Saw a whale today

I couldn't resist going for a paddle this morning. I had gone to WM to get some cat food and made the circuit.  South Beach looked so nice and flat I had to go back home and load up the kayak.

I had a beautiful paddle and just about the time I was thinking 'nothing new today' I hear the tell-tale sound of escaping air about 100' behund me. I turned around but didn't see anything. It surprised me and for a moment unnerved me to hear it but not see anything. A moment later I looked up and directly in front of me there was a soundless boil of water. It had surfaced but not taken in air. Again I had missed it. About a minute later I see the shape of the back of a whale with white barnacles on it materlize out of the water. A little tell-tale 'whoosh' of escaping air and then silence again. I've not seen any whales at South since about May. Good day.

Thoughts but not quite epiphanies

It strikes me, since I am now 'retired' to take the time to put down my thoughts, or lack of thoughts. I guess the bottom line is, I want to express myself in some way. Throughout the day, ideas, thoughts, and other mental bubbles arise and I foment on them for awhile, and then they fade away.

It's odd not having HB around for the day as our summer has been. Today is the third school day of the new year. Seems that I didn't feel that I was retired all summer because we get the time off anyway. Last week on the first teacher report day it started to feel like retirement. And, when HB came back home at the end of her first day it felt more like retirement and I was glad I didn't have to go back to the routine of meetings, new expectations, increased pressure, classroom managemnt,  and sometimes even teaching.