9/11/26

6:43

8:17

It's a spectacular 9/11 morning here on the lake. I was up at 6:30 and out on the lake by 7:00 to watch the sunrise on a quiet, windless morning. The fact that it's 9/11 brings back the memory of teaching a class when I noticed a colleague setting up a TV in the hall. I went out to see why, just as the second Twin Tower was coming down. I continued teaching briefly after letting the class know what had just happened, and as a school, we weren't sure what to do, so we carried on, like most, not sure what this attack meant. Later in the day, we met as a school to clarify what had happened and reassure the students that they were safe. Evie was in Colorado, helping Jill with her newborn, and was unable to fly home because flights were cancelled for close to a week. Later, we found out one of our former students died in the attack.

7:02

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising at 7:04

Sun Hidden Behind Long Point

Into The Rising Sun

Great Blue At Long Point

Cormorant Off Of Tip Of Long Point

Bald Eagle

Osprey

Heron On Boat Cover

Thursday was an interesting day. I knew I had breakfast at 8:00, so if I wanted to get in a paddle beforehand, I had to be up by 6:15 and out kayaking by 6:45 to get in a forty-five-minute paddle. So that's what I did, and I was early for breakfast at 7:55. Lake Life Cafe is back to normal — we were one of only two tables with patrons, unlike a few weeks ago, when we had to leave early because it was so loud. I was home by 9:10, and Evie was up, enjoying the morning. I sat down, made another cup of coffee, and wrote the blog while Evie picked out photos to include. Once she had them chosen, I took them and arranged them on the blog — and that's where trouble started. I couldn't download the photos to the blog, and for the next hour or more, I tried to figure out what was going wrong, asking ChatGPT and various sources on the internet for help. I thought it might be malware or something like that, and since I kept being prompted every time I opened my computer to buy Total AV — which supposedly cleans up your computer — I bought it for $29, saving $69, supposedly. I let it do its work, which didn't seem to help. I turned my computer off and on, which also didn't help. Evie suggested I close Photos and reopen it, and voilà — I was able to download them. So I finally got the photos added to the blog at 11:30. What a way to spend a morning.

Zinnias

By 12:30, I was enjoying lunch and watching my Harlan Coben series, happy to have figured out the photo issue. I then went upstairs, read, and napped briefly, then talked with the guys putting in sewers about our yard. Because of heavy rains, a couple of sinkholes had appeared, along with some low spots that could use more dirt. They said that once they were done, they'd stop by with a truckload of dirt. So around 5:00, they worked on both of our yards for a half hour, filling the sinkholes and low spots so we can start thinking about the first step of putting in a new lawn: rototilling it.

Evie and I enjoyed a glass or two of wine before dinner. It was another quiet evening on the lake — not a boat in sight as the day waned. We both wondered where the fishermen and boaters were, usually so plentiful on the lake this time of year. High gas prices? Anyway, we had dinner around 6:45, a pasta dish Evie put together. We watched a couple of shows until Evie went up to bed, and I watched the first half of the Rams/49ers game, then the women's tennis semifinals. I was impressed by 27-year-old Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who defeated Coco Gauff in three sets. I watched the first two sets, then went to bed.

It's great to start the morning off with a hearty laugh:

Breakfast In Erie, Yesterday Breakfast In Bemus This Morning

Stormy Wednesday Afternoon

6:14

9:15

It's 9:15, and I just returned from Bemus Point, where I had breakfast with my friends on a fine sunny and occasionally cloudy morning. It's always a good way to start the day, along with an early paddle. I was out before 7:00 for forty minutes, as the clouds slowly disappeared and the sun came out. For some reason, I have been unable to download photos this morning.  Update: I  finally was able to download the photos at 11:30!

Kayak Morning

Wrinkled Lake

Northern Sky Over Woodlawn

North

East

Great Blue

Osprey

Osprey

Wading Along Woodlawn

Yesterday began with a good paddle too. How lucky I am to be able to get out there each morning so easily — just push my kayak into the water off my wooden launch and go. I was home and had a good hour before my buddy Stan picked me up at 9:00, because we were meeting two friends from high school in Erie for lunch. We try to meet twice a year, sometimes in Erie, sometimes here at the lake. We ate at Park And Eat with the other retirees like us. John and Gacy played college ball at John Carroll, and both were successful coaches in the Cleveland area. We played together after college for a couple of years, so we have a lot in common. Stan grew up in their neighborhood, so he's known them longer than I have. We had fun reminiscing after talking about all our ailments. Both are retired with grandchildren and, like Stan and me, are in their 80s. We vowed to meet again in spring, and I was home by noon.

Johnny, Gacy, Stan, And Me

Eating breakfast at 10:30 screwed up my routine, so when I got home I didn't want lunch, and it was too early to take a nap, so I was at sixes and sevens. I read for a while, then went out to the side yard and raked the dirt, piling up rocks to get rid of later. I then went up, read, and napped briefly. For some reason, I've been having a hard time napping recently. Around 3:45, we closed the curtain on our porch, and it poured on and off for the next couple of hours. When I checked just before dinner, we'd already gotten two inches.

We had our wine time, then an easy dinner: leftover chicken, potatoes, and corn. We watched TV until Evie went up to bed, and I watched the first half of the NFL game between New England and Seattle. It was a boring game, so I was happy to go up to bed and read, hoping to fall asleep.

Early Morning Drizzle

6:37

8:01

It's 6:30, and surprise, it's raining, but not for long. I should be out on the water by 7:00, when the rain is predicted to stop. It's now 8:10, and I did get out on the lake for close to an hour. It was still overcast, no rising sun this morning — just lots of gray and a few herons and ospreys.

Kayak Morning

Gray On Gray

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Tuesday ended up being an exhausting day. I got up at 6:30 and was on the lake by 7:00 for close to an hour and a half. I hurriedly wrote the blog and added the photos because I had to be on my way to yoga by 9:10 for a 9:30 class. I was finished with yoga by 11:15  and stopped for coffee and talked with Dave for 15 minutes.

I was home by noon, and Evie had started mowing the yard but was taking a time-out. I had an easy lunch, heating up a chicken pot pie along with Evie's Asian cabbage dish. I'm watching a new series called The Stranger and have stuck with it so far.  I'm also into my new novel, His and Hers, which is now a Netflix series. I tried to nap, to no avail. Since we decided to plant the grass ourselves because the hydroseeding was ridiculously expensive, I talked with the sewer guys, and they're going to bring us six yards of topsoil this week, which we'll have to spread ourselves.

Zinnia

So I went to ChatGPT and explained we were going to reseed part of our lawn. They wanted a photo and dimensions, then gave us a plan, including how much soil, seed, and fertilizer to buy and how to get the yard ready. Cool. I spent a good hour or more gathering rocks and setting them along our fence. By 4:00, I was done, and Evie had had enough sun and mowing, so I finished up the yard just in time for wine time. It felt great to just relax on the porch with Evie as our chicken and potato dinner baked.

We ate around 6:30 and watched a couple of shows until 8:30, when Evie went up to bed. I watched some tennis — Jessica Pegula and E. Navarro — then went back to my Harlan Coben series, The Stranger, and I don't know why I'm sticking with it because it's so ridiculous at times. I was happy to go up, read and sleep.

Summer Seems Over

6:36

8:12

It's 6:35, and I'm waiting until 6:50 for the sun to rise before I kayak. It's a quiet lake, a quiet neighborhood, as many people head home for the fall, closing up their houses, taking in their boats and docks. For us, September and October are the best times of year: cool weather, a quiet lake, and lots to do.

Sun Rising At 7:00

Into The Sun

Rising Above Tom's Point

North

It's 8:20 and I was out paddling for over an hour on an empty lake. It was a spectacular morning, lots of sun and blue skies, and good for birding.

Heron

Osprey

Heron

Osprey

Labor Day was quiet, as we stayed home and didn't celebrate, mostly because our families live so far away. So it was a normal weekday: we got up early, then took a leisurely paddle on the lake for close to an hour and a half. I didn't feel like coming in, so I just hung out there, luxuriating in a quiet lake morning. When I did come in, Evie was up, so I joined her with a coffee, and we finished off the blog and published it.

Webb's Trail

Shade And Sun

I knew I didn't want to sit around all day, so I drove to Mayville, parked my car, and went for a 50-minute bike ride down two sections of Webb's Trail, an abandoned railroad track. The second section is built up so that there's a twenty-foot drop on both sides of the trail — an engineering marvel. After the trail, I took the Mayville pathway to the Mayville cemetery, rode around it, and then headed back to the car. It was a good day for a bike ride, and I saw lots of riders, mostly on Route 394. On the way home, I stopped at Stedman Corners and picked up a half dozen ears of corn for dinner. And that was it for me physically for the day.

Mayville Cemetery

I was home around noon, and Evie was already out enjoying the sun in the side yard. I had both broccoli salad and an Asian cabbage dish for lunch and watched something on TV. I then read and tried to nap, but by 2:45 I was in the TV room watching the first half of the U.S. women's basketball team's easy win over the Czech women. I was bored after the first half, so I worked in the yard, raking up stones and placing them along our fence to create a barrier for heavy rain.  Meanwhile, Arlo and Louis came over and were busy boys building wooden forts and helping Evie put together a train track.  They had their usual piggys, milk and Calvin and Hobbs on the front porch.

Around 4:00, the wind had calmed down, so we grabbed a libation and went for a good hour-long boat ride on the lake, down to Maple Springs and beyond, across to Chautauqua Institution, and home. It was fun to be back cruising the lake, especially on such a blue-sky afternoon. While I put the boat cover on, Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters, then prepped our dinner — pork chops, seared them, and put them in the oven. We relaxed for a half hour, then had dinner and watched a couple of episodes of ER. The last episode was amazing, as a patient stabbed both Lucy and Carter. Lucy dies and John survives, but the tension for forty-five minutes as the cast tried to save them both was palpable — television at its best. I was in bed reading by 10:00, tired from the day.

A Bright Shiny Labor Day Morning

My Girlfriend and Me

6:58

7:00

7:00

It's almost 9:00, and we are both up, as the sun fills the lake with its reflection. I was up just before 7:00 as the sun was rising and out on the lake for close to an hour and a half, relishing such a spectacular lake morning.

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising Over Long  Point

Paddling East

Into The Sun

Eagle

Heron

Osprey

Sunday turned out to be a good day, starting with our usual long paddle. The morning was typical for a Sunday, I think — we both listened to various news programs on Sirius, often hearing the same story repeated hour after hour. We published the blog around 9:30, later than usual, and then I wanted to get in some exercise, so I decided on a hike around our neighboring woods, Victoria and Woodlawn. I was a bit worried about ticks, so I wore treated pants and a long-sleeve shirt. It was a good walk; the paths were partly overgrown but still visible. I was out for a little over half an hour, basically walking a circle. When I got home, Evie had just showered, and I decided to take one as well rather than wait until later in the day. I felt great afterward and was ready for a good, relaxing day.

Kinney's Run

Victoria Woods Trail

For lunch, Evie made me a western with the leftover meatloaf, and I loved it. I then read and napped but was up by 2:30, ready to watch the US women's basketball team play Italy in the FIBA World Cup in Germany. They were lucky to win by three points and played terribly, unable to hit threes or even layups. Only one player was in double figures, and Caitlin Clark scored one point. After the game, I went out to our side yard and started raking up stones, getting it ready for power seeding. It's going to take a while to get it done.

We left at 6:00 for Linda and Ron's house for dinner. It was nice enough to sit on their front porch and enjoy a libation or two, along with a Bloody Mary shrimp and avocado cocktail. Our dinner was great: meatloaf, carrots, and mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes, and we loved it. Linda was upset because we'd had meatloaf the previous day, but it didn't matter — it was delicious. For dessert, she made a chocolate cake and served it with ice cream, and we got to bring half of it home. We stayed until 9:30, and it was a great way to spend my 83rd birthday. Dining at Linda and Ron's is always a delight, with great food and lots of laughs.

We were home around 9:40. Evie went up to bed, but I stayed up until 10:15, then joined her, tired from the day.