Humid And Mostly Gray Morning Skies

John And Maryanne On Their Scull

Kurt, Friend From Pine Hill

6:43

For some reason, I slept in until 6:30, came downstairs and relaxed, made my coffee, gathered my kayaking gear, and was out on an amazingly calm lake. I paddled down to the Power Boat Club and back and had luck photographing eagles and herons. It was also amazing because four kayaks and a scull were the only action on the lake for most of my paddle — no fishing boats!

6:43

Cormorant

Heron Fishing

Regal Heron

Bald Eagle In Our Tree

Feasting

Monday was typical: an early rise, then a paddle in drizzle for a good forty-five minutes. I returned around 7:30, wrote the blog, and waited for Evie to get up and pick out the photos. We talked and made a list for a trip to both the can man and Wegmans, giving me something to do since I wasn't ready to go for a bike ride. So I was off about 10:30, dropped my recyclable cans off at the can man, and made five bucks. I then stopped at Ryder's Cup, but the line was too long, so I left and went to Wegmans. Evie was still a bit off, so I picked up some chicken soup for her and Rice Krispies, which sounded good to her. I was home by noon and looked forward to spending a leisurely afternoon with Evie since we had nothing to do. I made a salami sandwich for lunch with the soup.

After lunch, I read for a while and napped as usual, then came downstairs refreshed and ready to do something. So I grabbed a saw and cut down some small trees that were growing among our red twigs and lilac tree, hoping it would help both grow. I had such a mess of branches that I packed them up in my Outback, left the liftgate open, and took them up to the wood pile. When I returned, I was still antsy and decided to ride my bike around the Chautauqua Institution. The gates are now open for the rest of the year, so I rode around the grounds for forty-five minutes. The gardens and front yards are at their peak, so it was fun to ride slowly and take them all in.

Thunder Bridge

The Atheneum Hotel

When I got home, Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters, so I read on the front porch, and she joined me after the call was over. I suggested an easy dinner — tomato and mayo sandwiches and corn — so that was my dinner; Evie enjoyed a bowl of Rice Krispies. We watched a show, but I noticed the lake was amazing, sunlit and calm, and I had to go for a half-hour paddle, stopping to talk with our neighbors Jim and Barb, who were sitting on their dock enjoying the view. 

Barb, Jim, And Ripley

7:20 PM

Setting Sun 

When I returned, Evie went up to bed, and I watched my show and feasted on a couple of nut horns, our neighbor Pat's gift to us since they're leaving in a day or two. I was in bed reading by 10:00.

Wendell Berry, an essayist,  novelist, poet, and conservationist, died yesterday. This is one of my favorite poems, so relevant in today's world.

The Peace of Wild Things

 Wendell Berry, 1934 - 2026

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Early Morning Rain

6:04

6:29

7:59

It's 6:30, and I have been up since 6:00, listening to the rain. The rain is supposed to let up soon, then start again later, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get in a paddle. It looks like we've received a half inch of rain so far, with more to come.

It's 8:10, and I just returned from a forty-minute paddle, occasionally in the rain.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Some Light

More Clouds

Sunday began as usual: with a good, long paddle and a few photos of birds. Evie was up when I returned around 8:15, and I wrote the blog; Evie picked out photos before we published it. After breakfast, I got a few things done, cleaning both porches and spraying for spiders. Once I was done, I decided to go for a bike ride. If I could get into the Chautauqua Institution, I would ride there, but the gates were still closed, so I decided to drive to Mayville and park. I rode two sections of Webb's Trail, through the woods, a three-mile round trip. I then rode Sea Lion Drive to the end and back, and was out for 50 minutes, the last 20 minutes in drizzle.

Webb's Trail

When I returned home, I was ready to take it easy and join Evie in the living room, where she was relaxing after being busy in the morning. Around 12:45, I had another quarter of my sub from Wegmans and some corn chowder and watched Goliath. By 1:30, I was ready to start my new book, Heather, another detective thriller. I was able to take a brief nap, then came downstairs and did some work in the yard — weed whacking various beds, things like that.

By 5:00, the lake had quieted down, and I had a glass of wine; Evie was still feeling a bit off and decided to skip wine. For dinner, we had soup and sandwiches, easy and good, and watched a couple more episodes of ER. When Evie was ready for bed, I watched a couple more episodes of Goliath before going up to read and sleep.

Sunday, Sunday

6:10

8:26

Kayak Morning: Barb Our Neighbor

We are both up as the sun just popped out at 8:25. I was up at 6:00, of course, but didn't get out on the lake until 6:30 because it was too dark. It was a quiet morning on the lake for me despite the Cleveland Bass Tournament — they must be fishing in other parts of the lake. I paddled across to Long Point, then back to Bootey Bay and home, a good 90-minute paddle.

Kayak Morning

Southeastern Sky

Some Blue

Looking South

Osprey

Heron

Ducks

Heron

Yesterday was not my favorite Saturday. It began well, with a good paddle, out for an hour and a couple of photos of great blue herons. When I returned, Evie and I finished up the blog and published it, and I got busy making my bed, something I do each morning, thanks to General McRaven, then gathering the trash to take to the Transfer Station. I was on my way by 10:30, dropped my trash off at a crowded Transfer Station, picked up corn for corn fritters, and filled up my Outback with gas (sixty-five bucks). I needed string trimmer line for my weed whacker, so I stopped at Home Depot, then at Wegmans to pick up a few things but forgot to get milk. My last stop was at Evans for wine, another fifty bucks. It was an expensive morning jaunt.

When I returned home, I wasn't feeling well — a stomachache for some reason — so I told Evie and went upstairs to read on my bed. I took a couple of Tums and felt a bit better, so I came downstairs. Evie thought it might help if I ate, so she made me scrambled eggs and toast, and I watched another episode of Goliath, Season Two. I felt better after eating and decided to take a nap and read. In the mid-afternoon, I took a shower because we had our local Woodlawn neighborhood meeting at 5:00. We usually bring an appetizer, so Evie made corn fritters. This was our third meeting of the summer, and it was poorly attended because many weekenders weren't here. Nevertheless, it was fun to see our neighbors, enjoy a libation and appetizers, and find out that our Treasury needs more money to help finance the snow plowing of our road.

Woodlawn Guys

Woodlawn Gals

We were home by 6:30, and each of us had a quarter of a sub from Wegmans and watched two more episodes of ER. When Evie went up to bed, I watched a couple of episodes of Goliath, then went up to bed. Our evenings don't seem to change much.

North Coast Bass Anglers Association Weigh-In

A Sauerkraut Morning

Slicing Cabbage With Tom

6:19

7:34

It's 7:53, and the sun is so bright in our living room that we have to move off the couch to read on our devices. I am not complaining, though, because it's a beautiful Saturday morning on the lake—just a few clouds, lots of sun, and a light wind.

Great Blue Heron

Same Guy

A Teal

Sun Rising Above The Reeds

Into The Sun

Kayak Morning

Yesterday began with a great paddle, as I was treated to plenty of lake-life photo opportunities: herons, eagles, and cormorants. I was out for close to an hour and back by 8:00. After breakfast, I wrote the blog and had it published by 9:00. I then picked up Jim, my neighbor and fellow sauerkraut worker, and we drove to Tom and Julie's house, where a couple hundred pounds of cabbage heads awaited us.

The Sauerkraut Boys, Tom, Jim, And Moi

Tom buys the cabbage at an Amish market for a dollar a head. Wegmans charges $1.29 a pound. We have our method for making sauerkraut down pretty well, since the three of us did it together last year. Jim cores and halves the cabbage heads and brings them to me, and I put them through the electric slicer. Once I have about eight pounds of sliced cabbage, Tommy puts it in a pot, adds salt, and vigorously mixes the cabbage and salt until it's well marinated. He then packs the cabbage into crocks, where it will sit for the next couple of weeks, aging and turning into sauerkraut.

Crocks Filled With Salted Cabbage

We started at 9:00 and finished cleaning up the mess right around 11:15. In a couple of weeks, Tommy will dole out bags of kraut for us to freeze and use throughout the year. It's a fun way to spend a morning.

I was home just before noon and was greeted by the aroma of corn chowder simmering on the stove, our grandchildren's favorite summer soup. I was tempted to have it for lunch, but we decided to save it for dinner, so I finished up the leftover lemon chicken and rice and watched my show.

We then had a leisurely afternoon. Evie sunned herself briefly in the backyard, and I went out on the dock to read until the breeze made it too cool. Around 5:00, we had our wine time and once again marveled at how lucky we are to have a home on the lake.

Dinner was easy, as Evie had already fried up bacon for the soup and had plenty left over to make BLTs. Along with the corn chowder, we had a great dinner. We watched a couple more episodes of ER, and after Evie went up to bed, I watched the second half of the Indiana Fever's twenty-point defeat of Connecticut. Both Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell scored 34 points apiece. Around 8:30, I went in the kitchen and noticed the moon just starting to rise above the Bemus shore.

Moon Rising Over Bemus shoreline at 8:30

Moon Risen

Full Moon Rising

I ended the night with the final episode of Goliath and am ready to start Season Two today.