this morning was spotting three swans in front of our house, dunking for weeds, not donuts! We also saw the trio late yesterday afternoon so they have been hanging around for at least 24 hours. 

Today, like yesterday, was too windy and cold for a paddle so I had an easy morning, coffee, breakfast, the blog, no hurry. The good old Outback is still starting in the cold so I took it to yoga class. Six of us were in class, four of the regulars. One, a young guy, a friend of our teacher, walked the Appalachian Trail in 2021 so it was fun talking with him. After class, I did a quick run through Wegmans thinking I had a prescription but didn't despite their message that I did. I bought the ingredients for a Lentil, Sausage and Spinach soup, compliments of my niece and nephew. When I got home, Evie wanted to get the soup made so the two of us did some chopping and sauteeing, before adding the lentils and let it simmer for forty-five minutes. I had a leftover roast beef on a Kimmelwick bun for lunch and watched Unforgotten on PBS. I spent the afternoon watching some of March Madness interspersed with reading and a nap, a good way to spend a Friday afternoon. 

Tulips and Snow -- Tulips from our friend Barb

After a glass of wine and photographing the swans, Evie put our dinner together, tortillas topped with ground beef, tomatoes, and cheese and baked in the oven. Once done, we topped them with lettuce, and catsup, and pickles and ate them like a taco. They were a bit messy to eat but tasty. We finally finished Marcella's third season, and both of us were happy to see it end. We then watched Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix as he traveled to Croatia and tasted their food in various cities. It's pretty good although we tire of his silly banter and humor. Evie went to bed around 9:00 and I watched some basketball then finished my book The Berry Pickers which I would highly recommend. 

Windy, Cold, And Gray

7:06

7:12

8:25

Well, I guess the weather gods did not get the memo that Spring is here. It's 18º this morning and I woke to a winter storm advisory for the area, with flurries to start in five minutes.  It didn't matter to the birds who were at the feeder once it became light.

Yesterday was a fun morning, beginning with breakfast with my friend Jack who just returned from a couple weeks in Trinidad and Granada. He regaled me with his trip, the weather, the beaches, and the great restaurants. I was home by 9:10, finished up the blog, and drove off to Yin Yoga at 10:00. Class didn't end until 11:20 so I didn't get home until just before noon. Evie had chicken salad ready for me to make sandwiches on toast and she took off for an interview with the Southwestern Schools Primary grade principal. She hopes to help out with kindergarteners and 1st graders a couple times a week if her references give her good reviews. I began watching another series which I have started a couple of times, Unforgotten, on PBS. I started it because I liked Nicola Walker so much in River and she is the main inspector in Unforgotten, all seven seasons. 

Evie didn't get home until 3:00 because she shopped at Wegmans after the interview. I watched some of the March Madness games, mostly the Akron Zips loss to Creighton, and read and napped. At 5:00, Evie drove our neighbor to North Harmony for a court appearance. Fortunately, it did not take too long so she was home by 6:00 although the courtroom seemed packed. Knowing she might be gone during dinner time, she bought sliced roast beef and kimmelwick buns for our dinner so all she needed to do was make sandwiches for dinner. The kimmelwick buns, loaded with salt, make the roast beef and horseradish sandwiches extra special. We watched another couple of episodes of Marcella and then the last six minutes of the Oakland upset of Kentucky. It's the biggest upset of Kentucky since the Ohio University Bobcats destroyed third-ranked Kentucky 85-69 on March 11, 1964, in the NCAA Regional Semifinal. It was played in Williams Arena in Minneapolis and yours truly scored seven points. It was quite a thrill to beat Kentucky and its coach Adolph Rupp. We ended the night with Everybody Loves Raymond, our go to show for a laugh after 'breaking bad news'. 

It's Cold Outside

6:53

7:43

9:10

Woke to a threatening and partly cloudy sky, with wind and a chilly 19º. No kayaking this morning because of the wind and I am going to breakfast in Bemus at 8:00. A few ducks are out, seemingly riding the waves and the woodpecker is at our feeder, enjoying a suet breakfast. It's 9:20, still cold and I just returned from breakfast in Bemus, a good way to start a Spring day. 

Yesterday was different, although it started out well with a great paddle on a smooth, calm lake and light snow. It was the only time of the day without heavy winds. After breakfast and blogging, I had some time to kill until my doctor's appointment in Jamestown at 10:30. I left at 10:00 because the weather was bad, with blinding snow on and off as I drove. Fortunately, the roads were fine as the salt trucks were out. I was lucky to be in and out quickly, then dropped off my taxes at my accountant downtown Jamestown and stopped at the Labyrinth Press Coffee shop for a coffee and burrito for lunch. My final stop was Farm Fresh Foods, where I picked up three of their freshly made donuts, one and a half for Evie and me.

When I got home, I had lunch, the burrito with seitan and goodies, and finished up my show, River, which I ended up really liking. Neither of us did much the rest of the afternoon except wait for 6:00 when we were going out to dinner at the Viking with neighbors. Oh, yeah, I read, watched some TV and napped and both of us showered around 5:00.

5:44 PM

The Viking was not as crowded as usual probably because of the weather. King Of Hearts drawing was close to 6,000 but nobody won alas much to our table's disappointment. We had wings, always tasty, and beers of course and Barb and Jim regaled us with the details of their trip to Savannah, Folly Beach, and Northern Virginia. It sounds like fun, especially St. Patty's Day in Savannah. We were home just before 9:00 and Evie was ready for bed but I stayed up and watched some news and basketball before happily getting back to my book, The Berry Pickers. 

Spring's Arrived

7:46

9:35

9:39

Today is the first full day of Spring although it started yesterday evening at 11:00. I woke to bright sunshine but by the time I took a photo, it hid behind a vast gray cloud bank and I haven't seen it since. Like yesterday, hundreds of birds are floating in front of our house, mostly mergansers, mallards, and some seagulls. It's 30º and should start snowing soon so I better get in a paddle. It's 9:40 and I paddled in flurries for just over an hour, hassling ducks as I paddled down to Sandy Bottom and back on a 30º morning. It felt good to be out on the lake. 

Kayaking In Flurries

Northern Gray

Victoria

Kayak Morning

Bufflehead

Yesterday was like most days this winter and I did not get in a paddle. It snowed on and off but little accumulation and the roads were fine. After breakfast and the blog, I drove to a good yoga class with Courtney and did not linger. I was home by noon and Evie made me a great lunch, scrambled eggs and baba toast and I watched River and will finish it today at lunch I assume.

By 1:00, I was on my way to the Subaru dealer for an appointment at 1:30. I received a letter from Subaru about Outbacks that were having trouble with the battery going dead and the solution. I have had trouble with the battery over the past three months, having to get new batteries twice. When I dropped the car off the dealer knew nothing about the problem. Fortunately, I brought the letter from Subaru, explaining it to them. I waited forty-five minutes and then was told how they fixed the problem. Let's hope it works. Afterward, I stopped for a quick run through Tops which is just around the corner from the dealer, and picked up some goodies, two in fact, a glazed donut for Evie, and Boston cream filled for me. 

When I got home, I relaxed on the couch, tired from my day or no nap. Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters at 5:00 and afterward, we had a glass of wine and watched as hundreds of ducks floated 100 yards off our shoreline as the day waned.

Rafts Of Ducks At 5:47 PM

We had the leftover chicken and gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner, just as good as Monday night. And we watched, what else, two more episodes of Marcella, and both of us are looking forward to finishing the series. We ended the night with 'breaking news', and some junk TV before bed. 

It's Snowing

7:12

8:02

It looks like a foggy morning on the lake but it is really falling snow, so typical for the first day of Spring here in Chautauqua County. We must have gotten an inch or two yesterday and overnight because I will have to clean snow off the car again this morning. It's a chilly 26º and may get up into the 30s later in the day.

Buffleheads

Monday was a day with no responsibilities, no yoga, a day in full. The problem with that is I like to do things so after breakfast and coffee and the blog, I texted my friend Paul and met him at Ryders Cup in Lakewood around 9:45. One of his friends, Neal, from Sugar Grove, PA, was there so the three of us sat around enjoying our coffee and talking for a good hour and a half. As Michael Smerconish would say, it was a good way to waste the morning, mingling. After coffee, I drove to Walmart because a rotisserie chicken sounded good to me for dinner and Walmart's chicken is better and bigger and cheaper than Wegmans or The Lighthouse. 

I was home by 12:15 and Evie had the kitchen torn apart, hoping to better organize our pantry and throw out things we never seem to use. I was not very hungry so I made myself some packaged ramen and topped it with an egg and that was just right. I watched another episode of my series on Prime, River, and have one more season to go. Both series I'm watching deal with detectives who have serious mental problems, as both see things that are not there, usually people or actions from their past. After lunch, I took a quick nap and finally finished my 19th Dismas Hardy novel, the last in the series unless John Lescroart writes one more. I started a new novel, a recommendation of my nephew, Pat, called The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. 

We enjoyed our wine time from 5:30 to 6:30, watching the birds attack the feeder with gusto, especially the woodpeckers as it snowed, a lovely beginning to the evening. Earlier Evie had made a mushroom gravy, so we had the chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy along with a salad, a perfect Monday night dinner. We watched the finish of Season Two of Marcella and started Season Three, the last season before going up to bed. 

Let It Snow

Woodpecker Morning

7:36

8:02

It's always a delight to come downstairs and be greeted by a white yard even if it's just a dusting of snow. It won't last long because snow is not forecast for the next week so I will enjoy it while I can. The 24º temperature this morning was a surprise since a neighbor was out-cutting grass a week or so ago. And If you look at our back porch, I have a snow shovel and chaise lounge sitting there, depending on snowy or sunny weather. The fickleness of Chautauqua weather is its regularity. I am feeling better this morning but not energetic enough to get out there on the lake. As I look out our front window at 9:00, a few flurries continue to fall.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Ready For Snow Or Sun

Yesterday was not much fun because I was still recovering from stomach problems and felt tired and grumpy. Fortunately, Evie took care of me during the day, making sure I had something to eat and drink. I was up early, alas, wrote the blog, and waited for Evie to get up. Once she was up, we published the blog and then listened to various news programs until late morning when we had enough news for the day.

By noon, I was a bit hungry so Evie made me scrambled eggs and toasted a brioche  roll for lunch. It tasted good and I was able to watch more of my series, River. By the time I was through, I was tired and couldn't wait to go upstairs and take a nap. I was obviously tired because I must have slept close to an hour and a half, waking up just before 3:00.  We both then spent the afternoon either reading or watching TV and being amused by the various birds attacking our bird feeder and suet, hanging in our front windows. We also had snow flurries, then sun, then snow flurries on and off during the afternoon. 

Afternoon Flurries

The red-bellied woodpecker is the most fun to watch as he hangs on the bars of the suet's metal cage, aggressively poking through the bars to get food. We had a happy hour, minus the wine, and did not worry about dinner because we had lots of leftovers and Evie had made me some soup, chicken broth with noodles for my dinner. Along with a couple of rolls, I was happy and Evie had the leftover eggplant pasta, saving the corn beef and cabbage for another night. We watched a couple of more episodes of Marcella, then Hometown before bed. It was not the best of St. Patrick's Day.

A Morning Of Clouds And Sun

7:57

8:31

It's 8:35 and we are both up, as the sun just popped out from the clouds for a moment. The lake is smooth and gray, the clouds above at times threatening until the sun and blue sky breakthrough. No kayaking this morning because I had a bad night and a stomach ache. I still don't feel good and food does not sound good to me. I hope it's nothing more than a 24-hour virus. Right now, I don't have much mojo and just want to lie down.

Crapies Are Biting

Saturday was typical and we did get some sun and blue skies. I was fortunate to start my morning paddle in gray, ending up with blue skies and sun. Evie didn't get up until after I returned from my paddle so the blog was later than usual. We were in no hurry to get the day started so we relaxed with our coffee and enjoyed the morning sun and the birds at the feeder. I was ready to take the trash to the Transfer Station at 11:15, dropped it off then drove over to Long Point State Park, almost missing the exit because they were working on the bridge and one exit had closed. It was a good day to walk the woods and I walked a different trail from the usual, taking a right instead of a left off the park road, and hiking close to RT 430 for maybe half a mile. I ended up walking over two miles and was out close to an hour, a hike longer than I wanted.

Long Point Trail

March Morning

Barren Trees And Blue Skies

When I returned home, I had lunch, a Buffalo Chicken burrito from Aldis which was pretty bad. I watched River on Prime and made myself a peanut butter apple to satisfy my hunger after the burrito. I was happy to get back to my Dismas Hardy novel and take a nap. What else is there to do on a Saturday afternoon in March. Late afternoon, Evie put together our dinner, eggplant pasta, and kept it warm for our dinner. We enjoyed a happy hour with chips and dip along with some cheese and crackers. Dinner was tasty, the eggplant cooked just right and we watched our shows, the usual along with some basketball until 9:45 when we went up to bed.