Sorry I'm a bit late writing to you this morning, but the blog platform has been recalcitrant, the wood stove has been grumpy, and Chuck slept in instead of squeaking Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast! and licking my eyelids at 4:30 a.m.

For some reason the blog does not want to post the photos I took yesterday, but finally it has decided you can look at this picture of Chuck on the screened porch being amazed by a robin. He also had the thrill of seeing his first-ever turkeys yesterday. As far as Chuck is concerned, vacation is fabulous on all counts--visitors! birds! everyone home!--though he remains suspicious of the coffeemaker.

We didn't go on any extravagant hikes yesterday, partly because we were lazy, partly because trails were still sodden from the previous day's rain. But we did drive to Ship Harbor to clamber over rocks and watch the grebes and the eiders dive. I took a short video of high-tide waves crashing on granite, which apparently I'm not permitted to share with you (this blog platform is in a bad mood), but maybe you'd like to look at some lichen instead.

When I wasn't outside I was reading books, doing some mild cooking, taking a yoga class with my friend. I did pound out a little schoolwork, but not much. All day long the clouds were moody and beguiling, and last night's sunset was a stunner. And then I slept all night like I'd been pole-axed. Which is to say, vacation is going quite well so far.