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.

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Thunder, Lightning And Rain

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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

Sixty One Years

Our 61st Anniversary

6:15

7:35

It's 8:00, and the fog has just gotten thicker. I was up at 6:15, out on the lake for an hour, in the fog for all of my paddling. And it only got worse as I was out there. Now, as I sit in my living room, I can hardly see beyond my dock.

Kayak Early Morning

Paddling Along Long Point

Fog Begins To Obscure View

Heavy Fog

Osprey Ready To Take Off

Great Blue Heron

Another Blue

Thursday was an interesting day, beginning with an early paddle, followed by breakfast in Bemus Point at 8:00. When I returned home, our neighbors two doors down were the first on the street to get hooked up to the new sewers. Of course, it was of great interest to us guys, so the four of us stood around watching Roger and Matt begin the process — emptying the tank, crushing it, digging the ditch from the house to the grinder, attaching the pipe, then filling in the ditch and topping it with topsoil so it looks just like it did before they started, except no grass.

The Neighbors

I didn't do much the rest of the morning other than read and walk over to watch the guys, checking on their progress. By 11:00, though, I was bored, so I loaded my bike onto the Outback, stopped for coffee at Ryder's, then stopped at the bike shop and had the owner look my bike over to make sure it wasn't damaged in my fall. All it needed was a new rearview mirror—he attached it, and I headed to Wegmans for a quick run, picking up a prescription and a few other things we might need for the weekend.

When I returned home, I had the leftover chicken parmesan for lunch and watched the last episode of Season One of my show, Woman of the Dead. I then went upstairs, read, and fell asleep briefly before coming back downstairs and checking on the guys' progress again. By 3:00, the pipe was attached, and all they needed was to have it inspected before refilling the ditch. It was a nice afternoon, lots of sun, so I went out on the dock to read, but the sun was so hot I only lasted about half an hour before coming back in and sitting on the front porch. Evie joined me until 5:00, when she started prepping our dinner. Once it was prepped, she came back out, occasionally going inside to check on dinner — pork chops and air-fried potatoes. We ate around 7:00 and watched a couple of episodes of ER. Once Evie went to bed, I watched another Indiana Fever game and stuck with it, though I was bored — probably because Caitlin Clark played poorly. I was happy to get back to my book, The Calamity Club, and sleep. 

Orange Sky In The Morning

6:18

6:18

7:28

It's late as I start this, 9:20, although I woke at 6:10, kayaked at 6:30 for 50 minutes, was home by 7:30, and drove to Bemus for breakfast at 7:45. That's why I am starting the blog so late.

Kayak Morning

Morning Skiing

Wednesday was a screw-up day. Fortunately, like most mornings, it started well with a paddle. After returning home, I drove to Keystone to get my Kia inspected. I should have been in and out in under 30 minutes. Ray, my mechanic, found the front brakes were basically gone, so he gave me an inspection sticker but told me to bring the car back at 1:00 for new brakes. I left the garage after 15 minutes, stopped at home, then drove to Westfield for a doctor's appointment, a requirement after being in the Emergency Room. My PA checked me over, prescribed some muscle relaxers because my neck muscles were so tight, and ordered a CT scan of my chest, just to make sure I hadn't hurt anything in my fall.

Afternoon Clouds And Green

I was home by 11:00, tired for some reason, so I went upstairs to read but fell asleep for a half hour. Evie made me a couple of sandwiches for lunch to go with the lentil soup. I ate quickly because I had to be back at the garage by 1:00 for the new brakes. It didn't take long since Ray had all the parts, and I left with new front brakes and a $500 bill. Yep. When I got home, I was still tired, so I ended up taking my second nap of the day.

Happy 25th Anniversary

We were going out to dinner to celebrate both of our anniversaries, so we showered and were on our way to Ron and Linda's by 5:15. Ron drove us to the White Inn in Fredonia, where we were fortunate to find seats at the bar. Linda and Ron knew the waitress, who seemed to have bartended at half the bars in the area. We had our usual calamari appetizer, beers for Ron and me, wine for Evie and Linda. Evie ordered the chicken katsu, and I ordered chicken parmesan, and both were just average. Still, we had a good time, enjoyed sitting at the bar, and were on our way home on a beautiful evening by 8:15.

When we got back, Evie was ready for bed, and I stayed up until 10:00 watching my series. So after a crazy morning, the day ended well — a great night celebrating anniversaries with friends.

Our Duly Elected President!