Aerie Report, April 27, 2010

Not much to say today. The weather at the Aerie has been changing more swiftly than a hummingbird darting about the flower patch. At 7 AM we had strong winds out of the north northwest and mostly clear skies. Sure, the temperature was only 39 and falling (got down to 37 at 9 AM) but the day held promise...for about half an hour. Then the clouds rolled in--the reason the temperatures continued to fall through 9 AM. Then the clouds started spitting snow and sleet. At least it wasn't hail.

The snow/sleet didn't amount to anything but it sure made things raw and chilly. That's why I built a fire. Only had to reload the fireplace once before the clouds got the message and disappeared. The sun shone all afternoon with nary a cloud to block it and the outside temperature did rise--to 46 degrees. Luckily, the heat from the fireplace and the sun shining through the windows late in the day made the house nice and toasty as well as dry.

******

Terry went swimming again today after Curves. The coach says she's doing really well now that she's got herself a pair of goggles and doesn't worry about getting her face wet. Now she wants some ear plugs because of her childhood fear of earaches. She keeps it up she's going to look like an Olympic swimmer.

Today she was practicing the freestyle and trying to get the breathing down while going the length of the pool. She says she can notice a difference in her stamina as she can pretty much go the entire distance nonstop. She still has to learn how to float. I've tried to convince her that it's not about keeping your toes above the water and that a "dead man's float" wherein you keep your back arched, toes down and head back so just your face is above the water is the way to save energy. We had to do 15 minutes of that every time we got into the pool at Rutgers for gym class. Add a life vest and you can float all day like that.

I'm glad she's getting swimming lessons and seems to be improving as much as she says she is. Whenever we go a motel/campground with a pool, she's always held back and remained in the shallow end. Mow, perhaps, she'll be able to enjoy the water a bit more.

******

The Mets-Dodgers game got rained out last night so they are playing a true double header today. The Mets took the first game 4-0 which gives them five in a row and eight (8) wins in their last ten games.

In the nightcap, the Mets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first but have given it all back in the fourth as the Dodgers batted around and scored three of their own off Oliver Perez who is now out of the game.

The Mets offense has not been their strong suit in the current streak. They've been picking and scratching fro most of their runs. The guys who are supposed to be the big RBI guys haven't been. They need to ramp things up a bit at the plate. Walks may set the table but it's hits that will drive them in.

UPDATE: Mets 10, Dodgers 5 in the nightcap. David Wright went 3-for-3 with a pair of singles and a triple. He drove in 4 runs. Ike Davis, whose call-up to the big club seems to have spurred the Mets' resurgence, was 1-for-2 in the game with 3 RBI.