Buzzard of Simmer

The luck we're having with trips to the lake is not the worst, but it's not the best either. As you will see. Yesterday was a perfect day--almost. We got a robust BOGO breakfast, thanks to a coupon from our motel. We drove to the lake, and the flags were all green. We cautiously planned a walk in the woods that was shorter than our usual, by a route we seldom take. We did pretty well, although we went slowly, each of us for our own reasons. It had a surprising amount of ups and downs, and the downward parts, stepping from root to root in an irregular fashion, took a toll on my knee. I had put the knee brace in my pack, and when we paused for a snack, I managed to put it on over my jeans. It took a lot of squeezing, because I have fat legs now, sigh. But I did get it strapped in place. It may have helped some--I think it's mostly a placebo that gives one a comforting feeling that something is being done. We got plenty of lovely views of beech trees and groves of hemlock, so dark their shade was nearly black, oak trees and hillsides covered in white pine. When we paused, we sat on banks of soft green moss.

By the time we got back to our car, parked in an auxiliary lot, the beach lot was full up, so we carried our chairs and umbrella along with the pack I already had. We walked down the beach far enough to have plenty of space. Trudging through the sand burdened down like a camel was the hardest part. We made it and slathered ourselves with sunscreen, because the sun was blazing down in a cloudless sky. The waves were only about a foot high, and the water was crystal clear and even warmer than the day before. We had a wonderful swim. It's always tempting to stay longer, but we decided to get out of the sun. We changed into dry clothes and went to get a bite to eat.

Aaand when we returned, the power in our room was out. When we went to check with the front desk, we found a scene of consternation. The whole motel had lost power, along with a wide swath of nearby locations. No one had any idea when it would be fixed. Our friend at the front desk was busy passing out bags of ice to the residents so they could keep their food cool in the now nonfunctional mini fridges. The Sparrowhawk texted our good neighbor to ask if there was power at home, and there was. So we decided to go there, rather than spending a hot dark night with an unknown future. The drive home was mostly in the dark, and a bit stressful. I have no idea why, on a Thursday night, so many people found it necessary to be out driving like maniacs, but so it was. We were happy to be home, but not happy to have forfeited the rest of our trip.

I was also not happy to have so much pain in so many different parts of my body. Holy crap, I'm an elderly wreck. Going to the lake is supposed to make me feel good. I feel like saying that I'm just out of shape and need to exercise more at home, but that is the kind of thing that Madame says EVERY WEEK, so it has the ring of doom to it, and I'm not going to say it!

Today we did laundry and put away things from the trip. We replenished our supplies at the Friday version of the farmers market with green beans, golden beets adorned with a fine plume of edible leaves, broccoli, baby squash and baby carrots, a bag of leaf lettuce, sweet corn, and more raspberries. I turned the leftover boiled eggs from our trip food into deviled eggs and made some fancy beans with peppers and onions in them. For dinner we had those plus sweet corn and leftover hot dogs. As of tonight, a shot of bourbon and a nap seems to have worked wonders on my sore joints. Not that I'm recommending that as a remedy, mind you . . . just sayin'. A day in the woods, a couple of swims in cold water, shot of Jack, nap in your own bed . . . if it doesn't take away the pain, at least you'll have a nice life while hobbling.