A Bright Shiny Morning

8:22

6:32

6:46

The sun's up, filling the lake with its reflection on a beautiful, mostly blue-sky morning. I was up at 6:30 and on the lake just before 7:00 for an hour and 20 minutes. I paddled north this time to Snug Harbor and back and didn't see any birds other than seagulls.

Kayak Morning

Paddling Down To Snug Harbor

Sun Rising In The East

Into The Sun And Clouds

Wow

Tuesday was a good day except for our yard, which continues to be a mess. Since both of our houses seemed to be hooked up to the new sewers, today may be the day the guys put our yard back together. So Tuesday began as usual with a good paddle, and I was back home by 8:00, giving me over an hour before I had to leave for yoga. I was able to enjoy another cup of coffee and finish the blog by 9:00. It was good to get back to Tuesday yoga with Courtney, although I left feeling tired and achy for some reason, and all I wanted to do was go straight home. Evie felt the same and was lying on the couch reading. I decided to go upstairs and lie down on my bed and read. I could have napped, but I wanted to wait until after lunch.

Our Side Yard

Matt Digging 

Blue Skies, Destroyed Yard

Our Hydrangea Tree

 
For lunch, Evie made me a couple of toasted cheese sandwiches, and I microwaved an ear of corn. I watched another episode of my Swedish series but couldn't wait to get up to bed and nap, which I did for a good half hour. The rest of the afternoon, neither of us did much. I'd read for a bit, then go out and talk with the guys working our yard, then come back in and read until 4:00. By 4:45 we were both showered and on our way to a five o'clock dinner at Bellinis, with friends Jerry and Jane, Tom and Julie. Bellinis is famous for its half-price happy hour from 5:00 to 7:00 and its specials, so it's busy, especially for the white-headed gang like us. It was great to see Jane and Jerry, who live in the Villages in Florida most of the year. Everyone ordered libations, beer or wine, supposedly at half price. Evie and I had the burgers, eleven bucks each, and they were really good. We had a good time, of course, and the four of them have known each other for years. When we got our checks, I couldn't believe mine — they'd charged us 36 bucks for three glasses of wine. Then I found out only the house wine was half price, not the ones we ordered. Idiot! So it wasn't a deal, but we still had a fun evening.

Dinner With Good Friends

Because we got there at 5:00, we were home by 7:00, in time to watch a couple of episodes of ER before Evie went to bed. I finished my series, Blood Sacrifice, which I really liked except for the ending. I then watched some basketball before going up to bed to read and sleep. Sort of a good day.

Gray Skies, Drizzle, and 58º

6:34

8:05

It's 8:10, and we're both up, enjoying our coffee and the view of a partly cloudy morning sky. The sun popped out for about ten seconds, then hid back behind the clouds. I was up at 6:30, out on the lake for 50 minutes, and shot an osprey but not herons. It also drizzled briefly on me, but I hardly got wet.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Finally, Some Blue 

Northeast

Osprey

Yesterday was another gray day, with drizzle on and off and little rain accumulation. I was happy to get back out on the lake after having to stay inside on Sunday. We had no big plans for the day, and I was in no hurry to get moving. By 10:30, though, I was on my way to Lakewood to mark the pothole in the field where I fell, and to stop at Aldi's for a few things. So I wasn't gone long and was home by noon. Evie was off and didn't feel like doing much, which was fine — nothing needed to be done. For lunch I had teriyaki noodles from Aldi, and it was fair. I started a new Swedish series called Blood Sacrifice, about a serial killer, and so far, so good.

It was good to get back to my book, In the Woods, and take a nap in a chilly bedroom. Yesterday's high was in the 60s, and we both loved it. The rest of the afternoon went quickly, with both of us reading some, watching TV, or on our phones. Around 3:30, I went out and attempted to put a new seat on my bike. Fortunately, my neighbor Jim walked by with his dog and helped me secure it. I hope it's more comfortable than the last one — at least that's how it was advertised.

A Quiet Lake At 6:15 In The Afternoon

Evie was fighting a headache much of the afternoon, so we had a modified happy hour, hoping she'd feel better. I knew she wouldn't feel like cooking, so I got us a pizza, and Evie enjoyed it and watched ER before heading up to bed, feeling a bit better. I'm deep into my Swedish noir, Blood Sacrifice, and watched two episodes — I'm getting a little depressed, though, since both my book and my TV series deal with serial killers. I was in bed by 10:15, hoping to think of something good.

Rain And 54º

7:00

8:05

Our Yard

It's 8:30, and lucky Evie is still sleeping. I actually slept in till 7:00 and was out on the lake by 7:15, hoping to beat the rain. I paddled for a little over half an hour, and it drizzled on my way back, but that was about it. I had the lake to myself and, unfortunately, saw no birds other than seagulls. We got an inch of rain overnight, three inches Sunday morning, so our side yard is a mess. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Paddling East

Yesterday was a strange Sunday, weather-wise. For the first time in weeks, I couldn't get in an early-morning paddle because of the rain. So I spent most of the morning on the couch — first with coffee, then with Evie — and we finished up and published the blog. We were having Ron and Linda over for dinner, so we spent a good part of the day prepping. Evie made brownies early, and I helped by vacuuming the living room and cleaning the porch. I also read quite a bit during the morning since I couldn't get outside. We ended up with about three inches of rain by 1:00, when it finally started to clear for a good part of the afternoon.

Heavy Rain And Hail

Evie made me eggs and toast for lunch, and I watched my show before taking a nap and reading my book. Around 1:00, Evie put the ribs in the oven to cook for three hours. With most of dinner underway, we were both able to relax — except for the Mexican street corn, which took Evie about 15 minutes to put together. Mid-afternoon, the sun came out and the clouds were amazing, so I had to get back out on the water despite the wind. I paddled north into it for about 25 minutes, then let it leisurely push me home.

Kayak Afternoon

North

Clouds Above Woodlawn

We both showered, and then I grilled the ribs for about 15 minutes, giving them that nice charred look from the barbecue sauce. Once they were done, we popped them back in the oven to stay warm until dinner.

Perfect Afternoon Weather For Wine Time On The Porch

Ron and Linda arrived just after 6:00. Fortunately, the afternoon rain had let up, so we sat on the front porch with wine and appetizers — a bit chilly, so Evie brought out blankets. We stayed out there for about an hour before heading in just as dinner was ready. 

Good Friends

We had the ribs, Mexican street corn, coleslaw, and Linda's baked beans, and brownies with ice cream for dessert. A good way to spend a Sunday evening. Ron and Linda left around 9:00, unfortunately in heavy rain. Evie helped clean up before heading to bed, and I finished the kitchen and watched an episode of my show before turning in myself.

f

Thunder, Lightning And Rain

---

6:49

7:15

8:38

It's 7:00, and I'm sitting on our front porch listening to it rain, with an occasional crash of lightning and thunder. Dark clouds are sliding by, and I'm hoping for a break so I might get in a paddle. A heron has been sitting on our dock, then dove into the lake, pulled out a small fish, and swallowed it whole. Breakfast. After a brief letup, it's thundering and pouring again, though it doesn't seem to have bothered the heron, who is still standing on my dock at 8:15.

Fishing

Itching

Bass Boat In The Rain

Saturday was another fine lake day, perfect for boating, and the lake was busy most of the day. I paddled for close to an hour early, before the boat traffic picked up, though at 7:00 the bass boats roared out of the marina as the tournament began. After the paddle, we relaxed, enjoyed our coffee, and finished the blog around 9:30. I had some breakfast, and around 10:00 we gathered the trash. I headed off to the transfer station, then to Wegmans to shop for tonight's dinner. Wegmans was crowded as usual on the weekends, but I was able to get in and out quickly. On my way home, I stopped and picked up some corn on Hunt Road, and had it for lunch along with a chicken pot pie. I watched my show, but it's getting silly — the main protagonist, a female mortician, has killed at least five people so far, most of them accidentally. Go figure.

I couldn't wait to get back to my book, Tana French's first Dublin Murder Squad novel, In the Woods, so I went upstairs, read, and napped for at least an hour. When I came downstairs, Evie was on the front porch nursing a headache, so I went out on the dock and read for a good hour. I loved it and don't know why I don't do it more. Neither of us did much the rest of the afternoon. Evie was feeling better by 5:00, when we had a glass or two of wine and enjoyed the lake as the clouds rolled in and the boat traffic thinned ahead of the coming storm.

Afternoon Sky

"Our House Is A Very Very Fine House"

For dinner, Evie made us burgers, along with a salad and corn, and we were happy. We watched another episode or two of ER before Evie went up to bed, and I watched the second half of the Indiana Fever's loss to the New York Liberty. It was a pretty good game, as both teams played well in front of a full house. Clark missed two free throws late and allowed her opponent to score six points on her down the stretch, which sealed it. She needs to improve her defense, since opposing teams take advantage of her — and she needs to stop complaining every time she thinks she's been fouled, or that she's fouled someone. I ended the night with my series, but was already looking forward to my book.

A Cool, Partly Cloudy Morning

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6:40

6:41

7:47

It's 8:30, and I've been up for a couple of hours on a 60º morning. I paddled into the sunrise at 6:47 and was out for an hour as the sun came in and out of the clouds. I was going to head north, but the wind was out of the north, so I took my usual paddle instead and was rewarded with shots of a couple of herons and an osprey.

Kayak Morning

Western Sky

Clouds And Sun

Got An Itch,,,notice the feather

A Little Disheveled

Osprey

Another Heron

Same Osprey

Friday was our 61st anniversary, and because we celebrated it on Wednesday with a big dinner and night out, yesterday was low-key, a typical day for us. I got in a good paddle, although the fog was such that I could hardly see the shoreline when I returned home. 

Hooking Up The Sewers, Destroying Our Yard

By 10:00, the guys were here to begin the process of hooking us up to the new sewer line, and they stayed until 4:00, destroying our side yard in the process. And because they ran into a couple of problems, they won't finish up until Monday. Around 10:30, after our coffee and writing the blog, I went for a walk for the first time in a month or two around our woods. It felt good to walk, although I am out of shape, and I was happy to see the path was in decent shape. It's an easy half-hour walk, and I was home by 10:40. I spent some time talking with the workers and watching them dig up our lawn until lunch at 12:15, a couple of ears of sweet corn and macaroni salad. I started the second season of my series, Woman of the Dead, and because I had a car appointment to get new front brakes on the Outback, I skipped a nap.

Woodlawn Trail

Victoria 

I took my bike with me to my car appointment, and Ray said it would take about two hours, so I decided to stretch out what would probably have been an hour-plus ride to two hours. I rode for a half hour to the Rod and Gun, then sat on their porch for ten minutes before heading on to Celoron and the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel, where I sat again, taking in the view. I then started my ride back, stopping at Ryder's Cup for a blueberry lemonade and relaxing on their porch before my final ride back to pick up my car at 3:00, perfect timing. Three hundred and eighty dollars later, I drove home, tired from my ride, and couldn't wait to go upstairs and read and nap.

View From Chautauqua Harbor Hotel

Fortunately, we had decided not to go out to dinner, and instead, we had heavy appetizers on the porch, saved money, and had a great view while we had our wine. Our neighbors, John and Missy, stopped over, so we had fun talking with them. We didn't need dinner after the appetizers but had dessert, tin roofs, while we watched another couple of episodes of ER until Evie went up to bed, and I finished the night with some junk TV before going up to bed. Although low-key, it was a good day.

Friday Afternoon